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For a variety of reasons, I’ve recently gone vegan.  Gluten free too.  It’s been a long time coming and so far I feel amazing, even though I’m still trying to figure out what on earth I can eat.

Up to this point its been a lot of protein bars and fruit shakes, but I’m having fun trying new vegan dishes here and there.  Wait until you try this new recipe I made over the weekend: vegan couscous chickpea and date tagine; even my picky-pants kids loved it.  You’ll die, you’ll swoon, your mouth will explode with happy, you’ll become world famous for your vegan couscous and dates.

It’s insane.

I’d never heard the word ‘tagine’ before I made this recipe, but tagine {pronounced: ta-zheen} basically means a cuisine made in a special earthenware pot, typically in Northern Africa; Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Libya.  It’s a dish with a mixture of sweet and spicy served over couscous.

My mouth is watering just thinking about it. 

Here’s the skinny:

Chickpea and Date Tagine with Couscous

• 1 T olive oil
• 1 large onion diced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp ginger
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• can crushed tomatoes
• 3 cups cooked chickpeas
• 1 cup couscous
• 1 cup pitted dates, diced
• 1/4 cup lemon juice

Here’s how to make it:

Heat oil over medium heat in a large skillet.  Add diced onions and stir constantly until browned.  Stir in grated garlic, cumin, ginger and cinnamon, sauté for about one minute.  In a separate pot cook the couscous; I like to add a little more flavor to the couscous by cooking it with vegetable broth, it really makes the flavor pop.

Meanwhile back in the sauté pan, add the tomatoes, chickpeas, minced garlic and about 1/4 cup of water.  Let all the flavors simmer and bubble together about 10 minutes or so, stirring it around every now and again.

It’s the now and again that really counts.

Once that’s all mixed together add the lemon juice and diced dates and serve over warm couscous.

Vegan ta-zheen, ready to eat.

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