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Vegan Tagine with Chickpeas

Prep Time25 minutes
Cook Time1 hour
Total Time1 hour 25 minutes
Servings: 6
Calories: 422kcal
Author: Nisha Vora

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
  • 1 large yellow onion, diced
  • 1 medium red bell pepper, chopped
  • 6 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 1 cinnamon stick (optional) (see Note 1)
  • 2 cups (480 mL) vegetable broth
  • 3 cups peeled and finely diced butternut squash (400g) (see Note 2)
  • 2 (15-ounce/425g) cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt, more to taste
  • 1 (14.5-ounce/410g) can crushed tomatoes
  • 3 to 6 large Medjool dates, chopped (see Note 3)
  • 1 medium lemon, zested + 1 tablespoon juice
  • 1 big handful of flat-leaf parsley (or cilantro) leaves and tender stems, chopped

Spice Mix

  • 1 tablespoon ras el hanout (see Note 4)
  • 1 teaspoon ground coriander
  • ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon ground cumin
  • ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
  • ¼ teaspoon ground turmeric
  • ¼ to ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional, ½ tsp for some good heat)
  • A generous crack of black pepper
  • A pinch of ground cloves

Yogurt Sauce for serving (optional)

  • 5 ounces (140g) plain vegan yogurt
  • 2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice, more to taste depending on your yogurt brand
  • ½ teaspoon ground coriander
  • Salt to taste

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 375º/190ºCF. Arrange an oven rack to fit a Dutch oven (or tagine pan, if you have one) or braising pan.
  • Stir together the spices for the Spice Mix.
  • Heat the 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the onions and season with a pinch of salt. Cook until golden brown, 7 to 8 minutes, adding a splash of water as needed to deglaze the pan and prevent the onions from burning. Add the bell pepper, garlic, and cinnamon stick, and cook for 3 minutes, stirring frequently.
  • Add the Spice Mix and stir vigorously for 1 minute. If it starts to dry out, add a splash of water.
  • Pour in some of the broth to deglaze the pot and scrape up any browned bits. Add the remaining broth, squash, chickpeas, bay leaves, salt, tomatoes, and dates. Stir, and bring to a boil. Turn off the heat, and drizzle with a nice glug of olive oil, and stir again to combine. Place the lid on the pan and ensure it’s fitted tightly.
    a. NOTE: If you don’t have a lid for your pan, cover tightly with foil.
  • Transfer to the oven and bake, covered, for 40 minutes, or until squash is tender and the mixture is thick and stew-like.
  • Meanwhile, make the yogurt sauce (or make 1-2 days ahead of time and refrigerate). In a bowl, stir together the yogurt, lemon juice, salt to taste, and coriander. Refrigerate until ready to use.
  • For the best flavor, cool for 15 to 20 minutes. Stir in half of the zest and 1 tablespoon lemon juice. Taste, adding more lemon zest or juice as desired.
  • Serve in bowls topped with yogurt sauce, chopped parsley or cilantro, and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

Notes

  1. If not using a cinnamon stick, increase the ground cinnamon to 1 teaspoon in the Spice Mix. 
  2. It’s important to finely dice the squash so it cooks through in the time allotted. The easiest method: cut butternut squash in half, crosswise and use the top skinny neck portion of the squash. Peel it first. Now, stand the squash up on a cutting board, and use a large, sharp knife to cut the squash into slabs from top to bottom. From here, it’s easy to finely dice the slabs. For a faster method, use your food processor (instructions are in the Tips section).
  3. I’ve included a range in the number of dates so you can tailor the tagine to your desired sweetness. For a bite of sweet in every spoon, use 6 Medjool dates. 
  4. Ras el hanout is the heart of a tagine! A store-bought version works just fine (I love the blend from NY Shuk), and you can find it at well-stocked grocery stores like Whole Foods, spice shops, Middle Eastern markets, or online. If you can’t find it, there’s a simple homemade recipe for ras el hanout in the Ingredient Notes section.