Moroccan Tagine With Carrots, Potatoes, and Chickpeas Recipe

Moroccan Tagine With Carrots, Chickpeas and Potatoes

The Spruce / Christine Benlafquih

Prep: 20 mins
Cook: 75 mins
Total: 95 mins
Servings: 4 to 6 servings

This Moroccan tagine features a family style vegetable combo of carrots, potatoes, and chickpeas. Spicy food lovers will want to add the optional cayenne pepper or serve harissa on the side.

Moroccans usually prefer dried chickpeas over canned. If using dried, soak about 1 cup of beans overnight, and then cook until tender (60 minutes or longer) in salted water before adding them to the recipe.

Cooking time is for a pressure cooker. Allow double this time if preparing in a conventional pot, and triple this time if cooking in a clay or ceramic tagine.

Ingredients

  • 1 to 1 1/2 pounds (500 to 700 grams) beef, lamb or goat meat, cut into 2- or 3-inch pieces

  • 2 medium onions, chopped or sliced

  • 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped or pressed

  • 1/4 cup finely chopped cilantro, plus more as needed for garnish

  • 1/4 cup finely chopped parsley, optional, plus more for garnish

  • 1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger

  • 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste

  • 1 teaspoon turmeric

  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon, or 1 cinnamon stick

  • 1 pinch saffron threads, crumbled, optional

  • Cayenne pepper, optional, to taste

  • 1/3 to 1/2 cup olive oil

  • 1 pound (500 grams) carrots, peeled and quartered lengthwise

  • 1 pound (500 grams) potatoes, peeled and quartered lengthwise

  • 2 cups chickpeas, cooked or canned

  • 1/2 cup red or green olives

  • 1 preserved lemon, quartered and seeds removed

Steps to Make It

Pressure Cooker Method

  1. Gather the ingredients.

  2. Mix the meat with onion, garlic, cilantro/parsley, spices and olive oil in a pressure cooker. Brown the meat, uncovered, over medium heat for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

  3. Add 3 cups of water, cover, and cook the meat with pressure for 25 minutes if using beef, and about 35 minutes if using lamb or goat meat.

  4. Add the carrots, adding water if necessary so that the broth almost reaches the top of the carrots. Cover and cook with pressure for about 7 minutes. Add the potatoes and chickpeas, and cook with pressure until the potatoes are tender about 5 to 6 minutes. Add the preserved lemon and olives, and reduce the sauce until it is thick.

  5. Transfer the tagine to a large serving platter, garnished with freshly chopped parsley if desired.

  6. Serve and enjoy!

Conventional Pot Method

  1. Gather the ingredients.

  2. Mix the meat with onion, garlic, cilantro or parsley, spices and olive oil in a Dutch oven or pot. Brown the meat, uncovered, over medium heat for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

  3. Add 3 cups of water, cover, and simmer the meat for about 1 hour if using beef, and about 1 1/2 hours if using lamb or goat meat. Occasionally check on the level of the broth, and add more water if necessary during the cooking.

  4. Add the carrots and enough water so that the broth almost reaches the top of the carrots. Cover and simmer the carrots until almost tender, about 10 to 15 minutes. Add the potatoes, chickpeas, olives and preserved lemon, and continue simmering, covered, until the potatoes are tender. Uncover and reduce the sauce until thick.

  5. Transfer the tagine to a large serving platter, garnished with freshly chopped parsley if desired.

  6. Serve and enjoy!

Clay or Ceramic Tagine Method

  1. Gather the ingredients.

  2. Slice the onion instead of chopping it, and tie the parsley or cilantro into a bouquet instead of chopping it.

  3. Pour about half of the olive oil into the base of a large tagine. Distribute the onions over the bottom and then arrange the carrots on top of the onions.

  4. In a bowl, mix the meat with the garlic and spices. Place the meat in the middle of the tagine, bone or fatty sides down. Swirl 2 cups of water in the bowl to rinse the spices, and then add this water and the remaining olive oil to the tagine.

  5. Top the meat with the parsley bouquet and distribute the olives and preserved lemon wedges over the meat and carrots.

  6. Cover the tagine and place on a diffuser over medium-low to medium heat and allow the tagine to reach a simmer. This can take some time so be patient. Once a simmer is achieved, reduce the heat to the lowest temperature necessary to maintain the simmer, and cook for about 3 hours. Add the chickpeas (and a little water if you feel it's necessary), and continue cooking for another 30 to 60 minutes, until the meat and carrots are very tender and the liquids are reduced. Discard the cilantro bouquet, and garnish with freshly chopped parsley if desired.

  7. Serve directly from the tagine. Enjoy!

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
715 Calories
42g Fat
50g Carbs
38g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4 to 6
Amount per serving
Calories 715
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 42g 53%
Saturated Fat 11g 54%
Cholesterol 99mg 33%
Sodium 822mg 36%
Total Carbohydrate 50g 18%
Dietary Fiber 11g 39%
Total Sugars 11g
Protein 38g
Vitamin C 30mg 151%
Calcium 113mg 9%
Iron 6mg 34%
Potassium 1267mg 27%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)