Vegetable Tagine

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It has been extremely chilly the past two weeks. I am talking about at least -30’C with windchill. Brrrrr!!!! In an effort to warm the family up, my mom made this amazing Moroccan tagine last night for dinner. I had to share! The cinnamon, raisins, molasses and apricots gave the tagine a nice subtle sweetness while the cumin, coriander, garlic and ginger gave a hint of savory. The sweet potatoes were fantastic, as they absorbed all the delicious flavours of the tagine and became perfectly tender. The toasted almonds gave the tagine a nice crunch. And the chickpeas boosted the protein content of the dish for the vegetarians in the crowd (i.e. me). I have to say…this dish certainly warmed everyone up! It was a perfect meal for a very chilly evening. Especially since mom then served a warm apple crisp to finish off the evening. Mmmmm!
Ingredients
  • 3 tablespoons of olive oil
  • 2 cups of sweet potato; peeled and diced into 1-inch pieces
  • 1 cup of onion; chopped
  • 1 and 1/2 cups of carrots; peeled and chopped
  • 3 cloves of garlic; minced (or 1 to 1 and 1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder)
  • 2 tablespoons of ginger; finely grated ( or 1/2 teaspoon of ground ginger)
  • 1 tablespoon of ground cumin
  • 1 tablespoon of ground coriander
  • 1 teaspoon of cinnamon
  • 3 cups of vegetable stock (or water)
  • 3 tablespoons of fancy molasses
  • 1 and 1/2 cups of cauliflower florets
  • 1-14 ounce can of chickpeas; drained and rinsed
  • 3/4 cup of raisins
  • 1/2 cup of chopped dried apricots
  • salt and pepper
  • 1/2 cup of sliced almonds; slightly toasted
  • cooked couscous or rice


Method

1. Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the sweet potato, onion and carrots. Saute until the onions are translucent (about 5 minutes). 

2. Add the garlic, ginger, cumin, coriander and cinnamon and saute another 2 minutes.

3. Add stock (or water) and molasses and bring to a simmer.

4. Add cauliflower, chickpeas, raisins and apricots.

5. Season with salt and pepper. Bring back to a simmer. Simmer the tagine until the vegetables are tender and most of the liquid has been absorbed (but tagine is still moist). [about 20 minutes]

6. Adjust the seasoning to taste. Garnish with almonds. Serve the tagine by itself as a stew or on cooked couscous or rice.

Source: In the Kitchen with Anna Olson cookbook (2008)

Jam Walnut Shortbread Thumbprints

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In a previous post, I mentioned that my favourite holiday cookie is the raspberry jam thumbprint. I had intended on posting the recipe prior to Christmas. However, as I have been in the midst of packing to move, I lost my copy of the recipe I normally use (the best one I’ve found). It was worrisome! Thankfully, today I located said recipe and am finally able to post it for you. Christmas may have passed (and I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas with family & friends), but this cookie could be made at any time of the year with different jams, lemon curd or even peanut butter or hazelnut spread. Although, I have to say, from personal experience, they are incredibly delicious with raspberry jam.

Ingredients

  • 2/3 cup of unsalted butter
  • 1/4 cup of packed brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar
  • 2 egg yolks (save the whites for the coating)
  • 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla
  • 1 and 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon of salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon of baking powder 

  • 2 egg whites
  • 1 tablespoon of water
  • 1 and 1/4 cups of finely chopped toasted walnuts
  • fresh raspberry jam (I used about one teaspoon per cookie, as the jam was extremely delicious)


Method

1. In a large bowl, beat together the butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar until fluffy. Beat in egg yolks and vanilla.

2. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, salt and baking powder. Stir butter mixture into the flour mixture.

3. Roll by scant 1 tablespoons into balls. Place balls on a cookie sheet on parchment paper.

4. For the coating, whisk the egg whites with water until frothy. Place the walnuts in a dish. Using a fork, dip each ball into the egg white mixture and then in the nut mixture until well coated. Place ball back on the cookie sheet. Note: place the cookies 1 inch apart.

5. With your thumb or the end of a wooden spoon, make an indentation on the top of each ball.

6. Bake at 350’F for 12 to 14 minutes; or until the edges are golden. Once you remove the cookies from the oven, use the end of a wooden spoon to re-define the indentations on each cookie.

7. Once the cookies have cooled slightly, put 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of jam into the centre of each cookie.

Source: Canadian Living Holiday Magazine 2010

Happy New Year!!! Wishing you all the very best in 2011 :)


Do you have any ideas of what type of recipes you’d like to see on The Fig Tree in 2011? Suggestions welcome! Please comment. I’d love to hear from you! Thanks for reading :)

Sugared Cranberries

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I love cranberries. I love their deep red colour. I love their sour bite. I love them in pies, cakes, sauces etc. I love all the more when they’ve been tossed with a little bit of extra-fine sugar & cinnamon, so that they look as though they’ve been iced/frosted. These cranberries (pictured above) were soaked in a simple syrup with cinnamon over night then drained and tossed with extra fine granulated sugar to give them the frosted look. After I had sugared them, I laid them flat on parchment paper to dry. They turned out great! Not only were they pretty, they tasted fantastic. They were sweet with hints of cinnamon…yet still a little sour. The contrast was nice. I put out a bowl of these to be eaten like candy at a recent Christmas party. However, I ate way too many and gave myself a cranberry-induced stomach ache. :) I also used some of the sugared cranberries to decorate the Cranberry Almond Cake I had made (recipe to follow).

Source: Whole Foods website