Root Vegetable Tagine with Lentils
Photography: Becky Luigart-Stayner; Styling: Melanie J.
Clarke
Worthy
of a Special Occasion
Traditional Moroccan tagines consist of meat or poultry stewed with spices and vegetables. This version features lentils slow-simmered with aromatic spices and winter vegetables. Although the ingredient list is long, the preparation is simple.
Yield
8 servings (serving size: 1 1/4 cups tagine and 3/4 cup couscous)
Ingredients
· Spice blend:
· 1/2 teaspoon salt
· 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
· 1/2 teaspoon paprika
· 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
· 1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
· 1/4 teaspoon curry powder
· 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
· 1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
· 1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
·
Tagine:
· 1 tablespoon olive oil
· 3 cups chopped green cabbage
· 2 cups (1-inch) cubed peeled sweet potato (about 12 ounces)
· 1 cup coarsely chopped onion
· 1 cup (1-inch-thick) slices parsnip
· 1 cup (1-inch-thick) slices carrot
· 1 cup (1-inch) cubed peeled turnip
· 1 cup dried lentils
· 1/2 cup chopped dried apricots
· 1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger
· 2 teaspoons grated lemon rind
· 2 (14 1/2-ounce) cans vegetable broth
· 1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
· 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
6 cups hot cooked couscous
Preparation
To prepare spice blend, combine first 9 ingredients.
To prepare tagine, heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add cabbage and the next 8 ingredients (cabbage through ginger); cook 3 minutes, stirring frequently. Stir in spice blend; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add rind, broth, and tomatoes; bring to a boil.
Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, 40 minutes or until lentils are tender. Stir in juice. Serve over couscous.
Nutritional Information
Calories: 343 (7% from fat)
Fat: 2.7g (sat 0.3g,mono 1.3g,poly 0.4g)
Protein: 13.4g
Carbohydrate: 68.4g
Fiber: 10.3g
Cholesterol: 0.0mg
Iron: 3.1mg
Sodium: 691mg
Calcium: 85mg
Steve Petusevsky, Cooking Light, JANUARY 2003