Okra & Chickpea Tagine

Adapted from: Eating Well

This Moroccan dish was unique and tasty! A tagine is like a Moroccan slow cooker used to cook Middle Eastern food, allowing the ingredients to steam and thus, enhance the flavor and keep the food moist. Since most of us don't own this cookware, you can use a large coverable skillet instead, which is what we did. This recipe made for a great dinner and was enjoyed as leftovers for lunch (cold and hot), too. We discovered the bunches of fresh cilantro they sell for a surprisingly low price at Food Lion this week, so we were excited to use so much in this dish. Special thanks to my dad, who picked out and gave me these cute "vibrant vibration bowls" from Anthropologie for my birthday in March. They have such fun colors and designs, I love eating out of them!

Ingredients:

• 1 lb okra, stem ends trimmed, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 10 sprigs fresh cilantro, plus more leaves for garnish
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 small tomatoes
• 1 tsp ginger, zested
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
• 1/2 cup vegetable or chicken broth
• 3/4 tsp ground cumin
• 1 15-oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 3/4 tsp salt
• kitchen string, or sewing thread
• 1 tsp harissa or hot sauce, optional

Directions:

Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil. While waiting, fill a large bowl with ice water and place next to stove. Add okra and boil for 2 minutes. Spoon the okra over to the bowl of ice water. Drain.

Tie cilantro sprigs together with kitchen string.

In the saucepan, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Stir in bell pepper and cook until soft, about 3-5 minutes. Spoon over to a small bowl and set aside.

Add onion, garlic, ginger, and ground pepper to the saucepan. Cook, stirring constantly, for 2-3 minutes. Stir in tomatoes, broth, okra, tied cilantro sprigs, and half of the bell pepper. Cover partially and reduce heat to medium. Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes. When okra is soft, stir in chickpeas and salt, cooking for another 3-5 minutes. Remove from heat. Discard cilantro sprigs. Optional: stir in harissa (or hot sauce). Top with the remaining bell pepper and sprinkle with cilantro leaves for an extra garnish.

Yield: 3 servings (6 as a side dish)