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Aubergine and chickpea tagine

This aubergine and chickpea tagine is an easy, healthy dish that’s perfect for midweek suppers or laid-back weekend meals. If you have some preserved lemon in your fridge, do add a couple of slices to make the dish more zingy. Serve it with rice or couscous.
Print Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Resting Time 4 hours
Total Time 1 hour
Servings: 4 people
Cuisine: African
Calories: 1234
Ingredients Method

Ingredients
  

  • 1 large aubergine
  • 4 Tbsp olive oil
  • 1 onion
  • 3 garlic cloves
  • 1 carrot
  • ½ red pepper
  • 1 tsp Ras El Hanout
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 4 tomatoes chopped
  • 200 ml passata
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 1 star anise
  • 1 bay leaf
  • Water
  • Salt and pepper
  • 1 tin chickpeas
  • 3 Tbsp Chopped parsley or coriander
  • Olive oil to cook
  • Drop of lemon juice

Method
 

  1. Finely chop the onion and garlic. Cut the aubergine into bite-sized pieces.
  2. Chop the carrot and red pepper.
  3. Heat half of the oil in a large casserole dish over low heat, then brown the aubergine pieces all over. Scatter half of the cumin seeds on them half way through frying.
  4. Transfer the aubergine to a plate, then heat the remaining oil and gently fry the onion and garlic until translucent. Add the carrot and red pepper pieces. Stir for a couple of minutes.
  5. Add the ground spices and the tomato purée. Stir for a minute, then add the chopped tomatoes and passata. Add enough water to cover the veggies well, then season with salt and pepper. Add the star anise, bay leaf and cinnamon stick. (Add about a quarter of a preserved lemon if you like.)
  6. Bring to the boil, cover with the lid and gently simmer for 15 minutes.
  7. Put back the aubergine pieces and cook for another 10 minutes.
  8. Add the chickpeas and cook for another 5 minutes.
  9. Stir in the chopped parsley and a drop of lemon juice just before serving. (Don't forget to remove the cinnamon stick, bay leaf and star anise.)