Roasted Vegetable Tagine with Apricot Chutney and Chermoula

Roasted Vegetable Tagine with Apricot Chutney and Chermoula

Diet trends come and go, but having a diet rich in vegetables has always been recognized for its ability to promote health. Getting a variety of vegetables in your diet each day should be a priority for everyone.

While veggies are great boiled, steamed or raw, my favorite way to eat veggies is roasted. Roasting is a wonderful technique for bringing out vegetables’ natural sweetness and deep flavor.

This recipe involves two sauces that add dramatic flavor to the veggies. They are easy to make and definitely worth the time investment. Each recipe makes a large quantity that can be frozen in portions for future use to make quick gourmet quality dinners with minimal time and effort.

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Roasted Vegetable Tagine with Apricot Chutney and Chermoula

A tagine is a North African stew that is named after the clay pot in which it is typically prepared. The chutney and chermoula in this tagine add dramatic sweet, tart and spicy flavor to the caramelized vegetables.

Author: Erica Leazenby, MD; Adapted from Late Harvest Kitchen
Serves: 6
Time: 45 minutes

 Ingredients:

• 6 cups prepared brown rice, quinoa or couscous

• 9-12 cups of assorted raw vegetables,* chopped in large bite size pieces

• Apricot Chutney 

• Chermoula

• Optional: Feta, Northern or garbanzo beans, chicken or lamb**

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

2. Toss each veggie with a small amount of olive oil and season generously with salt and pepper. Arrange the veggies in a single layer on one or two large sheet pans. Keep the veggies in individual groups rather than mixed. This will allow you to easily remove veggies that finish roasting before others. 

3. Roast the veggies for 25-40 minutes or until the veggies are fork tender and slightly charred. Flip veggies once while roasting. 

4. While the veggies are roasting make the chutney and chermoula.

5.  To serve, place the roasted veggies on a bed of rice. Drizzle with 1-2 tablespoons of chermoula and a spoonful of chutney. Enjoy. 

* Use your favorite veggies. Broccoli and cauliflower florets, broccolini, carrots, parsnips, pearl onions, green beans and button mushrooms all work well. Plan on 1.5-2 cups of raw veggies per person if serving the dish as a main course. 

** Adding Northern beans, garbanzo beans, lamb or chicken will make this a complete meal. 

Check out these addition tips for perfect roasted veggies.

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Apricot Chutney

Author: Erica Leazenby, MD; Adapted from Late Harvest Kitchen
Makes 3 cups
Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2 cups dried apricots (about 6 ounces)

• ½ red onion

• 2 medium garlic cloves

• 1 packed cup cilantro, leaves and tender stems (about ½ bunch)

• ½ cup coconut or brown sugar

• 1 ½ cup red wine vinegar

• ½ teaspoon salt

• Fresh ground pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Place the apricots in a food processor and pulse until the fruit is small pieces. 

2. Add the onion, garlic and cilantro to the processor with the dried fruit. Run the machine until all ingredients are finely chopped. 

3. Place the fruit and onion mixture in a sauce pan with the sugar and vinegar. Bring the mixture to a simmer and cook for about 10 minutes until the sugar is dissolved and the onions are soft. Season with salt and pepper.

Notes:

• This mixture keeps for months in the freezer. Portion the mixture in ½ cup servings for easy use in the future. Gently warm before serving.

• It your apricots are particularly tart add an additional tablespoon of sugar. 

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Chermoula

Chermoula is a marinade or relish commonly served in North African cooking. It traditionally includes herbs and many spices to flavor fish, seafood, meats and veggies. 

Author: Erica Leazenby, MD; Adapted from Late Harvest Kitchen
Makes 2 cups
Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

• ½ teaspoon ginger powder

• ½ teaspoon chili powder

• ½ teaspoon cumin

• ½ teaspoon coriander

• ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper

• ¼ teaspoon nutmeg

• 1 squirt sriracha

• 1-1¼ cup neutral olive oil

• 1 large shallot 

• 2 medium cloves garlic

• 2 packed cups parsley, leaves and tender stems (about 1 bunch)

• 1 packed cup cilantro, leaves and tender stems (about ½ bunch)

• 2 Tablespoon sugar or honey

• 1 teaspoon turmeric

• 1 teaspoon paprika

Directions:

1. Place all the ingredients in a food processor with the exception of the olive oil. Run the machine until the mixture is finely chopped. 

2. While the machine is running, slowly add the olive oil until the mixture is the consistency of a sauce that can be drizzled on the veggies. 

3. Adjust seasoning and spices to taste. 

Note:

•  This mixture keeps well in the freezer. Portion the mixture in ¼- ½ cup servings for easy use in the future. Bring to room temperature before serving. 

How to Roast Veggies like a Pro

How to Roast Veggies like a Pro

Perfect Roasted Vegetables

Roasting is a wonderful technique for bringing out vegetables’ natural sweetness and deep flavor. Use some of the tips below to master veggies that are tender on the inside and crisp on the outside. Cook in bulk – big batches of veggies are a great base to make frittatas, quick lunches, simple salads and grain bowls throughout the week. 

Tip 1: Choose a pan. When choosing a pan for roasting veggies, go for a heavy duty uncoated aluminized steel or natural aluminum rimmed baking sheet. The rim prevents vegetables from sliding off the edge yet is low enough to allow heat to circulate around the vegetables. The standard size for a half sheet-pan is 13"x18". I recommend using the largest sheet pan your oven will accommodate.

 Tip 2: Cut veggies uniformly. Make sure that all the veggies are all cut to approximately the same size. This will ensure that they roast evenly and be finished at the same time. If you are roasting different kinds of vegetables on the same pan, make sure they have similar cooking times and oven temperatures. Check out this complete guide to roasting times for different vegetables. Many veggies roast well at 425-450 degrees.

Tip 3: Use about two tablespoons of oil per sheet. Lightly coat the veggies with oil to help keep the interior of the veggies moist. Too much oil can cause soggy veggies.  A good rule of thumb is about 2 tablespoons of oil per baking sheet.

Tip 4: Arrange the veggies in a single layer. Crowded veggies will steam rather than get crisp and caramelized. Spread the veggies evenly across the baking sheet. 

Tip 5: Season with salt and pepper prior to roasting. Adding salt before roasting is a key step and can really make a difference in the final flavor. It is hard to give an exact measurement since salting is a matter of personal preference and can vary from vegetable to vegetable. A general rule of thumb is to use around 1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon of salt per baking sheet and a few grinds of black pepper. Taste the vegetables when they have finished cooking and add more seasoning if needed.

Tip 6: Center your pans. If using only one sheet pan, the center of your oven is usually the best place to put it. When using multiple pans, always try to place them side by side if the oven allows. If you have to roast veggies on two different racks, make sure you put the top rack in the upper third of the oven and the lower rack in the bottom third of the oven. This will allow the heat and air to circulate better to help get the vegetables tender and caramelized. If the baking sheets are only an inch or two apart, the bottom vegetables will steam.

Tip 7: Rotate halfway through. Another tip when using multiple pans is to rotate the pans halfway through to ensure that all veggies are getting equal exposure to the heat and have an equal chance at getting crispy and caramelized. 

Tip 8: Consider convection. If you are using multiple pans, another option is to bake on convection, a setting where the heat is circulated by a fan. This setting can produce more even heat. This can be very helpful when you are roasting multiple vegetables at once. Beware, this setting is also more drying and cooks more quickly. A good rule of thumb is to reduce the oven temperature by 25°F when using a convection setting.

Tip 9: Add flavor. Fresh herbs, such as rosemary or thyme can be a wonderful addition to the pan for a little extra flavor. Don’t forget to taste the vegetables before serving. You can always finish them with a sprinkle of flaky sea salt and more freshly ground black pepper.

Tip 10: Store the veggies in the refrigerator. Roasted vegetables can be stored in the fridge for 3 to 4 days. Roasted veggies can be frozen however, they will lose their crispy texture. 

(Adapted from Kitchen Matters: More than 100 Recipes and Tips to Transform the Way You Cook and Eat--Wholesome, Nourishing, Unforgettable by Pamela Salzman)