Vegetable Tajine

I declare myself an absolute fan of the Le Creuset tajine. Even more so when you can make such great recipes with this vegetable tajine that I bring you today. This dish revives the soul and takes your breath away! Don’t be put off by the number of spices I used, because the combination is absolutely delicious and irresistible.

The tajine is a Moroccan kitchen utensil, traditionally made of clay, used for long, very slow cooking. The conical lid collects all the juices and returns them by condensation to the stew, ensuring a juicy, flavorful dish.

Le Creuset has perfectly reinterpreted this utensil, replacing clay with cast iron and ceramic. This makes this tajine suitable for all heat sources (gas, ceramic hob, and induction). Also, you can use it without the lid to prepare any dish you can think of and you can even put the base in the oven and use it like a baking mold.

Le Creuset Tajine

Ingredients

• 2 Figueres onions
• 2 pear tomatoes
• 2 carrots
• 1 zucchini
• 1 parsnip
• ½ eggplant
• 1 potato
• ¼ cabbage
• 1 lemon
• 150 g couscous
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon sweet La Vera paprika
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 piece of ginger
• 1 clove
• 1 garlic clove
• A few saffron threads
• A few parsley leaves
• A few cilantro leaves
• Salt
• Olive oil

Preparation

1. Chop the onions and sauté them in the tajine with a splash of olive oil for 15 minutes. Cook over very low heat with the tajine covered.
2. With the tip of a knife, make a cross in the skin of the tomatoes and blanch them for a few seconds. Peel them and cut into small pieces. Add them to the tajine, cover it, and let cook for 10 minutes.
3. Toast the saffron in a pan and put it in a bowl. Add the juice of half a lemon, the turmeric, the cumin, the chopped clove, the sweet paprika, 8 twists of black pepper, a piece of ginger, the chopped garlic, some chopped parsley and some chopped cilantro. Add a splash of olive oil and 200 g of water.
4. Cut the eggplant into 4 lengthwise pieces. Peel the carrots and cut them lengthwise into 2 parts. Peel the potato and cut it into 4 pieces. Peel the parsnip and cut it into 4 lengthwise pieces. Cut the cabbage in half.
5. Place all the vegetables in the tajine. You should arrange the vegetables in a tipi shape (the Native American tent) and cover them with half of the water with the spice mixture you prepared. Add salt to taste. Cover it and let simmer gently for about 20 minutes.
6. Hydrate the couscous with 150 g of water. When the couscous has absorbed the water, stir it with a spatula. Add the couscous to the tajine and add a pinch of salt and the remaining spiced water left from before. Place half a lemon cut into slices on top. Cover it and let it cook for 5 minutes.

Le Creuset Tajine