Fragrant Tagine with Eggplant, Sweet Potato, Caramelized Onions, and Chickpeas
One Pot / Vegan / Gluten Free
Ok, get ready for some serious melt-in-your-mouth goodness with this eggplant and sweet potato tagine. I don’t even know what else to say about this dish except that we both adore it, and I kept coming back for extra spoon-fulls even after I’d already finished my first two servings.
Everything is just so buttery and tender. The dried fruit lends a slight sweetness while savory spices like turmeric and paprika invest the dish with complex flavor and heavenly fragrance.
True to form (tagines are generally a rather long project), this eggplant and sweet potato tagine does take a little time (an hour and 40 minutes) to bring all that texture and flavor to life, but most of it is hands-off simmering time. Plus, you need just one pot which keeps the dishes for this one pretty minimal.
A batch this big is enough to feed the two of us for a couple days, and it just gets better as the flavors meld, so it’s an awesome meal prep dinner to have stashed in the fridge for when you don’t have time to cook.
Filling, fragrant, full of vegetables and plant-based protein and fiber, this is an amazing one-dish meal to have on hand. If you make it, comment below, and let me know what you think!
Fragrant Tagine with Eggplant, Sweet Potato, Caramelized Onions, and Chickpeas
Dice the eggplant into 2-inch chunks (about 20-24 for a large eggplant). Toss with a tablespoon of salt in a colander and let sit for 30 minutes. This will make the eggplant more tender and less bitter.
While the eggplants sweat, slice 1 large onion and 2 shallots and sautée with 2 teaspoons oil, 1 teaspoon sugar, and 1/4 t salt (about 2-4 minutes).
Add the sweet potato, chickpeas, prunes, vegetable stock, and spices. Then bring everything to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover the pot, and let everything simmer.
Once the eggplants are done sweating, rinse them off and add them to the tagine. Cover the pot, and let everything simmer together for about one hour. If you’re serving this with couscous (totally not necessary but also delicious), make it now. Otherwise, just find a way to distract yourself while your house fills with delicious aromas.
When eggplants, sweet potatoes, and chickpeas are soft and really really tender, taste and adjust spices and salt as desired. Then turn off the heat. Top with roughly chopped cilantro and serve!
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Servings 6
- Amount Per Serving
- Calories 365
- % Daily Value *
- Total Fat 4g7%
- Cholesterol 0mg
- Sodium 110mg5%
- Potassium 776mg23%
- Total Carbohydrate 72g24%
- Dietary Fiber 17g68%
- Sugars 24g
- Protein 15g30%
- Vitamin A 5%
- Vitamin C 5%
- Calcium 17%
- Iron 17%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily value may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
Ingredients
Directions
Dice the eggplant into 2-inch chunks (about 20-24 for a large eggplant). Toss with a tablespoon of salt in a colander and let sit for 30 minutes. This will make the eggplant more tender and less bitter.
While the eggplants sweat, slice 1 large onion and 2 shallots and sautée with 2 teaspoons oil, 1 teaspoon sugar, and 1/4 t salt (about 2-4 minutes).
Add the sweet potato, chickpeas, prunes, vegetable stock, and spices. Then bring everything to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover the pot, and let everything simmer.
Once the eggplants are done sweating, rinse them off and add them to the tagine. Cover the pot, and let everything simmer together for about one hour. If you’re serving this with couscous (totally not necessary but also delicious), make it now. Otherwise, just find a way to distract yourself while your house fills with delicious aromas.
When eggplants, sweet potatoes, and chickpeas are soft and really really tender, taste and adjust spices and salt as desired. Then turn off the heat. Top with roughly chopped cilantro and serve!
Serves 6 (365 calories, 15 grams protein, and 17 grams fiber per serving)
Total Time: 1 hour 40 minutes
Ingredients
- 1 large eggplant, cut into 20-24 2″ chunks
- 1 extra large sweet potato, cut into 6-8 2″ chunks
- 5 cups cooked chickpeas
- 4 cups low sodium vegetable stock
- 20 dried prunes
- 1 large onion
- 2 shallots or 1 large onion
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt (+ more to taste)
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- 3/4 teaspoon ginger
- 1 teaspoon garlic
- 3/4 teaspoon paprika
- lots of fresh cilantro for serving
- optional: small grain variety couscous
Preparation
- Dice the eggplant into 2-inch chunks (about 20-24 for a large eggplant). Toss with a tablespoon of salt in a colander and let sit for 30 minutes. This will make the eggplant more tender and less bitter.
- While the eggplants sweat, slice 1 large onion and 2 shallots and sautée with 2 teaspoons oil, 1 teaspoon sugar, and 1/4 t salt (about 2-4 minutes).
- Add the sweet potato, chickpeas, prunes, vegetable stock, and spices. Then bring everything to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover the pot, and let everything simmer.
- Once the eggplants are done sweating, rinse them off and add them to the tagine. Cover the pot, and let everything simmer together for about one hour. If you’re serving this with couscous (totally not necessary but also delicious), make it now. Otherwise, just find a way to distract yourself while your house fills with delicious aromas.
- When eggplants, sweet potatoes, and chickpeas are soft and really really tender, taste and adjust spices and salt as desired. Then turn off the heat. Top with roughly chopped cilantro and serve!
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