Lentil and Date Tagine

A warming tagine is the ideal mid-week meal. Easy to prepare, using lots of tasty veggies and just the right amount of spice, your family will look forward to dinner time.

Serves 6

Ingredients

For the tagine:

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 large red onions, peeled and finely sliced
• 6 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
• 2 leeks, well washed and finely sliced
• 2 carrots, peeled and finely diced
• 175g (1 cup) pitted dates, roughly chopped
• 2 large red chillies, deseeded and chopped
• 2 x 400g tins cooked green lentils, rinsed and drained
•  2 x 400g tins chopped tomatoes
• 2 tbsp ground cumin
• 1 tbsp harissa paste
• 1 tbsp ground cumin
• 2 tsp fennel seeds
• 1 tbsp agave syrup
• Sea salt and black pepper, to taste

To Serve:

• 600g (3 cups) dried cous cous
• Fresh coriander leaves, roughly chopped
• 6 tbsp toasted pine nuts
• 3 tbsp sultanas 1

Method

1. In a very large pan, heat the olive oil over a medium heat. Add the onions, garlic, leeks and chilli and sauté for a few minutes until beginning to soften. Add the spices and carrots and stir fry for a further couple of minutes.
2. Add the rest of the tagine ingredients to the same pan along with 400ml water. Bring to a simmer and leave to cook for 30 minutes.
3.  Place the couscous in a large mixing bowl with the sultanas, stock cube, pine nuts and enough boiling water to cover the couscous by 1 inch. Stir everything together, cover with cling film and set aside.
4. When the tagine has been cooking for 30 minutes, taste to check the seasoning and adjust of necessary.
5. Remove the cling film from the couscous and fluff up with a fork to separate the grains.
6. Serve immediately in warm bowls, with a generous sprinkling of fresh coriander.

Per serving (525g) Calories: 776, Carbohydrates: 136.4g, Sugars: 36.9g, Salt: 1.2g, Fat: 15.4g Saturates: 1.5g, Protein: 28.8g

Taken from November 2018 (Issue 44) Vegan Life Magazine