Vegetable tagine with olives

Name: Vegetable tagine with olives
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 50 min
Total time: 70 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Morocco
Ingredients: 3 tbsp olive oil; 1 onion, sliced; 3 garlic cloves, chopped; 1 tsp ground cumin; 1 tsp ground ginger; 1 tsp sweet paprika; ½ tsp ground turmeric; 1 pinch of saffron; 2 carrots, cut into batons; 2 potatoes, quartered; 2 courgettes, cut into chunks; 1 red pepper, sliced; 400 g chopped tomatoes; 1 preserved lemon, flesh removed, rind sliced; 100 g green olives; 200 ml water; Chopped coriander and parsley

Local name: طاجين الخضر

Seasonal vegetables slow-cooked in a saffron and preserved lemon broth, the way it is done in Marrakech kitchens.

Published on 4 October 2025

VeganGluten-free#vegetables#preserved lemon#olives#stew#main course

Photo: 16:9clue , CC BY 2.0

Prep: 20 min
Cook: 50 min
Total: 70 min
Serves: 4
Difficulty: Easy

Method

In a tagine or casserole, soften the onion in the oil for 5 minutes. Add the garlic and all the spices and stir for 1 minute.
Add the chopped tomatoes and water, then the carrots and potatoes. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
Add the courgettes, pepper, preserved lemon and olives. Cover and cook gently for another 25 minutes.
Check the vegetables are tender and the sauce has reduced. Adjust the salt, remembering the olives and lemon are already salty.
Scatter with fresh herbs and serve with Moroccan bread or couscous if you are not avoiding gluten.

A tagine is cooked without stirring: the vegetables at the bottom braise in the juices while those on top steam. Resist lifting the lid too often.

The techniques this recipe uses

Sweat the aromatics
Medium heat, no browning: the onion should turn translucent and sweet, not toasted.
Reduce
Uncovered, water leaves and flavour concentrates. It is done when the sauce coats the back of a spoon.

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Nutrition per serving

Calories: 267 kcal
Protein: 5.5 g
Fat: 15.3 g
Carbohydrate: 32 g
Fibre: 7.3 g

An estimate computed from the recipe quantities and the USDA food composition database. Real values vary with the products used.

Frequently asked questions

Why should I not stir the tagine?

The cooking works in two layers: the vegetables at the bottom confit in the juices, those on top steam under the lid. Stirring destroys that arrangement and breaks up the softer vegetables. Lift the lid as little as you can.

How do I prepare the preserved lemon?

Scrape out the soft, very salty pulp and use only the rind, cut into strips. That is where the perfume lives. Add it with the olives halfway through so it infuses without dissolving.

Should I salt it as usual?

No, salt at the end and cautiously. The green olives and preserved lemon already bring plenty, and the sauce concentrates as it reduces over the 50 minutes. Taste before adding anything.

Anti-inflammatory diet: what goes on the plate
The anti-inflammatory diet without a list of forbidden foods: the compounds actually studied, and existing dishes that already bring them together.
Meatless Moroccan cooking, from bessara to tagine
Bessara, zaalouk and taktouka are plant-based by tradition; harira, tagine and couscous, often made with meat or smen, work just as well without.
Vegetarian Maghreb cooking, with nothing missing
What Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia share — semolina, pulses, olive oil — and how their everyday dishes stand up perfectly well without meat.

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