Vegetable Tagine

1. Place cinnamon, coriander, cumin, red chilies, anise, cardamom and brown sugar in a spice grinder or coffee grinder and process until completely ground. Set aside. (Can be stored at room temperature, covered, for up to six weeks.)
2. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
3. Heat a large sauté pan and lightly coat with olive oil. Sauté vegetables in batches until lightly browned. Add more olive oil if necessary. Set aside sautéed vegetables.
4. Add olive oil to the pan and sear the tomato paste until visibly darkened (about 2 minutes). Add ground spices to tomato paste and stir to combine.
5. Add vegetables back to the pan or to a tagine and stir to coat with the tomato mixture.
6. Add the dried fruit, wine, barley and stock. Cover and roast at 325 degrees until the barley is tender (about 1 ½ hours).

Tips

A tagine is a cooking vessel commonly used throughout North Africa. It is as synonymous to Moroccan cooking as a paella pan is to Spanish cooking. The oven-safe cooking dish has a round, flat bottom, similar to a casserole. The cone-shaped lid is where the magic happens. As food is cooked in the tagine, steam forms and rises to the top of the cone. Instead of dripping back onto top of the food and ruining any browned crusts on meat and vegetables, the moisture instead runs down the side of the lid and is directed back into the bottom. Genius! Any baking dish will work well, though.

Cardamom is a spice used widely throughout Europe, Asia and the Middle East. It is related to ginger and has a similar citrusy flavor, making the spice perfect for use in baking and savory dishes, scenting coffee, and as a breath freshener. Cardamom can be easily purchased in ground form, but the powder quickly loses it pungency. Cardamom is best purchased in pod form and can be stored for up to one year away from direct light. I own a small, inexpensive coffee grinder that I dedicate to grinding my own spices. As I mentioned in my book Jewish Cooking For All Seasons (John Wiley and Sons), “spice is the variety of life.” While you can purchase pre-made spice mixtures, you lose control of what your family and friends are eating. Homemade is always better, fresher and has more soul!

Tomato paste is one of my favorite pantry ingredients. I love the balance of sweet and tangy, as well as the rich thickness it adds to sauces, stews and vinaigrettes. A chef trick to take some of the “raw” flavor out of the paste is to quickly sear it in olive oil. I like to add the paste to my pan, usually with vegetables, add a touch more olive oil and keep stirring for about two minutes. The natural sugars in the tomato paste can burn easily, so you may need to adjust your heat a bit. The searing deepens the flavor of the tomato paste and gives a bit more finesse.

Contributed by: Laura Frankel