Wonderful Veg Tagine by Jamie Oliver

Chef: Jamie Oliver

Prep: 15 mins

Cook: 45 mins

Veg by Jamie Oliver is published by Penguin Random House

Photography: David Loftus

1 pinch of saffron

4 cloves of garlic

4cm piece of ginger

olive oil

1 teaspoon ground cumin

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ras el hanout

1 tablespoon sun-dried tomato paste

2.5kg mixed veg, such as aubergines, courgettes, carrots, cherry tomatoes, red onion, butternut squash, mixed-colour peppers

1 x 400g tin of chickpeas

100g dried apricots

1 preserved lemon

300g couscous

½ a bunch of mixed fresh herbs, such as dill, mint, flat-leaf parsley (15g)

20g flaked almonds

Put the saffron into a jug, cover with 500ml of boiling water and leave to infuse.

Meanwhile, peel and finely slice the garlic and ginger, then place in a large casserole pan over a medium heat with 2 tablespoons of oil, the cumin, cinnamon and ras el hanout. Add the tomato paste, fry for a few minutes, stirring regularly, then pour over the saffron water. Trim and prep the veg, as necessary, then chop into large chunks, adding them to the pan as you go. Tip in the chickpeas (juices and all), roughly chop and add the apricots and preserved lemon, discarding any pips, then season with sea salt and black pepper. Bring to the boil, cover, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 45 minutes, or until tender, stirring occasionally.

When the veg are almost tender, just cover the couscous with boiling water, season with salt and pepper and pop a plate on top. Leave for 10 minutes, then fluff and fork up. Pick the herb leaves and toast the almonds. Serve the tagine and couscous sprinkled with the almonds and herbs.

Delicious served with harissa rippled yoghurt.

Serves
6

Preparation Time
15 minutes

Cooking Time
45 minutes

Main ingredients
Vegetables

Recipe Type
Dinner, Easy, Family Dinners, Healthy

Cuisine
Moroccan

Level of Difficulty
Easy

In the summer I grow most of these vegetables, and I’m always eager to pick, wash and race to cook this dish – the flavour is just extraordinary with tender, delicate veg.