Vegetable and Chickpea Tagine - Feel Good Food Challenge (recipe)

I have finally taken the time to participate in a food challenge. I usually love to read blogs that organize various recipe challenges with different baking and cooking themes, but have not had time to participate in any specific myself. This month, I decided that I will. The blog with the funky name A Kick At The Pantry Door hosts a challenge every month called Feel Good Food. Every month there is a set theme with a key ingredient that is nutritious and healthy to use in your baking and cooking. The challenge for August month is to use GINGER. 

I love ginger and use mostly ground ginger in most of my stews and soups. I think besides all the healthy reasons to use it, it gives a bit of heat to the meal and a lovely exotic taste. 

For August's Feel Good Challenge  I am submitting my Vegetable and Chickpea Tagine.

Serves: 2-3

Ingredients:

1 can of chickpeas

1/2 courgette

1/2 aubergine

1/2 yellow paprika

3-4 potatoes

1/2 leek

1 inch fresh ginger

1/2 parsnip

3 tbsp olive oil

couscous (cooked according to the package)

few coups of water

Spices: 1 tsp of ground ginger, parsley, ras el hanout, ground garlic, pepper, ground cumin, ground coriander, 1//4 tsp ground cinnamon, 2-3 sliced of preserved lemon, salt to taste.

Method:

1- Slice all the vegetables and rinse the canned chickpeas. Heat the oil in a cooking pot on high heat and add all the vegetables together. Saute the vegetables for 3-5 minutes until they develop a golden color. Add the chickpeas in the pot and the spices as well and stir for few seconds until everything has an even coat of the spices. The heat should let the the spices develop a lovely aroma and release their oils.

2- Cover the chickpeas and vegetables with 2-3 cups of water depending on how thick or watery you like it and the lemon slices and bring it to a boil. Cover the pot with a lid once the water is boiling and reduce the heat and let it simmer for 25-35 minutes, or until the vegetables are cooked to desired tenderness.

3- When the tagine has been cooking for about 15 minutes, start to make the couscous according to the the instructions of the package. I usually take the amount of couscous I need and put it in a bowl and instead of covering it with water, I use ca 400 ml of stock from the tagine, to make the couscous tasty and spicy. That is the reason I use a few cups of water extra in the tagine. Place a plate on top of  the bowl and allow it to swell for about 5-10 minutes. 

4- Once the couscous s done, I usually sprinkle over 1/2 tsp of ras el hanout spice mix and extra salt, before fluffing it up with a fork.

5- Serve it by putting a few spoons of couscous in a Moroccan plate and pour the tagine over the couscous. 

Enjoy!