Eden Grinshpan's Moroccan Butternut Squash & Fennel Tagine

While checking out Athena Calderone’s new collab with Crate & Barrel on her EyeSwoon website, I stumbled upon this Moroccan Tagine recipe from her pal, Eden Grinshpan. I had been in search of a couscous recipe for a dinner I’m planning in the coming weeks, so it was sorta’ fortuitous that I came across it. One of my fondest memories of eating couscous was with friends in the South of France years ago, where we sat outdoors at long tables while drinking red wine and eating delicious couscous followed by salad, cheese and crunchy baguettes. I’m pretty sure the Moroccan-inspired dish was served with chicken and lamb, and while the recipe below is a vegetarian one, I plan on experimenting by adding some meat the next time I make it. It’s delicious without, which is how we ate it last night. It’s so easy to make…you just throw the fennel and squash on a baking sheet and let it roast away in the oven while you prepare the rest of the tagine and the couscous.

Serves 4

Tagine Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

• ½ teaspoon cinnamon

• 1 teaspoon cumin

• ½ teaspoon turmeric

• 1 teaspoon coriander

• 1 butternut squash, peeled and cut into ½ inch pieces

• 1 fennel- core removed and cut into 8ths

• 2 onions- finely sliced

• 2 tablespoons freshly chopped ginger

• 4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

• 6 tomatoes, halved and then quartered

• 1 big pinch of saffron

• Fresh cilantro for garnish and the fennel ferns

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

2.  Place the fennel and the butternut squash on the pans. Drizzle with  3 tablespoons of the olive oil, season well with salt and pepper. Sprinkle over the cinnamon, ½ tsp cumin, the turmeric, ½ tsp coriander cover well and place in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes until golden all over. Remove and set aside.

3. In a large pot heat up the remaining olive oil, sauté the onions with the garlic, ginger, ½ tsp cumin, ½ tsp coriander and saffron. Season well with salt and pepper. When the onions are almost caramelized, add in the tomatoes. Season again. Let cook down and turn into a sauce, this will take around 25 minutes. Check for seasoning and then add in the roasted vegetables. Cover and let cook on medium low for 3 minutes. Remove lid and serve the vegetable tagine with couscous, fresh cilantro and fennel ferns on top. Enjoy!

Couscous Ingredients

• 1 cup couscous

• 1 cup hot water

• 1 pinch saffron

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

• Salt to taste

  Preparation

1. In a big bowl, place the couscous and butter.

2. In a separate small bowl, place the saffron.

3. Boil the water and pour a tablespoon of the boiled water over the saffron and let set for a minute.

4. Pour the rest of the boiled water over the couscous and add the saffron water. Cover with plastic wrap immediately. Let steam for 5 minutes.

5. Remove the plastic wrap and fluff with fork, season with the salt. Serve immediately.