Vegetable Tagine with Prunes & Couscous

Ingredients

60g (3 tbs) butter or margarine
1 x medium white onion, roughly chopped
2 x garlic cloves, crushed
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp ground cumin
300g orange sweet potato (kumara), peeled, cubed
2 x small zucchini, cut into 5mm-thick slices
1 x 300g can chickpeas, drained
1 x 425g can peeled whole tomatoes, undrained, roughly chopped
85g (1/2 cup) pitted prunes
125mls (1/2) cup chicken or vegetable stock
1 x 500g packet couscous
500ml (2 cups) boiling water

Directions

1. Heat 40g (2 tbs) of the butter or margarine in a large frying pan over medium heat and cook the onion and garlic for 2-3 minutes, or until the onion is just soft.

2. Stir in the turmeric, cumin, sweet potato and zucchini and cook, stirring frequently, for 2-3 minutes or until the vegetables are coated with spices.

3. Stir in the chickpeas, undrained tomatoes, prunes and stock. Cover and simmer over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, for 15-18 minutes or until the sweet potato is tender.

4. Meanwhile, place the couscous in a heat-resistant bowl and pour the boiling water over while stirring with a fork. Cover and stand for 5 minutes or until all liquid is absorbed. Stir with a fork to separate the grains and stir through the remaining butter.

5. Serve the couscous with the vegetable tagine.

6. Enjoy!

Gourmet Tip

Add ½ tsp ground cardamom and ground cayenne pepper to taste with the turmeric and cumin.

Caryl's Tweaks

1. If your family isn't too keen on prunes, replace them with dried apricots instead.

2. Cubed pieces of carrot and/or pumpkin (squash) are also a nice addition.

3. Also delicious served with rice instead of couscous, but would recommend brown rice instead of white. It has a nicer, consistency for this dish.