A nod to the rich flavors of North African tagines, hearty vegetables laced with warm spices get cooked into a thick, fragrant stew. Ready in minutes, buttery couscous with toasted almonds add a layer of comfort and satisfaction.
| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 1 hr 5 min |
| Prep: | 30 min |
| Inactive: | 5 min |
| Cook: | 30 min |
| Yield: | 4 to 6 servings |
Ingredients
- 3 cloves garlic, smashed
- 2 small turnips, peeled and quartered
- 1 medium yellow onion, quartered lengthwise, root end intact
- 1 large carrot, peeled and cut into 2-inch chunks
- 1/2 fennel bulb, thickly sliced lengthwise, root end intact
- 1/3 cup golden raisins
- 1 tablespoon peeled, chopped, fresh ginger
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons each ground cumin, paprika, and sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground turmeric
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 cinnamon stick, snapped in half
- 2 cups water
- 1 pound butternut squash
- 1 small zucchini, cut into 2-inch rounds
- 1 (15 1/2-ounce) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
- 4 sprigs fresh flat-leaf parsley, tied together with kitchen string
- 1 cup canned whole peeled tomatoes, with their juices
- 2 cups cold water
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 1/2 cups uncooked couscous
- 1/2 cup sliced almonds, toasted
- Harissa (Tunisian hot sauce)
Instructions
- For the stew: Put the garlic, turnips, onion, carrot, fennel, raisins, ginger, salt, cumin, paprika, sugar, turmeric, cloves, and cinnamon in a large soup pot with a tight-fitting lid. Add 2 cups water and bring to a boil over high heat; cover, reduce the heat, and simmer until the vegetables are somewhat soft, about 10 minutes. Halve and seed the butternut squash and cut it into wedges. Tie parsley sprigs together with kitchen string. Add squash, zucchini, chickpeas, and parsley sprigs to the pot. Using your fingers and working over the pot, tear the tomatoes into big pieces and add them to the pot with their juices. Simmer the stew, covered, until it is slightly thick and fragrant, and the vegetables are fork tender but not mushy, about 15 minutes. (You can test the vegetables a bit sooner, remove them as soon as they are tender, and return them to the pot when you are ready to serve. All the vegetables should be tender enough to cut with the side of a fork, but still hold their shapes.) Remove cinnamon sticks.
- For the couscous: Bring water to a boil with the butter and salt in a small saucepan. Stir in the couscous, pull the saucepan off the heat, cover, and set aside until the water has been absorbed and the couscous is plump, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and fluff with a fork.
- To serve, spread the couscous over a large serving platter and, using a slotted spoon, mound the vegetables in the center. Pour some of the broth over the vegetables and sprinkle with the almonds. Pass the remaining broth and the harissa, if desired, at the table.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 6 servings |
| Calories | 435 |
| Total Fat | 9 g |
| Saturated Fat | 2 g |
| Carbohydrates | 78 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 13 g |
| Sugar | 16 g |
| Protein | 15 g |
| Cholesterol | 5 mg |
| Sodium | 1175 mg |
Reviews
Could this actually be made in a Tagine? Any modifications needed if so? Thanks.
Our daughter and her husband are vegetarians and this recipe was a total success.
So so yummy!!
We loved this! Next time I might add some potato too!
Made this while winter storm brewing outside. the smell of those spices and veggies cooking together was surreal. And the taste was unbelievable. This will go in my go to recipes and will be shared with friends.
This is excellent! Reminds me of the Tangine my husband and I had at a Morrocan/Tunisian Restaurant in Paris. I’ve made it twice now and loved it both times. Add in the recipe I found for Harassa and you’re in business. We left out the golden raisins, but I suspect they would add a little sweetness that wouldn’t go poorly. Can’t go wrong! I couldn’t think of a tasty way to eat a turnip before we had this, now I have at least one. 😀
De-licious!! Just loved the vegetable and spice combination and so did both my dinner guests who went back for seconds.
I omitted the fennel since it is not one of my favorite ingredients and other reviewers said it overpowered the recipe. I think it is tasty, but way too sweet. I followed the recipe exactly, (except for the fennel, and the raisins, butternut squash and suger make for a very sweet flavor profile. I will make this again, but leave out the 2tsp. of added sugar.I loved the other spices. Served it over brown rice since I had it in the cabinet. Very satisfying.
This is the first time I was not impressed with the Food Networks recipe, quite a surprise. The ingredient list looked suspect, but I thought, what the heck, it could be good. I should have stuck to my instinct. The spice combination was real flavorful, with an Indian flare. The vegetable combination was not so great. All great vegetables in different dishes, but fennel and squash combined with these very spicy and robust flavors from the spice mixture seemed to compete or take away from the fennel. I also used a side of quinoa and a side of brown rice, just to make it a bit healthier than the couscous. I will have to pass on this one.
Let just say that if you omitted the fennel, ginger and only did 1 teaspoon of cumin the recipe would have been better. The harissa really does help the flavor and adds a nice pop to the dish. I had the first half without it and I almost want to stop eating it. After adding the sauce it got marginally better, but as mention before the fennel and ginger really does not work with the recipe. My girlfiend and I are honestly debating tossing the leftovers out since we both were very unimpressed with this.