Chickpea and Date Tagine, Vegetarian

North African tagines often combine sweet and savory foods to play off the spices used to season them.

• Ready In: 1 hr
• Serves: 8

Ingredients

• 1  tablespoon olive oil
• 1  large onions, diced or 2  cups  diced onions
• 4  garlic cloves, minced or 4  teaspoons  minced garlic
• 1  teaspoon ground cumin
• 1  teaspoon ground coriander
• 1  teaspoon ground ginger
• 1⁄2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 (15 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
• 3  cups  cooked chickpeas or 2 (15 ounce) cans chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• 1  cup  whole wheat couscous
• 1  cup pitted dates, halved
• 1⁄4 cup lemon juice
• 1⁄2 cup  chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

1. Heat oil in saucepan over medium heat. Add onion, and cook 10 minutes, or until starting to brown, stirring often. Stir in garlic, cumin, coriander, ginger, and cinnamon, and saute 30 seconds. Add tomatoes, chickpeas, and 1/4 cup water; simmer 10 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, toast couscous in small saucepan over medium heat 5 minutes, or until fragrant. Add 1 3/4 cups water, and bring to a boil. Remove from heat, cover, and let stand 5 minutes.
3. Stir dates and lemon juice into tagine, and season with salt and pepper, if desired. Serve over couscous, sprinkled with cilantro.