Moroccan Chickpea Tagine with Quinoa Couscous

October 11, 2012 · Last Updated on April 25, 2019 By Anjali Shah on· Last Updated on

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It’s no secret that the husband and I LOVE to travel.

When we were in Sydney this summer, we stopped at a wonderful little Moroccan / Mediterranean restaurant, where we ordered a bunch of our favorite dishes, including a flavorful, traditional Moroccan tagine.

A “tagine” is actually a unique ceramic or clay vessel, used to slow-cook stews and other dishes. But the word “tagine” also refers to the delicious dish which is slow-cooked inside the vessel. Typically a tagine is a rich savory stew of meat or vegetables, cooked to a buttery tenderness.

And while I love a good vegetable tagine, I always wish that the tagines I’ve gotten at most restaurants have more protein in them (often vegetable tagines, while extremely succulent, are mainly just vegetables cooked in a spicy sauce).

I decided to make my own version this past weekend, to recreate the traditional tagine into something that’s light and healthy, but BIG on taste.

To save a bit of time on the slow cooking, I turned to three of my favorite spice blends: 1) Ras El Hanout 2) Shawarma Spice Blend and 3) Curry Powder.

These spice blends made the dish taste like it had been simmering on the stove for hours, but it really only took an hour to make from start to finish.

For some added protein, I included chickpeas and served it with a quinoa “couscous.” Mint and dried apricots gave some added sweetness and dimension, and a sprinkling of sliced almonds over the top was perfect for a bit of crunch and texture.

The Ingredients

1/2 cup dried quinoa, cooked with 1 cup of water

8 dried apricots, chopped

1 red onion, diced

4 cloves garlic, minced

3 zucchini, diced

2 carrots, diced (optional)

1 sweet potato, diced

1 15oz can chickpeas, rinsed and drained

1 15oz can fire roasted diced tomatoes

4-8 oz veggie broth

2-2.5 tsp Ras El Hanout

1 tsp Shawarma Spice Blend

1 tsp cumin powder

1/2 tsp curry powder

3/4 tsp salt

1/8 tsp cayenne powder

A sprinkle of cinnamon

Fresh mint, chopped

Sliced almonds

The Directions

Step 1: Soak the apricots in hot water and set aside. They will absorb the water and reconstitute while you are cooking the other ingredients.

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Step 2: Chop all of the veggies: onions, sweet potatoes, garlic, zucchini, etc.

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Step 3: Saute the onions and garlic in 2 tsp olive oil over medium heat. Let the onions cook until they have caramelized slightly. Add the rest of the ingredients: potatoes, zucchini, carrots (if using), tomatoes, chickpeas, and all of the spices. Add 4oz veggie broth, stir to combine, and let all of the ingredients simmer on medium heat, covered, for at least 10 minutes until the potatoes and chickpeas are tender.

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Step 4: While the tagine is cooking, combine the quinoa and water in a pot, bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes until the quinoa is cooked. Fluff with a fork.

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Step 5: Take the apricots out of the water and chop them. Chop the mint as well.

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Step 6: Uncover the tagine and finish cooking through. Let some of the excess water boil off (if there is any). If it’s gotten dry, add a bit more vegetable broth until it’s the consistency you want. When it’s done, it will look like this:

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Step 7: Stir the apricots, mint and almonds into the quinoa, and serve.

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The quinoa adds a great nuttiness and texture when served with the tagine.

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The husband loved this dish.

He went back for seconds, and thirds.

The husband actually loves regular potatoes in tagines and curries – so I decided to substitute in sweet potatoes / yams instead of regular potatoes for the same texture, but even more flavor and good-for-you nutrition.

I think he might have liked the sweet potatoes even better than regular potatoes 🙂

And I just loved the great color this entire dish had.

It was irresistible.