Vegetarian Moroccan Chickpea & Preserved‑Lemon Tagine
A richly spiced, slow‑braised Moroccan tagine of chickpeas, sweet potato and carrots brightened with preserved lemon and olives — hearty and entirely meatless.
1 hr 20 min
start to finish
20 min
hands on
Some skill
difficulty
4
servings
Ingredients
Spices
Roughly, per serving
430 kcal16g protein58g carbs14g fat
An estimate, not a lab analysis.
Method
Peel and thinly slice the onion.
Peel the carrots and cut them into 1‑inch (2–3 cm) pieces.
Peel and cube the sweet potato into 1‑inch cubes.
Mince the garlic and finely chop the preserved lemon (discard pulp if very soft).
If you don't have preserved lemon, use 2 tsp lemon zest plus 1/2 tsp fine salt.
Drain and rinse the chickpeas.
Pit and halve the olives and roughly chop the parsley and cilantro.
Heat a wide heavy‑bottomed saucepan or tagine over medium heat and add 2 tbsp olive oil.
Add the sliced onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and beginning to brown, about 8 minutes.
Add the minced garlic, cumin, coriander, cinnamon, ras el hanout, smoked paprika and tomato paste and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute.
Add the carrots, sweet potato, canned diced tomatoes with their juices, drained chickpeas, 1 cup vegetable stock, chopped preserved lemon, 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp black pepper and stir to combine.
Bring the pot to a simmer, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer until the vegetables are tender, 35 minutes.
If the mixture looks dry during simmering, add up to 1/2 cup more stock or water.
Uncover, add the halved olives and half the chopped herbs, increase the heat slightly and simmer uncovered to reduce the sauce and concentrate flavors, about 8 minutes.
Stir in the remaining herbs and 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice, taste and adjust salt and pepper, then remove from the heat.
Spoon the tagine into a warm serving dish, scatter the toasted slivered almonds if using, and serve with lemon wedges.
Serve over steamed rice, millet, or with warmed flatbread; cauliflower rice keeps it low‑carb and gluten‑free.
Worth knowing
- Preserved lemon is a key flavor. If you can't find it, use the substitution in the ingredients and finish with extra lemon juice to brighten the dish.
- Ras el hanout varies by brand—if it's very hot, reduce quantity to 1/2 tsp and add more to taste.
- This tagine gets better the next day; refrigerate and gently reheat, adding a splash of water if the sauce has thickened.
- To make this in a slow cooker: after step 9 transfer everything to the slow cooker and cook on low 4–5 hours (add olives and herbs for the last 20 minutes).
Make it yours
Cooking without dairy, without an oven, for someone who won't touch chilli, or for six instead of four? Have the recipe rewritten around it — quantities, steps and all.
VegetarianVeganGluten-freeDairy-freeMeal prepHigh proteinBudget
More Moroccan cooking
An original Restaurant Pro recipe — our own composition in the idiom of Moroccan cooking, not any restaurant's recipe. Written to be vegetarian and vegan and gluten-free and dairy-free as listed.