Moroccan vegetable and chickpea tagine

A big, golden pot of squash, carrots, courgettes and chickpeas in a fragrant Moroccan sauce, sweetened with apricots. Harissa goes on the table so everyone chooses their own heat.

Ingredients

• 30 ml Olive oil
• 2 Onions, chopped
• 0.3 Garlic, 3 cloves, crushed
• 15 g Fresh ginger, grated
• 12 g Ras el hanout
• 3 g Ground cumin
• 2 g Ground cinnamon
• 300 g Carrots, cut into chunks
• 1 Butternut squash, peeled and cut into chunks
• 400 g Chopped tomatoes
• 800 g Chickpeas, 2 x 400g tins, drained
• 100 g Dried apricots, halved
• 1 Vegetable stock cubes
• 2 Courgettes, cut into chunks
• 1 Lemons, juiced
• 4 g Salt
• 300 g Couscous
• 10 ml Olive oil
• 2 g Salt
• 15 g Fresh coriander, chopped
• 10 g Fresh mint, chopped
• 30 g Harissa paste, for the table

Method

1. Heat the oil in a large pan and cook the onions gently until soft.
2. Stir in the garlic, ginger, ras el hanout, cumin and cinnamon and cook for a minute.
3. Add the carrots, squash, tomatoes, chickpeas and apricots. Crumble in the stock cube with 400ml water and the salt. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer gently.
4. Stir in the courgettes and simmer without a lid until all the vegetables are tender and the sauce has thickened.
5. Put the couscous in a bowl with the oil and salt, pour over 330ml boiling water, cover and leave to steam. Fluff up with a fork.
6. Stir the lemon juice into the tagine and taste for seasoning. Serve over the couscous with coriander and mint scattered on top, and harissa on the table for anyone who wants heat.