Moroccan Sweet Potato Tagine With Chickpeas and Apricots
A thick one-pot Moroccan stew of sweet potato cubes, chickpeas, and halved dried apricots in a bloomed ras el hanout base, finished with lemon, cilantro, and toasted almonds. No tagine pot required.
Servings 6 servings
Ingredients
For the Spice Base
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large yellow onion diced
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon fresh ginger minced
- 2 teaspoons ras el hanout
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
For the Stew
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 can diced tomatoes 14.5 ounces, with juice
- 2 cups vegetable broth low sodium
- 1 can chickpeas 15 ounces, drained and rinsed
- 2 pounds sweet potatoes peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes
- ¾ cup dried apricots halved
- 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt or to taste
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
To Finish
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- ⅓ cup fresh cilantro chopped
- ⅓ cup slivered almonds toasted
Instructions
Build the Base
- Heat the olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the diced onion with a pinch of salt and cook 6 to 7 minutes, until translucent and just starting to color.
- Add the garlic and ginger and cook 1 minute, stirring, until fragrant.
- Add the ras el hanout, cumin, coriander, smoked paprika, turmeric, and ground cinnamon. Stir constantly for 30 to 45 seconds until the mixture darkens and turns paste-like. Do not let it scorch.
Simmer
- Pour in the diced tomatoes with their juice and scrape the bottom of the pot clean. Add the broth, chickpeas, and cinnamon stick and bring to a simmer.
- Add the sweet potato cubes, cover, reduce the heat to low, and simmer 20 minutes.
- Stir in the halved apricots, remove the lid, and simmer another 10 to 12 minutes, until the sauce coats the back of a spoon and the sweet potato yields to a spoon but still holds square edges.
Finish
- Take the pot off the heat and remove the cinnamon stick. Stir in the lemon juice, then season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Spoon into bowls and top each with chopped cilantro and toasted slivered almonds. Serve with couscous or warm bread.
Notes
- Bloom the spices: Thirty to forty five seconds in the hot oil before any liquid goes in. This is the single biggest flavor step in the recipe.
- Apricots go in late: Halved, in the last 10 minutes, so they plump instead of dissolving into the sauce.
- Reduce uncovered: The last 10 minutes with the lid off is what makes it a stew rather than a soup.
- No added sweetener: The apricots and the sweet potato carry it. Honey or agave tips this into dessert territory.
- Storage: 4 days refrigerated, 3 months frozen, and genuinely better on day two. Reheat low with a splash of broth and add the lemon, herbs, and almonds fresh.