Serves 8-10

Prep Time: 30 mins

cooking time: 1 hr 30 mins

“I just love this dish! It is so versatile and very tasty. The meatballs and vegetable stew are cooked separately so if you have any vegetarians coming then this is a perfect meal for them.  The meatballs and the vegetable stew can be made well in advance and can also be frozen separately. The meatballs can also be served with some humous and flatbread or served as a canape with a yogurt and mint dip.  A perfect meal for casual entertaining.” - Sally Cooks

Ingredients

Aromatic Vegetable tagine

  • 2 Onions, roughly chopped

  • 2 Sticks celery, roughly chopped

  • 2 Medium carrots, roughly chopped

  • 3 Cloves garlic

  • 50ml Sunflower oil

  • 1 Red onion, sliced in half and sliced into semi-circles

  • 600g Butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1.5 cm squares

  • 2 Medium carrots, roughly chopped

  • 400g Cauliflower, cut into small florets, tossed in a little oil with ½ tsp cumin seeds and 1 tsp ground coriander and roasted for 20 minutes in a hot oven.

    (I add this at the end of cooking the vegetable tagine.)

  • 1 Large parsnip, roughly chopped

  • 1 Tsp Ground turmeric

  • 1 Tsp Ground ginger

  • 100g Dried apricots, cut into 3

  • 2 Tins of good quality chopped tomatoes

  • 3 Tsp Rose harissa

  • 750ml Chicken or vegetable stock

  • 1 Pomegranate, seeds removed (to serve)

  • Chopped coriander (to serve)

  • Yogurt (to serve)

 Moroccan Lamb Meatballs

  • 750g Minced lamb

    (Or half minced lamb and half minced turkey. This reduces the fat content and is still very tasty…in fact I think I prefer them like this!)

  • 2 Shallots, finely chopped

  • 1½ Tsp Ground cumin

  • 1 Tsp Ground allspice

  • ½ Tsp Ground cinnamon (optional)

  • 1½ Tsp Salt

  • Ground pepper

  • 3 Tbsp Ground semolina

  • 1 Large egg

  • Sunflower oil for shallow frying

Couscous

  • 40g Couscous, per person

    (I sometimes use whole-wheat couscous. Never make more than 500g of couscous in one go as it could go into a solid mass!)

  • ½ Tsp Ground cumin

  • ½ Tsp Ground coriander

  • 1 Tsp Salt

  • Fresh coriander, chopped

  • A drizzle of olive oil

  • Boiling water

 

Method

Aromatic Vegetable Tagine

  1. Place the onions, celery, carrots & garlic in a food processor until they are finely chopped, or chop it all very finely by hand.

  2. Heat the oil in a large sauté pan before tipping in the above vegetables and cook for 10 minutes until softened with a lid on.

  3. Once the finely chopped vegetables are softened and have been cooking for about 10 minutes, add the red sliced onion, butternut squash, parsnip & spices, stirring to coat everything.

  4. Add the apricots, tinned tomatoes, stock, harissa paste, salt and pepper.

  5. Bring to a simmer and cook with a lid on for 1 hour, stirring now and again.

  6. Taste and adjust the seasoning.

  7. Add the meatballs and reheat for 5 minutes.

  8. Serve with couscous, chopped coriander and pomegranate seeds and a dollop of natural yogurt. Delicious!!

 

Moroccan Lamb Meatballs

  1. Place all the ingredients in a large bowl and mix everything together thoroughly but lightly with your hands.

  2. Scoop out small amounts of mixture, (approx. a heaped teaspoon 20g) roll them in your hands and place on tray. Have a bowl of cold water to hand as it is much easier to roll them with damp hands. You should make about 50-60.

  3. Heat a little oil in a non-stick frying pan and fry them in batches without overcrowding the pan and cook them for about 2 minutes each side, browning them nicely.

  4. If you have been using a non plastic handled frying pan place them in the oven for 8 minutes to finish cooking (If not, transfer to an ovenproof dish). Remove to another tray lined with kitchen towel.

  5. Once the vegetable stew has been made, the meatballs can be added at the end to heat up.

Couscous

  1. Put the couscous in a large bowl or Tupperware box and drizzle a little olive oil over and using your hands massage the oil into the couscous.

  2. Add the spices then pour boiling water over until it covers the couscous by approx. 1cm.

  3. Stir it once, cover with a plate or clingfilm and leave for 6 minutes.

  4. Using a fork, fluff up the couscous and serve. It can be reheated in the microwave.

  5. Add some chopped coriander or parsley. Toasted flaked almonds are lovely too.