This delicious vegetarian dish can be made with ingredients already in your store cupboard
Photography: Alan Benson
The Middle East, from North Africa and Moorish Spain, through Turkey, Lebanon, and Jordan, right to the Arabian Peninsula, has a long and vibrant tradition of home-style vegetarian cuisine.
Based on the freshest ingredients and cooked from the heart, the recipes in The New Feast are designed for sharing and enjoying with others.
So, if you’re looking to eat less meat this spring, we suggest sampling this delectable dish, much of which can be made with ingredients you’ll likely already have in your kitchen.
Baby carrot tagine with yoghurt and honeyed pine nuts
INGREDIENTS - serves 4
40ml olive oil
A generous knob of butter
1 large onion, finely grated
1 large carrot, finely grated
2 cloves garlic, finely grated
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
¼ teaspoon turmeric
½ teaspoon finely ground black pepper
1 tablespoon honey
400g tin chickpeas, well rinsed and drained
400g baby carrots, with tops attached
600ml vegetable stock
200g natural yoghurt
1 tablespoon cornflour
1 egg yolk
½ cup coriander leaves
Honeyed pine nuts:
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon honey
60g pine nuts
Good pinch salt
METHOD
Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Heat the oil and butter in a large flame-proof casserole.
Add the grated onion and carrot, the garlic, spices, and honey to the dish. Sauté over a low heat for about 10 minutes, or until the onion is soft and translucent and the carrot is meltingly soft.
Add the chickpeas and whole baby carrots, then pour in the stock. Bring to the boil, then lower the heat, cover the pan and cook in the oven for 30 minutes.
Then, remove the tagine from oven and transfer it to the stovetop over a medium heat.
In a small bowl, whisk the yoghurt with the cornflour and egg yolk. Add a big spoonful of the tagine cooking liquid to the yoghurt and stir it in well.
Tip the yoghurt into the tagine, bring to a simmer and cook, stirring, until the sauce thickens slightly.
Heat the butter and honey over a medium heat in a small frying pan. When the butter has melted, add the pine nuts and salt and fry for around 2 minutes until they turn golden brown.
Stir the coriander leaves into the tagine. Drain the pine nuts and sprinkle on top of the tagine as you serve it.