Algerian Zucchini and Chickpea Tajine with Peak-Harvest Tomatoes

Warm the olive oil in a tagine or wide heavy casserole over medium heat. Add the onion with a pinch of salt and cook slowly for 8 minutes until soft and translucent but not browned.

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 4 medium farmers-market zucchini, cut into thick rounds
• 2 cups cooked chickpeas, drained
• 6 ripe tomatoes, peeled and roughly chopped
• 1 large onion, finely diced
• 4 garlic cloves, sliced
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon ground caraway
• 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon harissa paste, or to taste
• 1 cup vegetable stock
• 1 preserved lemon, rinsed and finely chopped (optional)
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• Salt and black pepper, to taste

Instructions

1. Warm the olive oil in a tagine or wide heavy casserole over medium heat. Add the onion with a pinch of salt and cook slowly for 8 minutes until soft and translucent but not browned.
2. Stir in the garlic, caraway, paprika and cinnamon and cook for 1 minute more, until fragrant.
3. Add the chopped tomatoes and harissa, raise the heat slightly and simmer for 10 minutes, crushing the tomatoes against the side of the pot as they collapse into a thick, jammy base.
4. Tip in the chickpeas and stock, season with salt and pepper, and bring to a gentle simmer.
5. Nestle the zucchini rounds into the sauce in an even layer, spooning some of the tomato over the top so every piece is coated.
6. Cover and cook over low heat for 20 to 25 minutes, without stirring too vigorously, until the zucchini is tender all the way through but still holding its shape.
7. Scatter over the preserved lemon if using, then taste and adjust the salt and harissa. Let the tajine rest off the heat for 10 minutes so the flavors settle.
8. Finish with a generous handful of cilantro and serve straight from the pot with warm flatbread or crusty semolina bread for mopping up the sauce.
9. Across Algeria, tajine is less a single dish than a way of coaxing sweetness out of high-summer vegetables, and this meatless version is what appears on countless tables when zucchini and tomatoes flood the markets in August. The caraway and cinnamon are the quiet signature of Algerian cooking, warm and slightly floral rather than fiery, and the harissa is there to sharpen the edges rather than dominate.

Nutrition (estimated, per serving)

• Calories: 340 kcal
• Protein: 12g
• Fat: 14g
• Carbohydrates: 43g
• Fiber: 11g
• Sugar: 12g
• Sodium: 530mg