Tagine

What is tagine?

Tagine (or tajine) is a traditional North African dish named after the distinctive domed earthenware pot used to prepare it.

At home, you can easily make tagine in a large skillet or dutch oven covered with a lid.

Like many other North African and Moroccan recipes – think of our Moroccan lentil soup, harira soup, and Moroccan chickpea stew – tagine is easy to make and excellent for a comforting veggie-packed dinner.

Louise loves (like I-have-to-cook-this-once-a-week kind of love 😅) its savory and aromatic flavor combined with the sweet notes from the dates and cinnamon. It’s truly irresistible!

Also, the mix of seasonal vegetables, spices, and legumes so widespread in Morocco will make you fall in love with this dish.

You can easily turn tajine into a satisfying meal by serving it with fluffy couscous, basmati rice, saffron rice, or a whole grain like barley.

Garnish with a dollop of cooling yogurt, fresh parsley or coriander, and a squeeze of lime juice.

Ingredients

FLAVOR BASE

• Extra virgin olive oil: substitute another vegetable oil.
• Onion: substitute shallots.
• Garlic: use fresh garlic.
• Red pepper flakes: substitute a hot chili, cayenne pepper, or dried chili.
• Ground cumin, ginger, coriander, and cinnamon: substitute Ras El Hanout, a North African spice mix.

VEGETABLES, LEGUMES, and HERBS

• Eggplant: substitute potatoes or sweet potatoes.
• Zucchini: substitute butternut squash, pumpkin, kabocha squash, or any winter squash.
• Carrots: substitute celeriac or fennel.
• Bell pepper: substitute green peas.
• Chickpeas: substitute green and brown lentils.
• Canned tomatoes: substitute halved cherry tomatoes.
• Dates: substitute raisins.
• Dried apricots: substitute dried figs, dates, or raisins.
• Fresh parsley or cilantro: you can use either or both.

Toppings

• Greek Yogurt: substitute crumbled feta cheese, a poached egg, or fried egg.
• Lemon juice or lime juice.

How to make tagine

I recommend starting this recipe by prepping the ingredients. Grate the garlic, prepare the spices, drain the chickpeas, and open the tomato cans.

Cut the dates and dried apricots into small bite-size pieces.

Chop the vegetables including onion and carrots into large bite-size chunks.

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet or dutch oven. Add the chopped onion and carrots and sauté on medium heat for 3 minutes.

Stir in the grated garlic and the spices: ground coriander, cumin, ginger, red pepper flakes, and cinnamon.

Toast the spices for a minute or until fragrant, stirring often.

Now add the chunky eggplants, zucchini, and bell pepper. Season with salt and black pepper and sauté for 5 minutes, stirring often.

The veggies will crowd the pan but they will lose volume as they cook.

After 5 minutes, add the dates and dried apricots, chickpeas, and canned tomatoes.

Stir well, cover with a lid, and simmer on medium-low heat for about 20 to 30 minutes or until the vegetables are fork tender.

You can stir once or twice to prevent the veggies from sticking to the bottom of the pan.

If necessary add half a cup of water, keeping in mind that tagine shouldn’t have a runny sauce, but rather a thick one.

Tip: you cook the vegetables more or less based on your preference. For instance, if you like the veggies with a slight bite, then cook them less than 30 minutes, closer to 20.

How to serve it

Stir in chopped parsley and cilantro then taste and adjust for salt.

Let the tagine cool down for 5 to 10 minutes to allow the flavors to meld.

Louise and I love serving this with saffron rice, fluffy couscous, or basmati rice. It’s also excellent with warm pita bread.

Top with yogurt, fresh herbs, and a squeze of lemon or lime juice to taste.

Leftovers keep very well for days. The next day you can even turn tagine into a sort of shakshuka by warming it up in a pan and poaching an egg or two in it. So good! Even as a savory breakfast.

Storage

Make ahead: tajine is an excellent recipe for meal prep as it keeps well for days and its flavor gets more round and rich on the second day.

Refrigerator: let leftovers cool down to room temperature, then store them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.

Freezer: you can freeze tagine for up to 3 months. The veggies, however, will lose texture and bite as you thaw them.

Reheat: warm leftovers in a saucepan or in the microwave.

Similar recipes

If you liked this tagine recipe, you might also enjoy:

• Mujadara
• Chickpea stew
• Lentil stew
• 40 recipes with chickpeas