Root Vegetable Tagine

on Feb 17, 2022, Updated Jul 08, 2022

5 from 1 vote

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With a beautiful mix of Moroccan spices, this root vegetable tagine is a vegan stew filled with sweet potatoes, carrots, parsnips and turnips. It’s served with a lemony almond couscous.

Root vegetable tagine with lemon almond couscous served on a plate

During the fall and winter months, I go through a constant rotation of soups and stews. I say the more broths and veggies, the better. When I think of a stew, it has far less broth and a lot more vegetables. It’s to the point that it can be served in a bowl or even on a plate. And it always should be paired with something like rice or noodles to sop up all that goodness.

I open my spice drawer whenever I make my version of a vegetable tagine with root veggies. Grown underground, they are a humble, no-fuss family of produce that crop up in early fall and last throughout what seems like a never-ending winter. They are a great source of fiber and antioxidants.

What Is A Tagine?

The word tagine refers to both the recipe and the clay pot that it’s cooked in. Hailing from North Africa, a tagine is a tall funnel-shaped ceramic lid on top of a base. The stew simmers and steams while the condensation that forms inside drips back into the combination of vegetables, spices and broth. An ovenproof dutch oven will also work, which is what I always use.

Meats such as chicken, beef and lamb are also common in tagine recipes, but I think they are such a wonderful opportunity to stick with veggies.

But that’s not it. A tagine is fragrant with dried spices. Ras el hanout is an Arabic spice mixture found in Morocco where the blends are signature to each spice shop. This is where I take inspiration for the aromatics in this recipe.

To finish the tagine, I add chopped dried apricots for subtle sweetness and green olives for bites that are a little bit salty.

Ingredients including root vegetables, olive oil, spices, garlic, parsley, chickpeas, olives and dried apricots

Ingredients & Substitutions

This is what you need:

Spices for this tagine are a simple combination of cumin, turmeric, cinnamon, salt and pepper.
Garlic: I add fresh minced garlic when the spices go in.
Root vegetables include carrots, parsnips, sweet potatoes and turnips. They don’t have to be evenly mixed. Use your favorites or what you happen to have in your kitchen.
Onions: The recipe starts with sautéing chopped onions to create a base of flavor.
Tomatoes: The stew doesn’t turn out overly tomato-y. The recipe just calls for a can of diced tomatoes.
Vegetable broth: Go for low-sodium vegetable stock, so your stew doesn’t turn out too salty.
Chickpeas: I always use canned garbanzo beans because they are so convenient.
Olives: For green olives, I like pitted Castelvetranos from Sicily, which are meaty with sweet and buttery taste.
Dried apricots should be roughly chopped before you stir them in. You can also use golden raisins.
Lemon: Squeezing in lemon juice gives brightness to the stew. This is a nod to preserved lemons, which often accompany a tagine dish.
Olive oil: I reach for my bottle of extra virgin olive oil to sauté the onions and spices.
Parsley gives a nice herby finishing touch.
Couscous is such a quick side dish to make while the Moroccan tagine simmers in the oven. I stir parsley and chopped almonds into the cooked grains

Steps showing how to make a vegetable tagine

How To Make A Root Vegetable Tagine

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Heat the olive oil in a large pot and sauté the onions. Give them 5-7 minutes to turn soft and translucent.
Stir in the aromatics and spices including the minced garlic, cumin, turmeric, cinnamon, salt and pepper. Continue cooking for a couple minutes. The onions will become very fragrant.
Add the root vegetables, tomatoes and vegetable broth. Bring the tagine to a simmer and put the lid on the pot.
Bake the tagine in the oven until the vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes.
Put the pot on the stove over medium heat and stir in the chickpeas, olives, lemon juice and apricots. Simmer until the tagine thickens slightly.
Make the couscous while the tagine finishes simmering. Bring the water and lemon juice to a boil in a small pot. Remove from the heat and stir in the couscous. Cover and let stand for 5 minutes. Fluff the couscous with a fork. Stir in the parsley, almonds, salt and pepper.
Garnish the tagine with chopped parsley and serve with couscous.

Vegetable tagine on the stove with couscous in a pot

Serving

This tagine part of this recipe makes it an easy one-pot meal, but I definitely would go ahead and make the couscous. It’s nutty and herby with parsley and almonds. If you would rather use a boxed couscous mix, you can do that too. Don’t skip this side!

Leftovers

Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to 4 days. You can freeze the tagine up to 1 month. The vegetables will probably break up when you reheat everything, but it will still taste good.