Slow-Cooked Carrot and Chickpea Tagine

Ingredients

• 700 g carrots, peeled and cut into 4cm chunks on the diagonal
• 800 g tinned chickpeas, drained and rinsed (2 x 400g tins)
• 400 g tinned chopped tomatoes
• 2 onion, finely diced
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed
• 3 cm fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated
• 1 preserved lemon, flesh discarded, rind finely choppedor 2 tbsp lemon juice plus 1 tsp fine salt, added at the end
• 250 ml vegetable stock
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 2 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp ground turmeric
• ½ tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp fine salt
• 20 g fresh coriander, roughly chopped (optional)
• 30 g flaked almonds, toasted (optional)

Contains: nuts.

Method

1. Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy-based casserole or wide saucepan over a medium heat. Add the diced onions and cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes until soft and beginning to turn golden.About 10 min
2. Add the crushed garlic and grated ginger and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the ground cumin, coriander, turmeric, cinnamon and smoked paprika. Stir for 1 minute until the spices are fragrant.About 3 min
3. Add the carrot chunks to the pot and stir to coat them well in the spiced onion mixture. Cook for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.About 3 min
4. Pour in the tinned tomatoes and vegetable stock. Add the chopped preserved lemon rind and salt. Stir well, bring to a gentle simmer, then reduce the heat to low, cover with a lid and cook for 20 minutes.About 22 min
5. Remove the lid and add the drained chickpeas. Stir, then continue to cook uncovered for a further 15 minutes until the sauce has thickened and the carrots are completely tender when pierced with a knife.About 15 min
6. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Scatter with fresh coriander and toasted flaked almonds if using, and serve with couscous or flatbreads.