Creamy Slow-Cooker Vegetable and Chickpea Tagine with Couscous
This tagine is hearty, flavorful, and easy to make. It's perfect for a weeknight meal, and it's also great for a crowd. The vegetables are cooked until tender and flavorful, and the chickpeas add a boost of protein. The tagine is served over couscous, which soaks up all the delicious juices.
Tagine is a North African stew that is typically cooked in a clay pot. It is usually made with meat, vegetables, and spices. This recipe for a vegetable and chickpea tagine is a vegetarian twist on the classic dish. It is made with a variety of vegetables, including zucchini, squash, eggplant, and chickpeas. The tagine is cooked in a slow cooker, which allows the flavors to develop and the vegetables to become tender. The tagine is served over couscous, which is a traditional Moroccan side dish. I first had tagine when I was traveling in Morocco. I was immediately hooked on the flavorful and hearty dish. When I got back home, I started experimenting with different recipes for tagine. I wanted to create a vegetarian version of the dish that was just as flavorful and satisfying as the traditional meat-based version. After a few tries, I came up with this recipe. It is now one of my favorite vegetarian dishes to make.
Prep time: 15 | Cook time: 360 | Serves: 4
Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 medium zucchini, chopped
1 medium yellow squash, chopped
1 medium eggplant, chopped
1 (15 ounce) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
Instructions
Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
Add onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.
Add garlic and cook for 1 minute more.
Transfer onion and garlic to a slow cooker.
Add zucchini, squash, eggplant, chickpeas, and tomatoes to the slow cooker.
Cook on low for 6-8 hours, or on high for 3-4 hours.
Serve over couscous.
Why It Works
The slow cooker allows the flavors to develop and the vegetables to become tender.
The variety of vegetables adds flavor and texture to the tagine.
The chickpeas add protein and make the tagine more filling.
The couscous soaks up all the delicious juices from the tagine.