BUTTERNUT SQUASH, SWEET POTATO AND CAULIFLOWER TAGINE RECIPE

A fantastic recipe for Veganuary, low in fat and a really good way to use up and leftover vegetables. You can substitute the root vegetables for whatever you have in the house and if you'd rather have some meat then swop out some vegetables for chicken or lamb. If you like chickpeas you could add these.

A great comfort dish for a cold winter night.

Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS

SERVES 8

1 red onion, diced - 2 cloves of garlic
2 tsp cumin seeds - 2 tsp ground coriander
20g diced ginger - 10g diced green chillies
a pinch of saffron
8 diced plum tomatoes
1 lemon, peeled - 30g dried dates, diced
1 butternut squash, diced - 2 sweet potatoes, diced
1 cauliflower, cut into small florets - 1 leek, diced
2 parsnips, diced (or another root vegetable) - 4 sticks of celery, diced
100g almonds whole
250g Israeli couscous (or couscous)
20 grams of chopped parsley
100ml olive oil

METHOD

Heat up the oil in a heavy-bottomed pan.

Add the diced onion, and fry gently until almost translucent (about 7 minutes), stirring from time to time.

Add the chopped garlic. Keep on frying gently until the onion is translucent and the garlic softens completely and releases its beautiful aroma (approx. 5 minutes).

Stir all the ground spices into the onion-garlic mixture. Fry them off on a very low heat for a minute or two (stirring the whole time as if they burn, they’ll taste bitter).

Add the diced tomatoes to the tagine and cook until you get a thick paste. Then add the diced celery and leek and cook for a few minutes.

Add the diced vegetables and cook for 5-6 minutes then add the saffron and diced dates. Add about ½ a litre of water and cook until the vegetables start to soften.

Add the lemon peel and almonds, and cook for about half an hour over a very low heat.

If you have a couscoussier use it and steam the couscous over the top of the tagine to get all the lovely flavor in your couscous.

If not just make the couscous as directed on the packet. To finish the couscous, add a little olive oil and chopped parsley.

You can also add some soya yogurt with chopped mint as a garnish.

This tagine is good if you leave it in the fridge overnight and have it the next day.

Serve hot and enjoy.