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AUBERGINE, FREEKEH AND CASHEW TAGINE

Freekeh is a roasted green wheat that that brings out nuttiness and earthiness in this tagine. It is similar in texture to bulgur wheat but is a little softer. It is readily available in most supermarkets. This is a great midweek meal as it is quick to prepare, but also very satisfying.

Serves: 4

Preparation time: 30 minutes

Cooking time: 1 hour 30 minutes

100g cashew nuts

200g freekeh

6 tbsp vegetable oil

2 large onions, finely chopped

3 garlic cloves, crushed

2cm piece of fresh ginger, peeled and grated

2 tbsp tomato purée

400ml tomato passata or 1 × 400g tin chopped tomatoes

250ml Vegetable Stock

1 tbsp sherry vinegar

1 tsp black treacle

50g dried currants

2 tsp saffron stands, soaked in 1 tbsp warm water for 10 minutes

2 aubergines, cut into 2cm dice

1 bunch of coriander, leaves chopped

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

FOR THE SPICE MIX

2 tbsp cumin seeds

1 tbsp fennel seeds

1 tbsp yellow mustard seeds

1 tsp coriander seeds

1 tsp ground turmeric

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp sweet smoked paprika

2 tbsp plain flour

½ tsp table salt

Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/gas 6.

Put the cashew nuts on a roasting tray and bake for 6–10 minutes until golden. Remove, leave to cool, then chop roughly. Reduce the oven temperature to 160°C/140°C fan/gas 3.

Cook the freekeh for half of the time on the packet instructions, then drain.

Heat 2 tablespoons of the vegetable oil in a large casserole dish over medium heat. Add the onions, season with sea salt and pepper and sauté for about 10 minutes until they are soft but not coloured. Add the garlic and ginger for the last 3–4 minutes. Add the tomato purée, the passata or chopped tomatoes, stock, vinegar, treacle, currants and saffron to the casserole and remove from the heat.

Heat a dry large frying pan over high heat and, when hot, add the spices from the spice mix ingredients and stir them for 3–4 minutes until fragrant. Transfer the spices to a mortar and crush with the pestle. Mix with the flour and table salt in a bowl.

Add 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil to the frying pan and place back on the heat. Season the diced aubergine generously with the spiced flour and fry it in the oil, in batches, until golden, adding more oil with each batch as necessary.

Add half of the chopped coriander to the casserole and mix well. Add the part-cooked freekeh and the spiced aubergine. Sprinkle with three-quarters of the cashew nuts.

Bring to the boil, cover with a lid and transfer to the oven for around 1 hour until the freekeh is tender and the sauce thickened. Serve sprinkled with the remaining coriander and cashew nuts.