Nourishing Balance Blog

Chick Pea and Date Tagine

This North African Tagine is one of my favorite recipes! You can use dried apricots, or golden raising if you don't have dates. Another idea is topping the dish with some sliced, toasted almonds for a little crunch!

Vegetarian Times, December 2011: http://www.vegetariantimes.com/recipe/chickpea-and-date-tagine/

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Yield: Serves 8
 
Ingredients:

• 1 Tbs. olive oil
• 1 large onion, diced (2 cups)
• 4 cloves garlic, minced (4 tsp.)
• 1 tsp. ground cumin
• 1 tsp. ground coriander
• 1 tsp. ground ginger
• ½ tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1 15-oz. can crushed tomatoes
• 3 cups cooked chickpeas or 2 15-oz. cans chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• 1 cup whole-wheat couscous
• 1 cup pitted dates, halved
• ¼ cup lemon juice
• ½ cup chopped cilantro
  
• 1 ¾ cup water, filtered
  

Directions:
1. Heat oil in saucepan over medium heat. Add onion, and cook 10 minutes, or until starting to brown, stirring often. Stir in garlic, cumin, coriander, ginger, and cinnamon, and sauté 30 seconds. Add tomatoes, chickpeas, and 1/4 cup water; simmer 10 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, toast couscous in small saucepan over medium heat 5 minutes, or until fragrant. Add 1 ¾ cups water, and bring to a boil. Remove from heat, cover, and let stand 5 minutes.
3. Stir dates and lemon juice into tagine, and season with salt and pepper, if desired. Serve over couscous, sprinkled with cilantro.