Saffron Skies and Cinnamon Nights: A Moroccan Tagine
This warmly spiced Moroccan-style tagine is built on soft sweet potato, red onion and white beans, all gently simmered in a sauce of saffron, cinnamon, harissa, sumac and za’atar. It’s a plant-based one-pot with complexity and comfort in equal measure. You’ll learn to layer flavour, soften sweetness, and bring warmth without heaviness – perfect for slow, thoughtful evenings.
Photographed truthfully. If you cook it, yours will look like mine.
Ingredients
- 400 ml boiling water
- 1 unit stock cube | use a gluten-free stock cube if required
- 1 pinch saffron threads
- 1 tbsp rapeseed oil
- 140 g red onion | unpeeled weight; peeled and sliced into petals
- 2 units garlic cloves | peeled and sliced diagonally
- 18 g fresh ginger | grated
- ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tbsp red wine vinegar
- ¼ tsp za'atar
- ¾ tsp sumac
- ¼ tsp harissa
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 pinch chilli flakes
- 10 units dried dates | halved lengthways
- 10 units dried apricots | halved lengthways
- 400 g sweet potato | unpeeled weight; peeled and cut into largish chunks (about the length of a thumb and a bit thicker)
- 240 g cannellini beans | cooked weight
- 5 g fresh mint | roughly chopped
- 1 unit unwaxed lemon | wedge to serve, zest to dress
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 180℃ Fan.
Prepare the 'saffron stock'
- Dissolve the stock cube into the boiling water. Heat a small fry pan on medium-low, and when it's warm drop the pinch of saffron threads into the pan for about a minute. You are toasting them. They will emit an aroma and darken slightly when done. Put them into the stock and stir so the stock changes colour.400 ml boiling water, 1 unit stock cube, 1 pinch saffron threads
Start to cook the onion, garlic and ginger
- In an ovenproof casserole dish that has a lid, heat the rapeseed oil gently on a medium heat. Add the onion petals and cook for a couple of minutes to soften and relax them. Then add the garlic and ginger and cook for a couple of minutes. Add the red wine vinegar to deglaze the pan.1 tbsp rapeseed oil, 140 g red onion, 2 units garlic cloves, 18 g fresh ginger, ½ tbsp red wine vinegar
Add the spices
- Measure all the spices into a small bowl, mix together and then add the mixed spices to the onion, garlic and ginger. Stir carefully through.¼ tsp ground cinnamon, ¼ tsp za'atar, ¼ tsp harissa, ¼ tsp salt, 1 pinch chilli flakes, ¾ tsp sumac
Add the sweet potato and saffron stock
- Add the chunks of sweet potato, the chopped dried dates and the chopped dried apricots and stir to mix everything thoroughly.10 units dried dates, 400 g sweet potato, 10 units dried apricots
- Add the saffron stock, mix quickly, put the lid on and put into the pre-heated oven for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, get the casserole out of the oven and prod the sweet potato with a sharp knife. Depending on how large the pieces of sweet potato are, you might be nearly done with oven time. At this point, tip the cannellini beans into the casserole, mix around and put the casserole back into the oven for a few minutes to heat the beans through. You'll probably need 10 more minutes in the oven.240 g cannellini beans, 5 g fresh mint
- Chop the mint and scatter on top of the dish to serve. Serving with lemon zest on top is perfect, along with a slender lemon wedge. My test diner loved the fresh lemon flavour atop this dish!
Nutrition
Calories: 362kcalCarbohydrates: 68gProtein: 11gFat: 7gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 5gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 0.02mgSodium: 797mgPotassium: 840mgFiber: 14gSugar: 12gVitamin A: 28507IUVitamin C: 12mgCalcium: 163mgIron: 4mg
Nutritional values are estimates only and will vary depending on specific ingredients used. Nutrition is per serving. Information is for the main recipe, not optional accompaniments.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
COPYRIGHT
© The Golden Polar Bear, 2025. Recipes and photography by Julia Savory. If you share this, please pass it along with kindness and if possible share a link back to this site. #ForTheAnimals