Winter Root Vegetable Tagine Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 red onions, thickly sliced
• 2 large garlic cloves, crushed
• 2 tbsp tomato purée
• 2 tbsp harissa paste
• 2 carrots, cut into thick batons
• 3½ oz (100 g) potatoes, cut into 3-cm/1¼-inch chunks
• 7 oz (200 g) sweet potatoes, cut into 3-cm/1¼-inch chunks
• 7 oz (200 g) swede, cut into 15 mm/⅝ inch thick rounds, then quartered
• 1 pint (600 ml) reduced-salt vegetable stock
• 5½ oz (150 g) cooked butter beans or cannellini beans
• 10½ oz (300 g) canned chopped tomatoes
• pinch of salt (optional)
• 7 oz (200 g) wholewheat couscous
• large handful of fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
• pepper

1. Heat the oil in a flameproof casserole, add the onions and cook over a medium–low heat for 5 minutes, or until soft and transparent. Add the garlic, tomato purée and harissa paste and cook, stirring, for 1 minute.
2. Add the carrots, potatoes, sweet potatoes and swede. Pour in the stock, add pepper to taste and bring to a simmer. Cover and cook for 30 minutes, or until the vegetables are almost soft, stirring once halfway through.
3. Stir in the beans and tomatoes and cook for a further 15 minutes. Press some of the beans into the side of the casserole dish to break them up and thicken the sauce. Check the seasoning, adding more pepper to taste and a pinch of salt, if using.
4. Meanwhile, prepare the couscous according to the packet instructions.
5. Scatter the parsley over the tagine and serve immediately with the couscous.