Photo Courtesy of Brad Lovejoy
For the first time since the beginning of the new year, I was genuinely excited to cook. It was liberating to feel no pressure whatsoever attached to this project. I just wanted to cook for the fun of being in the kitchen. I also had plenty of time on my hands this afternoon so I was able to lollygag and play with Olivia between each step. What could be more perfect?
As I have mentioned in several prior entries, I love a good tagine recipe. When I happened upon this recipe for Eggplant and Chickpea Tagine, I was immediately enamored and couldn't wait to begin preparation.
1 small eggplant, cut into 1/2" dice
2 zucchini, thickly sliced
4 Tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, sliced
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2 cups brown cap mushrooms, halved
1 Tbsp ground coriander
2 tsp cumin seeds
1 Tbsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp ground tumeric
8 ounces new potatoes, quartered
2 1/2 cups passata (tomato puree)
1 Tbsp tomato paste
1 Tbsp chili sauce
1/3 cup ready-to-eat unsulfured dried apricots
3 cups canned chickpeas, drained and rinsed
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 Tbsp cilantro, chopped, to garnish
Photo Courtesy of Brad Lovejoy
Sprinkle salt over eggplant and zucchini and leave for 30 minutes. Rinse and pat dry with dish towel. Heat broiler to high. Arrange zucchini and eggplant on baking sheet and toss in 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Broil for 20 minutes, turning occasionally, until tender and golden.
Photo Courtesy of Brad Lovejoy
Meanwhile, heat remaining oil in large heavy-based saucepan and cook onion and garlic for 5 minutes until softened, stirring occasionally. Add mushrooms and saute for 3 minutes until tender. Add spices and cook for 1 minute more, stirring to allow flavors to mingle.
Add potatoes and cook for 3 minutes, stirring. Pour in passata, tomato paste and 2/3 cup water, cover and cook for 10 minutes or until sauce begins to thicken. Add eggplant, zucchini, chili sauce, apricots and chickpeas. Season and cook, partially covered, for 10-15 minutes until potatoes are tender.
Photo Courtesy of Brad Lovejoy
Add a little extra water if tagine becomes too dry. Sprinkle with chopped cilantro and serve with cous cous if desired. Serves 4.
I have quite a few comments regarding this recipe. Let me start by saying that it has good bones but needs several tweaks. The first change I would make is to double the amount of zucchini and eggplant. These were two of the most flavorful elements (due to the fact they were salted and roasted in olive oil prior to adding to the tagine) but they seemed to be in short supply compared to other ingredients. The second change I would make is to half the amount of cinnamon. I could taste the cinnamon more than the other spices and I found myself wanting more cumin and tumeric. The next alteration would be to add cilantro to the tagine while the ingredients are simmering. I loved the flavor of cilantro in this dish but found that there wasn't quite enough.
My next two recommendations are changes that I made while preparing the recipe. The first is to add four tablespoons of chili sauce instead of one tablespoon. There are several types of chili sauce and I had the sweet variety on hand. Perhaps if I had used a spicier, less sweet chili sauce, I wouldn't have needed the additional three tablespoons. Finally, I found that for the timing of the potatoes to match the other vegetables, they should be diced into one-inch cubes. I purchased new potatoes but when I cut them into quarters, their scale was too large in comparison to other ingredients.
The end result of this recipe was tasty; I just believe that my recommendations would make it even tastier. With all of this being said, I thoroughly enjoyed both preparation and cooking. There is something about taking a long list of ingredients and turning them into a one-pot wonder. Brad and I both liked this dish, which is a good thing because we have ample leftovers for tomorrow night's dinner.
As a side note, I used all organic ingredients from PCC Natural Market.
Recipe Source:
"Complete Vegetarian", published by Hermes House
Page 263
No comments:
Post a Comment