Middle Eastern Flavours Part 2

I made this to test it as a possible dish to take to a Family Celebration coming up soon. The dish needed to be something I could easily reheat as we have to travel for an hour to get there! It is really delicious and an inexpensive dish for a family dinner. We had it one night as a vegetarian dish and the next night I added some Middle Eastern flavoured minced lamb meatballs which also worked well. I put a dollop of Greek yogurt on top as a garnish but it was so nice we added more and mixed it into the dish. It seems a lot of white pepper but it was fine - not too hot. Use Agria potatoes - they are household favourites!

Instead of a casserole dish (make sure it is one you can use on a cook top). I used my large wide deep pot (fabulous for this sort of cooking) as I did not think it would all fit in my Tagine. I am also nervous about heating oil in my Tagine to fry anything as the blurb that came with it advised not to. (The Tagine was a gift from very dear friends and a precious item in my kitchen!).

Tagine of Spiced Root Vegetables – by Kate Fraser (as heard on Nine-to-Noon 22/6/2009

Spicy Base

2 tbsp olive oil

1 medium onion – cut into large dice

2 tsp each of smoked paprika, ground cumin, ground coriander

1 tsp each of chilli powder & ground white pepper

Vegetables

2 medium sized carrots

2 medium sized parsnips

1 medium kumara

6 medium sized waxy potatoes

About 700ml vegetable stock (or water with a little salt)

2 tbsp lemon juice

Salt to taste

Garnish

Lemon zest

2 tbsp coriander leaves

Method

Heat oil in tagine base or casserole dish, add diced onions and all the spices, stir to combine

Reduce heat and cook gently until onions soften – about 6 minutes

Peel the vegetables and cut into roughly same sized chunks – about 4cm. Add to the spice mixture and stir to cook for a few minutes until the vegetables are coasted. Add stock or water and salt and bring to the boil.

Reduce heat, add lemon juice and simmer for about 40-50 minutes or until vegetables are tender. There should be enough thickened liquid to provide a sauce. Taste and add more salt and pepper if needed. 

Serve with Garnish, and rice or a grain (Quinoa or Couscous) or with roast lamb or poached chicken breasts or what-ever suits. Serve if desired with a Syrah or Reisling wine.