
Moroccan Spiced Vegetable Tagine
Easy sort of a traybake supper with lots of flavour and full of plant protein and fibre. I love how you can add any veggies here and a weekly veggie box will be perfect for this recipe.
Why parboil the veggies?
While the onions are roasting away, we are going to give the root veggies and cauliflower (separately) a quick simmer in boiling water, this will allow for a quicker roasting time and softer root veggies.
Why? Dense vegetables like butternut, sweet potato, potato and carrots, take a long time to cook in a thick liquid like a tomato sauce, by giving it a quick simmer in boiling water we are significantly reducing the cooking time in the tray.
A note on Spanish smoked SWEET paprika
The paprika spice is made from dried red peppers and there are many kinds of paprika depending on the type of peppers that are used.
Some variety of paprika can be HOT (spicy) so make sure you read the label before buying. Even though I love chilli, I prefer to use Spanish smoked SWEET paprika in my cooking because it’s more versatile and I can always add chilli on the side.
I love these brands:
A note on ingredients
Harissa – a spicy Middle Eastern dip made with chillies and red peppers. I always have a jar handy in my fridge and I try to source Belazu’s Rose Harissa which I get from Olive Branch Deli in Cape Town. If you don’t like harissa simply substitute with a good tomato paste or sundried tomato pesto and add a little sweet smoked paprika.
Preserved Lemons – adds a lovely ‘tang’ to dishes as you preserve the whole lemons in salt and lemon juice, you only eat the skin. I make my own but you can easily buy a jar from a good deli or supermarket, just double check that it’s NOT preserved in sugar.

Moroccan Spiced Vegetable Tagine
Ingredients
- 2 red onions finely sliced
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp harissa (see intro note)
- 2 tbsp ginger
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 tbsp Spanish sweet paprika (see intro note)
- 2 tbspn mild curry powder
- 2 cinnamon sticks or 1 tsp
- salt & pepper
- 1 small butternut diced into 5cm blocks
- 1 large sweet potato diced into 5cm blocks
- small cauliflower florets and stem diced into bitesized
- 750 ml tomato passata
- 1 x 400g tin butterbeans not drained
- 250 ml veggie stock
- 1/2 cup dried apricots
- 1/4 cup flaked almonds toasted
- 10 g coriander finely chopped
- 2 quarters preserved lemon, skin only, diced (optional)
- 1 cup Greek yogurt to serve
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200c and bring a medium saucepan with water to a boil
- In a large baking tin, add the onions, olive oil, harissa, ginger and garlic, mix well, season with salt and pepper. Roast in the oven for 15 minutes.
- While the onions are cooking, boil the butternut and sweet potatoes for 10 minutes, remove with a slotted spoon and add the cauliflower and cook for 7 minutes and drain well. This is an optional step but I would highly recommend parboiling the root veggies and cauliflower to speed up the roasting process. Set aside.
- After the onions have had their 15 minutes, add the spices and mix well. Add the butternut and sweet potato to the onions and mix well. Add the tomato passata, the tin butterbeans & the tin liquid and stock. Mix well, add the apricots and roast back in the oven for 30 minutes until the veggies are starting to soften.
- After 30 minutes add the cauliflower, red peppers and preserved lemons if using, roast for the final 10 minutes, season to perfection.
- When ready to serve add the chopped parsley and the toasted almond flakes. Serve with yogurt on the side.