WONDERFUL VEG TAGINE

Saffron, preserved lemon, apricots, fluffy couscous and toasted almonds.

I’m always eager to cook this dish; the flavour is just extraordinary

Serves 6 Total time 1 hour

1 pinch of saffron 4 cloves of garlic 4cm piece of ginger Olive oil 1tsp ground cumin ½tsp ground cinnamon 1tsp ras el hanout 1tbsp sun-dried tomato paste 2.5kg mixed veg, such as aubergines, courgettes, carrots, cherry tomatoes, red onions, butternut squash, mixed-colour peppers 1 x 400g tin of chickpeas 100g dried apricots 1 preserved lemon 300g couscous ½ a bunch of mixed fresh herbs, such

as dill, mint, flat-leaf parsley (15g)  20g flaked almonds

1 Put the saffron into a jug, cover with 500ml of boiling water and leave to infuse. Meanwhile, peel and finely slice the garlic and ginger, then place in a large casserole pan over a medium heat with 2 tablespoons of oil, the cumin, cinnamon and ras el hanout. Add the tomato paste; fry for a few minutes, stirring regularly, then pour over the saffron water.

2 Trim and prep the veg, as necessary, then chop into large chunks, adding to the pan as you go. Tip in chickpeas (juices and all), roughly chop and add the apricots and preserved lemon, discarding any pips, then season with sea salt and black pepper. Bring to the boil, cover, reduce the

heat to low, and simmer for 45 minutes, or until tender, stirring occasionally.

3 When the veg are almost tender, just cover the couscous with boiling water, season with salt and pepper and pop a plate on top. Leave for 10 minutes, then fluff and fork up. Pick the herb leaves and toast the almonds. Serve the tagine and couscous sprinkled with the almonds and herbs. Delicious served with harissa-rippled yoghurt.

TIP In the summer, I grow most of these vegetables, and I’m always eager to pick, wash and race to cook this dish – the flavour is just extraordinary with tender, delicate veg.

PER SERVING 438cals, 16.3g protein, 9.6g fat (1.4g saturates), 77.6g carbs (27.7g total sugars), 1g salt, 15.8g fibre