Vegetable Tagine with Cod

So my readers are pretty aware of my current obsession with harissa, right? Well, I hope you have some in your pantry, because here's a fabulous vegetarian & pescatarian option. If you want to omit the fish, that's fine, because this complete meal gets plenty of protein from chickpeas, and its plenty filling. If you're a carb lover, it would be great served with couscous or basmati rice.

 

If you're exploring the idea of a plant-based diet, it's a wonderful example to debunk the myth that a plant-based diet is made up of mostly salads. And it's a one-pot wonder, too, so your cleanup and actual cooking time is minimal, making it great for throwing together on a weeknight.

What is a tagine, you might ask? It's a round ceramic baking dish with a cone-shaped lid, popular for slow cooking in north African cuisine. As the heat and steam rises while food cooks, the cone-shaped lid helps the moisture to drop back down into the cooking, ensuring that the food (usually meat) is tender and moist. If you're like me and don't own a tagine (yet- it's on my wish list!) then you can make this dish in an enameled cast iron pot. Have you ever noticed the little bumps on the underside of the lid of an enameled cast iron pot? Well, they essentially are meant to do the same thing as a tagine, so it works great for these types of recipes.

You can adjust the heat of the dish to your liking, and I added a little bit of chili flakes to mine because the harissa I had on hand this time isn't as spicy as I'd have liked it to be. I also garnished with some chopped fresh mint, which goes fantastically with the flavors in this dish.

Colorful, flavorful, filling, and healthy! What's not to love?