We attended the Delaware Wine and Beer Festival last week and, aside from some new beverages, we discovered a new farm – Suzuki Farms in Delmar, Delaware.  They specialize in Japanese vegetables.

We picked up some eggplants and some delicious salad dressing that his wife made. I used a could of the eggplants with a butternut squash from my garden  in  a moroccan stew (tagine).It is called a tagine because of the traditional dish is it cooked in. I happen to have a tagine, but it can calso be made in a dutch oven or other covered pot. I do love my tagine, but have still have to learn how much to cut back the liquid, I tend to have overflows every time I use it.  Oh well, some day I will figure it out. Why do I ove it, the stews stay incredibly moist and tender.

 

To add some texture, and additional flavor, to the stew, you make a mix for parsley, almonds and raisins.

Put it all together and serve it on top of couscous.  A tasty treat for an autumn evening.

Eggplant and Butternut Squash Tagine with Chickpeas and Raisins

From Williams -Sonoma

1 1/2 lb. butternut squash (from the garden)

1 lb. slender eggplant (locally grown)

1 1/2 Tbs. olive oil

1 yellow onion, chopped

1 garlic clove, minced

2 Tbs. ras el hanout  (see recipe below)

1/2 tsp. ground turmeric

1/2 tsp. salt, plus more, to taste

1 can (14 1/2 oz.) chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1 1/2 cups vegetable broth

1 1/2 tsp. fresh lemon juice and 1/8 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp. fresh lemon juice

Freshly ground pepper, to taste

1/2 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley  (from the garden)

1/2 cup sliced almonds (I only had slovered), toasted

1/4 cup raisins or currants

Directions

Peel and halve the butternut squash, scoop out the seeds and cut the flesh into 1-inch chunks.

Trim the eggplant and cut into 1 1/2-inch chunks.

In a large pot over medium-high heat, warm the olive oil. Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until the onion is soft, about 5 minutes.

Stir in the ras el hanout, turmeric and the 1/2 tsp. salt and cook for 1 minute.

Add the squash, eggplant, chickpeas, broth and lemon with salt and bring to a boil.

Reduce the heat to maintain a simmer, cover and cook until the squash and eggplant are tender, about 20 minutes. Stir in the lemon juice and season with salt and pepper.

In a small bowl, stir together the parsley, almonds and raisins.

Stir two-thirds of the parsley mixture into the tagine,

then sprinkle the remaining mixture on top. Serve immediately with couscous. Enjoy!

Serves 4.

 

Ras El Hanout

from Gourmet April 1998

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon salt

3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground coriander seeds

1/2 teaspoon cayenne

1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

Directions

In a small bowl whisk together all ingredients until combined well. Spice blend keeps in an airtight container at cool room temperature 1 month.