parsnip and chickpea tagine

Recipe from Five Ingredient Vegan by Katy Beskow (Quadrille, £15) Photography © Luke J Albert.

I’ve often skipped past tagine recipes due to the long, complicated ingredients lists; however, with a few short cuts, this tagine is simple to prepare yet still very tasty.

Fragrant parsnips and sweet red onions flavour the chickpeas, along with ras el hanout, a blend of Moroccan spices traditionally used in tagines. Ras el hanout often contains ground cumin seeds, cinnamon, ginger, coriander and rose petals – packing a flavour punch in one easy step. You’ll find this spice blend available in most supermarkets, in the dried herbs and spices aisle.

Serves 4

1 tbsp sunflower oil

2 red onions, roughly chopped

4 parsnips, peeled and quartered lengthways

1 tsp ras el hanout

400g (14oz) canned chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained and rinsed

400g (14oz) canned chopped tomatoes

generous pinch of sea salt and black pepper

Squeeze over the juice of half an unwaxed lemon and scatter with mint leaves or flat-leaf parsley for freshness, if you have them available. This is delicious served with
baba ganoush (page 189 of Five Ingredient Vegan) and flatbreads on the side.

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas mark 4.

Heat the oil in an ovenproof casserole dish, add the onions and parsnips and cook over a medium–high heat for 4–5 minutes, stirring frequently.

Sprinkle over the ras el hanout and cook for a further minute.

Remove from the heat and pour in the chickpeas and chopped tomatoes, along with 200ml (7fl oz) cold water.

Stir to coat the vegetables, then cover the casserole with a lid and cook in the oven for 30 minutes until the parsnips have softened.

Carefully remove from the oven.

Season with sea salt and black pepper to taste.