This is my classic vegetable tajine. The tajine is the word both for the dish itself and for the pot in which it is cooked. Traditionally, this is a clay pot with a conical or rounded lid (here in the south of Morocco we use a rounded lid; in the north the pyramidal shape is more common). Clay allows the dish to steam naturally; however, I’ve cooked this using a cast iron pot and lid with no discernible difference in flavour. It looks prettier and more authentic, though, in a clay tajine.
Ingredients (for 2): one large onion, thinly sliced 1 large clove of garlic, peeled and sliced olive oil 1 tsp cumin 1 tsp hot chilli 1 tsp ras el hanut - the classic Moroccan spice mix that includes up to 30 ingredients, including rose petals (my recipe for this is in an earlier blog). It is possible to buy this in many supermarkets now, but if you can’t find it substitute garam masala) 1 tsp turmeric salt & black pepper to taste and then your own choice of vegetables: choose from potatoes, carrots, turnip, slices of pumpkin, aubergine, peppers, courgettes, peas, olives, tomatoes
1. Heat the oil and cook the onion and garlic with the spices (don’t let them burn). 2. Now add the harder vegetables, the ones that take longest to cook, cut to size. 3. Add some water at this stage to aid the steaming and to make a good gravy. Put the lid on. 4. After 15-20 minutes cooking on the stovetop on a medium heat add the softer vegetables and check the water: add a little more (there should be enough to see if you tip the pot a little) if necessary, but not too much! 5. Cook for another 10 minutes, checking the vegetables as you go to make sure they are cooked.
6. Serve with fresh bread, which you can dip into the gravy (the nicest part!). In Morocco, a family will eat out of the one tajine, using just your right hand to pick up food with the bread. It’s a very social time, the family meal, symbolized by this sharing of a single dish. Vistors will also be invited to join in. Never be tempted to eat with your left hand, though: that’s regarded as the height of bad manners!
You can vary this recipe very easily by adding any sort of meat at the same time as the hard vegetables: there are all sorts of variations (and I will post them up in due course) including chicken with olives and preserved lemon, lamb with apricot and tomato, beef with prune and almonds, fish with spring onions, kofta etc.