Chickpea and Yam Tagine with Dates and Olives

Chickpea and Yam Tagine

2 cups cooked chickpeas

2 cups yams, peeled, cut into ½ inch dice

2 cups chopped canned tomatoes with juice

1 cup diced onion

2 cloves minced garlic

½ cup sliced green olives

2-3 cups vegetable stock or water

1 tablespoon coriander seeds

1 tablespoon cumin seeds

1 tsp ground cinnamon

½ tsp red pepper flakes

- grind all spices together and save

1 cup diced dates

minced parsley, cilantro and/or mint

Sweat onion for several minutes, until it is translucent (for added depth, you can cook the onions for 15-20 minutes so they caramelize, but I like mine lighter for this recipe)

Add spices and allow them to ‘toast’ until they are really fragrant (about a minute or 2, careful that they don’t burn)

Add garlic and tomatoes and cook for 4-5 minutes so they render some of their liquid

Add yams and enough vegetable stock or water to cover and simmer until potatoes are soft (about 15-20 minutes)

When vegetables are cooked , add chickpeas and olives and heat through.

Stir dates in just a couple minutes before you are ready to serve so they heat up and soften a little in the juices

Serve with cous cous or rice (basmati goes great with this dish) and garnish with and parsley, cilantro and/or mint

This dish can be made for a carnivore by stirring in grilled chicken at the end (dark or white meat – your choice) – plan on about ¼ pound of chicken per person. Toss with some of the spices and let the chicken sit for half an hour (or overnight for a really strong flavor) and just grill the chicken until done. The chicken can be cut into small pieces and stirred into the stew or can be also be served on top, or on a different plate so the tagine stays vegetarian.

Variations:

· this is a really basic stew, but once you’ve done the technique, it can be modified to make many different stews

· add different spices – turmeric, different hot peppers, more garlic, garam masala, even a couple threads of saffron would do well here

· goes well over simple basmati rice or cous cous, but you could zhuzh the cous cous by adding some curry powder and/or peas and mint or make the rice a pilaf

· sliced toasted almonds sprinkled on top, or another nut – pistachios would go great

· Substitute diced apricots for the dates (or use them both)

· Preserved lemon is a classic flavor in this style of cooking but I omitted it here since the salad is so citrusy

· As with most stews, the flavors develop if you cook this a couple days ahead of time and reheat when you want it (add the fresh herbs right before serving)

· Play with it and make it yours!

Here is a possible plating, garnished with sliced almonds: