Grilled Tagine with Stewed Black Chickpeas and Chermoula

Serves 4, but can be easily increased.

Serve with a Viognier (I used Maryhill Viognier), Sauvignon Blanc, or Off-Dry Riesling

NB: Only when I typed this out in full did I notice how many components there are to this dish!  It is worth it though, honest! But definitely more of a weekend meal.  Any or all of the steps (besides the grilling) can be prepared a day or two ahead - so make it easy on yourself.  While you’re at it I encourage you to make a batch and use leftovers for a “bonus” meal without the prep.  I’ve included one at the end that I made with my leftovers, a Moroccan-Inspired Frittata. Or, if you don't want to dive all the way in right off the bat, make just the chickpeas and use them to top a salad, or add them to quinoa; use the chermoula to spice up some tacos; or make a one-pot stew with the tagine spice mix.  Experiment!

Grilled Tagine-esque Vegetables

Tagine Spice Mix

Grind the following spices* (an old, clean coffee grinder dedicated to spices work great, or use a mortar & pestle):

·         1/2 t green cardamom seeds, about 10 pods worth

·         1/2 t cloves, about 15

·         1/2 t allspice, about 24 medium berries

·         1 t cinnamon, about ¼ of a stick (I use Mexican cinnamon which is sweeter and way easier to break than “traditional” cinnamon; find it in the Hispanic food aisle)

·         2 t red pepper flakes or other medium heat dried chilies (for a more toned down heat, use 1 T)

·         3 t coriander seeds

Grind to a powder and then add:

·         1 t turmeric

·         1.5 T sweet/mild paprika (I use Hungarian)

Whirl or stir to combine.  Makes about ¼ cup.  Use in a tagine or make into a marinade as below.  (While you have the grinder out, you may as well process ½ t cumin for the chickpeas and set aside).

*You can substitute all ground spices for this, but you’ll likely not get the complexity of flavor, especially if you’ve had that ground allspice kicking around since the 90s (80s??).  Whole spices preserve their flavor and aroma better, and are cheap and easy to buy from the bulk section in small quantities – you’ll notice the difference.

Marinade

Transfer the spices to a 1 cup liquid measuring cup (such as Pyrex, or anything with some headspace above the 1 cup mark – you can easily sub for a 2 cup if that’s what you’ve got handy/clean or are a messy stirrer).

With a mortar and pestle or a mini food processor make a paste with:

·         2 cloves garlic

·         1 small handful cilantro, large stems removed (about ¼ c loosely packed)

·         A healthy pinch of coarse salt

Then work in, one at a time if using the mortar, all at once for the processor:

·         1 T extra-virgin olive oil (evoo)

·         1 T agave nectar

·         Zest and juice of one fat lemon

When combined, add the paste to the mixing cup with the spice mixture.  Stir in:

·         2 T evoo, until combined, then add

·         Water to make 1 cup

Let rest to “get to know itself”, as JJ would say, while you deal with the veggies.

Veggies

Choose a selection of seasonal vegetables; clean, trim ends and parboil as necessary, such as:

• 2 cups small carrots, parboiled whole (cut large carrots into 2 inch long pieces at the top and 3 inch pieces where they narrow to compensate for uneven thickness)
• 2 sweet potatoes or 1 small winter squash, peeled, diced and parboiled
• 8 oz crimini mushrooms, leave whole if small or medium, halve if large (or substitute portabello and leave whole to grill then slice to serve)
• ½ a cauliflower, divided into about 2” florets with stem attached
• 1 bell pepper, cut into large pieces (about 2”x2”)
• 4 small zucchini, halved

Put the veggies in a large, non-reactive container (i.e. glass or ceramic) or a zip-top bag and pour the marinade mixture over them.  Mix/rub/squish until all veggies are coated.  Cover/zip & let marinate in the fridge, turning often, for a minimum of 4 hours.  I haven’t tried leaving them overnight, but that could be especially good!

Stewed Black Chickpeas

Soak overnight:

• 1 cup dried black chickpeas (you could substitute any of the following
•  Regular chickpeas (soak, follow directions as per black chickpeas), or
• French lentils (which do not need soaking, follow cooking directions on the package), or
•  Canned chickpeas (don’t soak, don’t cook, add where it says “add chickpeas” below and be careful not to overcook)  
• In 3 cups water

Drain, and 2 fresh cups of water, then turn down and simmer for 30 minr, or until tender but not mushy.  Alternatively bring to a boil 1 cup dried, unsoaked chickpeas in 3 cups of water, then reduce and simmer for 60 – 75 minutes or until tender.  Drain.

Cut in half lengthwise (top to bottom)

• 1 sweet onion
• Dice half and set aside.  Thinly slice the other half crosswise (concentric ‘c’ shapes).

In a heavy frying pan over medium-high heat, add:

•  A drizzle of evoo, swirling the pan to coat the bottom (1-1.5 t);
•  when hot add thinly sliced sweet onion from above, stirring to coat
• Heavy pinch sea salt

Keep stirring as the onion starts to brown.  Add more evoo if the onion isn’t evenly coated and is sticking at the beginning.  Once some golden color is happening and the bottom starts to dry, add

• A splash of veggie stock, stirring to get the yummy brown bits off the bottom

Continue stirring and adding splashes of veggie stock until the onions are soft and caramelized, about 15 min. Then add:

• Diced onion from above
• 1 t cumin, ground
• 1 handful of dried apricots, ideally Turkish unsulfured ones, chopped (1/3 – ½ cup)
• ¼ c veggie stock

Stir and let simmer until onion is translucent, apricots are soft & stock has reduced.  Then add:

• The chickpeas 
• ½ c veggie stock 
• 1 t harissa (more or less to taste)

Let simmer until the stock is reduced and thickened lightly.  Taste & adjust seasoning if necessary.  These can be set aside and reheated before serving.  Or transfer to a pre-warmed earthenware pot with a lid and they will stay toasty while you grill.

Chermoula

Combine the following in a mini food-processor or mince by hand:

·         ½ a sweet onion (such as Walla walla)

·         1 clove garlic

·         1 large handful flat-leaf parsley, large stems removed (1-1.5 cups)

·         1 large handful cilantro, large stems removed (1-1.5 cups)

·         1 t cumin, ground

·         1 t coriander, ground

·         1 t turmeric powder

·         1 t sweet/mild paprika

·         Pinch of salt

Pulse (or chop) to combine into a relish-like consistency, stop before it becomes a puree.  Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.  You can use a tablespoon of water or evoo to help it combine if needed.  You can make this ahead and put in the fridge until serving.

Grilling & Assembly

If you choose not to grill, you could either roast or sauté instead. Otherwise, warm the grill to medium high.  Grill veggies in batches in the order listed above until they are char-marked and cooked al dente – remember there will carry-over cooking as the veggies rest so ere on the crunchy side.  As each batch comes off, move to a serving plate and tent with foil.  Try to keep the veggies in groups so that people can choose a little of each, or chop carrots and zucc into 2” pieces and toss everything together along with the chickpeas.  Reheat the chickpeas briefly, if desired, before serving.

Serve with the chermoula and harissa or make Sweet Harissa by combining 2 tablespoons of harissa with one teaspoon of agave nectar (or more to taste).

Accompany with an assortment of olives such as: oil cured, castelvetrano and/or cerignola olives.

*BONUS RECIPE IDEA:

Reward yourself for all this culinary slavery with an easy “leftover” meal.  One idea:

Moroccan-Inspired Frittata

Chop the remaining vegetables, add the chickpeas and any remaining chermoula along with some diced olives in an overproof dish – I like glass because the egg comes away cleaner without oiling, but do what works for you.  For every 2 cups of leftover mix, use 4-6 eggs depending on how “eggy” you want it or how far you want to stretch the leftovers.  Crack the eggs into a separate bowl and whisk with 2 T water or milk until light and foamy.  Whisk in 1 t each sweet paprika & turmeric, salt & coarse pepper.  If you don’t have any/ a lot of chermoula, add some chopped cilantro and parsley, about 2 T of each.  Pour the eggs over the veg-chickpea mixture in the baking dish, and prod a bit to make it even.  Bake at 375 for 45-60 minutes or until the top is golden and firm to the touch, and a toothpick comes out clean.  Let cool, turn out of the dish and slice how you please.  Enjoy an easy “bonus” meal!