From No More Secrets – Cow Bay Café by Adrienne Johnston
Meatless Mondays are likely the quickest, easiest way to reduce your carbon footprint, save resources and protect your health – all in one go. All you gotta do is forego your steak and potatoes one night a week. Easy as a hat trick, right?
Get started with this exotic Moroccan dish to experiment with proteins that come from plants instead of animals – chickpeas and quinoa being the top protein contributors.
So get on the Meatless Monday train and add a few plant based proteins to your game! You better start stocking up on beans, legumes, nuts and seeds…
Serves 4
Ingredients
3 Tbsps coconut oil
½ cup chopped onion
½ Tbsp grated ginger
½ tsp finely chopped garlic
¼ tsp crushed red chilies
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
2 cups carrots (chopped into ½ inch coins)
½ cup large, pitted green olives
2 cups zucchini (chopped into ½ inch coins)
1 cup artichoke hearts
½ sweet red pepper (seeded and chopped into 1 inch pieces)
½ cup dried apricots
4 cups of chickpeas (save the liquid!)
4 preserved lemons, cut into wedges
pinch saffron (if you have it)
2 cups water
Cous Cous/Quinoa:
2 cups cous cous (or quinoa)
2 cups boiling water
salt
¼ cup finely chopped onion
2 jalapenos, seeded & finely diced
¼ cup finely diced sweet red pepper
olive oil
¼ cup currants
Method
1. Heat a medium dutch oven over medium heat and add the oil and then the onion. Saute the onion until it is almost transparent. Add the ginger and garlic and cook until aromatic.
2. Add the chiles, cumin and coriander. Stir continuously to keep veggies from sticking to the pan.
3. Cook for a few minutes and then add the carrots and olives. Cook for a few minutes more, and then add all the other vegetables and the apricots.
4. Add the chickpeas and their liquid, the lemon, and the saffron. Cook for awhile longer while you prepare the cous cous (or quinoa).
5. In a medium pot, sauté the onion, jalapenos and red pepper. Add the cous cous/ quinoa and sauté for a few minutes, stirring constantly. Sprinkle the salt, add the currants and then add the boiling water. Stir to combine everything and cover with a lid.
6. If making cous cous – let the pot sit, covered and off the heat for another 10 minutes. If making quinoa, continue to cook, with the lid on until water is absorbed and grains are easily fluffed with a fork.
7. Ladle the tagine over the cous cous and serve!
Score.
