Since I started this blog I’ve had a great number of enquiries for vegetable dishes from people who love the concept of cooking Moroccan style but believe that it’s all about lamb and chicken dishes. This is far from the truth as Morocco is an extremely diverse  country in landscape and climate and consequently in cuisine. Many meals will start with a full flavoured soup such as Harira and then follow with Lamb or Chicken Tajine and a selection of salads but let’s not forget that couscous can also become a main meal.

So I thought that with this posting I would feature a few vegetable dishes that can become a meal in themselves

Chickpea Tomato Stew

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 medium brown onions, sliced thinly
• 1 tablespoon light brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons cumin seeds
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 800g (28 ounces) canned whole tomatoes
• 1 cup (250ml) vegetable stock
• 800gm (30 ounces) canned chickpeas, rinsed, drained
• 1 cup (150g) raisins
• 1/3 cup (70g) coarsely chopped preserved lemon rind
• 60g (2 ounces) baby spinach leaves

Method

1. Heat oil in tagine or large saucepan, cook onion and sugar over low heat, stirring occasionally about 15 minutes or until onions are lightly caramelised. Add spices, cook, stirring for about a minute or until mixture is fragrant.
2. Add undrained tomatoes, stock, chickpeas, raisins, and lemon, bring to the boil. Reduce heat and simmer covered for about 30 minutes or until thickened slightly.
3. Stir in spinach and season to taste.

Roasted Vegetable Couscous.

Ingredients

• 1 medium red onion cut into wedges
• 4 small zucchini halved lengthways
• 10 baby carrots halved lengthways
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• 1 cup (200g) couscous
• 1 cup (250ml) boiling water
• 450 (14 ounces) roasted red capsicum, sliced thinly
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh thyme

Method

1. Preheat oven to 220 degreesC/425 degrees F
2. Combine onions, zucchini, carrot and oil in a large shallow baking dish, season. Roast uncovered for about 20 minutes or until vegetables are tender.
3. Combine Couscous with the water in a large heatproof bowl, cover and stand for about 5 minutes or until liquid is absorbed, fluffing with a fork occasionally.
4. Stir vegetables and remaining ingredients into couscous and season to taste.

Zucchini with Chermoula – serves 4-6

Ingredients

1 kg of Zucchini

Chermoula

• 3 tablespoons of olive oil
• 1 red onion, finel chopped
• 2 large cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon Cayenne pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon cracked black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons preserved lemon rind finely chopped
• 1/4 cup fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped
• 1/4 cup fresh coriander, chopped

Method

1. Trim ends off the zucchini. Cut in half lengthways and cut each half into 3 or 4 sticks. Halve them again if too long.
2. Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large saucepan, add the the onion and and fry for 3 minutes. Add the garlic and spices and stir for 30 seconds. Add the zucchini, salt, 1/3 cup water, the preserved lemon and the remaining oil if needed. Toss to coat with spices and cook over a medium heat for 15 minutes.
3. Add the parsley and coriander and continue to cook until the zucchini is tender, for about 10-15 minutes. Remove from heat and toss to mix. Transfer to a serving dish, garnish with extra preserved lemon strips and serve.

I hope you enjoy these exciting vegetable dishes and please send me any comments you have or suggestions for new dishes you would like to learn about.