Vegan, High-Protein
Mushroom & Aubergine Tagine
60 mins
Intermediate
2 Servings
Here’s a wonderful vegan, filling but light main course tagine dish that’s ideal for a date night for two or as part of a Valentine’s dinner served with our coconut rice pudding for dessert.
Brilliant Bases Used In This Recipe
Mushroom duxelles
Savoury Starter
Tomato Fondue
Roast Root Vegetable Stock
About This Recipe
Here’s a wonderful vegan, filling but light main course dish that’s ideal for a date night for two or as part of a Valentine’s dinner served before our coconut rice pudding here as an accompanying dessert. The theory here is that much of the preparation can be done in advance, leaving you more time to spend with your friend or partner as the oven does it’s work to finish the dish.
Inspired by North African cuisine, the dish tagine takes its name from the conical clay pot which is used to slow-cook hardworking meat from lamb or game – as such the process is normally a slow one.
Here we’ve used mushrooms, aubergine and peppers, cooking them out first in a frying pan to generate depth of flavour, colour and richness to this wonderful sweet sour spiced stew. Nutritionally, it is packed with anti-inflammatory ingredients. Mushrooms are an excellent source of many minerals including selenium, copper, potassium, and zinc, and also a good source of vitamins B6, B12 and vitamin D. They also contain a substance called beta-glucans, a type of soluble fibre that may help prevent heart disease and stimulate the immune system. Aubergines are also a great source of fibre, antioxidants a good source of B vitamins and high in potassium, while red peppers are packed with vitamin C and high in betacarotene, the precursor of vitamin A.
All in all then, this dish is truly eating a ‘rainbow’. When it comes to the couscous, it’s worth noting that it does contain gluten, so perhaps switch it out for quinoa if you have an intolerance. The ‘jewelled’ element of the side dish comes from pomegranates. Low in calories and fat but high in fibre, vitamins, and minerals, many with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.
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Ingredients
For the tagine
1 medium aubergine
1 medium red pepper
250g/9oz mushrooms
200ml/6.7628oz BB Savoury starter (or 1 small red onion, 1 clove garlic, 1 sprig rosemary and 100ml/3.38oz vegan stock)
150g/5oz dried fruits
50g/1.8oz mixed nuts
1 teaspoon ras el hanout
1/2 teaspoon porcini powder
50g/1.8oz olive oil
50g/1.8oz apple cider vinegar
300g/11oz BB Tomato fondue
100g/4oz BB Roast root vegetable stock
2 bay leaves
2 sprigs rosemary
For the jewelled couscous
150g/5oz couscous (fine or giant)
400g/14oz BB roast root veg stock (or other vegan stock)
100g/4oz pomegranate seeds
2tsp coriander stalks
Sea salt to taste
Greek set yoghurt
Sumac
Nutrition Per Serving
Calories
531
Fats
23G
Carbs
74G
Protein
16G
Method
Pre-heat the oven to 160C/320F (fan) or 180C/360F (convection)
Wash and clean the mushrooms, cutting down if large into 2.5cm/1-inch cubes
Dice the aubergine into roughly 5cm/2-inch cubes
De-seed and cut the red pepper into rough cuts
In a deep solid bottomed frying pan heat the olive oil (pomace blend if possible) and begin frying the mushrooms until nut brown and most of the moisture has evaporated
Now add the peppers and cook until starting to colour up
Finally add the aubergine and fry out until again the flesh begins to go nut brown
Add the heaped teaspoon of ras el hanout spices and continue to cook out gently for 2-3 minutes
Add the porcini powder and fry out for a minute
Deglaze the pan with apple cider vinegar and the BB Savoury Starter gently working in the pan to release any caramelised elements from the pan bottom and sides
(If you have no Savoury Starter, cook out the onions, garlic and rosemary before adding in the mushrooms, then use a vegetable stock to deglaze the pan in the above step)
Now add the dried fruits and nuts and fold together
Finally, add in the bay leaves, rosemary and BB Tomato Fondue and heat through
Decant the mixture from the pan into tagine dish or alternative oven-proof pot with a lid
This can now go into the oven if serving immediately or will keep in the fridge until ready to heat through – in either case place the tagine/pot into the oven and cook for around 40 minutes
In the meantime, prepare the couscous as per the packet instructions, using vegan stock such as our BB Roast Root Vegetable Stock – add the chopped coriander stalks here
Once the couscous is ready, add a little salt and the pomegranate seeds
Serve together – if you are making this as part of dinner with our coconut rice, add this to the oven now to warm through while eating your main course
