chickpea tagine

above: artsy photograph of chickpea tagine
My first tagine recipe! An amalgam of a few different recipes; you don't actually have to cook it in a Moroccan tagine ("tagine" really just means a stew-ish dish)...I cook this (and all my tagines, actually) in a deep saucepan with an improvised lid, and it works fine.

This might be an appropriate time to make a confession:

I know that couscous ("sksu" in Tashlheet, which delights in nothing more than reversing consonants, it seems) is Morocco's national dish; I even subtitled this blog "the quest for the perfect couscous," mentally equating (or at least approximating) an understanding of the couscous with an understanding of Morocco itself.

Problem is, I just can't get that excited about couscous. It's tasty, it's fine, I've had many incredible versions cooked by Moroccan chefs par excellence. But I'm just...not that excited about it. I know. I know. I feel like a terrible Peace Corps volunteer for saying it, but it's the truth, and as a wise man once said, the truth shall set you free. It's not that I dislike couscous...it's more like, well, eh, comme-ci, comme-ca. Anyhow, I'm adjusting my expectations (which, you know, is all part of cultural exchange and growing up and life etc. etc. etc.) and henceforth refocusing my quest to that for the perfect tagine, rather than the perfect couscous.

So, given all that, here is my favorite tagine recipe so far. Chickpeas provide the substance of the dish, along with a bunch of savory ingredients that work well together, but with cinnamon to soften the savoriness and preserved lemon to add a little kick.

Ingredients
1 cup dried chickpeas
About a quart of vegetable stock (substitute vegetable broth, but if you make your own stock it's waaay tastier)
1 onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp butter
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp argan oil (if you have it)
1 large potato, diced
2 tomatoes, diced
2 zucchinis, diced
A preserved lemon (if you have it, otherwise substitute regular lemon), quartered or maybe even eighthed
Cilantro and parsely, chopped, to taste
Pepper, ras al hanut (if you have it, otherwise substitute cumin), paprika, and cinnamon to taste
Plain yogurt
Harissa (if you wish)

Prep
Soak chickpeas overnight and drain them. Prepare vegetable stock and harissa (recipe here).

Preparation
Cover chickpeas with an inch or two of veggie stock and let simmer at least 45 minutes

Saute onion and garlic in oils and butter till onions are translucent

Add cumin/ras al hanut and pepper to taste, cinnamon in liberal amounts, and a dash of paprika

Add chickpeas, potato, tomato, and not quite enough veggie stock to cover everything; let cook, covered, 30 minutes

Add zucchini, cilantro and parsley, and bits of lemon; adjust seasonings to taste; cook covered for (at least) 20 minutes

Garnish with a bit of fresh cilantro and a sprinkle of pepper; serve with harissa and plain yogurt

Tips
I kind of play the final timing by ear (a lot depends on how hot my temperamental gas burners are feeling). Basically I just try to make sure there's a liberal amount of broth for everything to stew in, but not so much that everything is drowning soupily. There should always be a little liquid at the bottom (which makes the leftovers extra tasty). I use the chickpeas as the real litmus test of whether the dish is done - if they taste cooked and savory, I'm sold.