Damian’s latest dish is in honour of Plant Power Day – an annual celebration on 7th March which is dedicated to promoting the power of plant-based foods.
His colourful vegetable tagine not only looks beautiful, but is super healthy too. Serve with steamed couscous and warmed flatbreads for a delicious mid-week meal that’s packed full of the good stuff.
Serves 4
- 3 red peppers, deseeded and chopped
- 3 yellow peppers, deseeded and chopped
- 200g small waxy potatoes, cut in half
- 1 aubergine, diced
- 200g tinned chickpeas
- 400g courgettes, sliced 1/2 inch thick
- 400g sweet onions, sliced
- 200g shallots, sliced
- 4 cloves of garlic, crushed
- 1 preserved lemon, finely chopped
- 50g dried apricots, chopped
- 1 lemon, juiced and zested
- 200ml olive oil
- 30g honey
- 500ml vegetable stock
For the spice mix
- 10g allspice
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 10g coriander seeds
- 5g cumin seeds
- 3g dried chilli
- 10g paprika
- 1g saffron
- Roast the coriander and cumin seeds until they smell fragrant and grind in a pestle and mortar. Mix with the other spices and set aside.
- Warm the olive oil in the tagine and add the onions and shallots. Cook gently for around 10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for a further 3 minutes.
- Add the spices and lower the heat and cook very gently for 10 minutes.
- Add all the other vegetables and chickpeas, season with sea salt, and coat in the spice and onion mix. Cook for a few minutes until the vegetables start to soften.
- Add the preserved lemons and apricots, the honey, and the stock. Bring to the simmer and place the lid on and bake at 160c for 45 minutes.
- Once cooked zest the lemon and squeeze the juice over and stir in.
