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Lentil Tagine with Whole Wheat Couscous

Lentil Tagine with Whole Wheat Couscous - This Gal Cooks #cleaneating #vegetarian #nomeat

This Moroccan style Lentil Tagine with Whole Wheat Couscous is a delicious healthy option for lunch or dinner.

Who wants a healthy recipe?

I can raise my hand to that! After eating a lot of carby, unhealthy foods around the holidays, I needed a detox. Not a full blown, restrict myself from anything and everything sweet or carby detox. Just something that would get me back on track to eating healthier. I opted to incorporate both low carb and clean eating recipes into my diet. I also subscribed to Clean Eating magazine. I just received my first issue over the weekend and I already found a few recipes that I want to try. The first recipe I decided to try: Chickpea Tagine.

What is tagine, you ask?

It’s a slow simmered dish named for the type of earthenware pot that it is cooked in. The dish originated in Northern Africa. It can be made with meats, veggies and fruits. Make it Moroccan style by using spices such as cinnamon, turmeric, paprika and cumin.

Lentil Tagine with Whole Wheat Couscous - This Gal Cooks #cleaneating #vegetarian #nomeat

Lentil Tagine with Whole Wheat Couscous

I followed the basics of the recipe found in Clean Eating but I made some changes. The most significant change being that I used lentils rather than chickpeas. Ken is not a fan of chickpeas. When I asked him if he liked chickpeas, he said he didn’t know. When I showed him a can of chickpeas, he quickly realized that he did not like them. Lentils – 1, Chickpeas – 0.

Start off by sauteing some sweet onions in olive oil. Add some garlic, fresh spinach, tomato paste, spices and cook until the spinach is wilted. Then you’re going to add some vegetable stock and cubed sweet potatoes and butternut squash. Simmer until the sweet potatoes and butternut squash are tender. Add some cooked lentils, salt and pepper to taste. Cook the whole wheat couscous with the juices from the skillet. You don’t even have to turn on another burner for this. Just place the couscous in a saucepan, add the hot liquid to the pan, cover and let sit for 5 minutes. Serve the lentil mixture over the couscous and top with fresh chopped cilantro and feta cheese. Or go vegan and leave out the cheese. I hope you enjoy this Lentil Tagine with Whole Wheat Couscous!

Lentil Tagine with Whole Wheat Couscous

Lentil Tagine with Whole Wheat Couscous

Yield: 4 servings
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1/2 sweet onion, chopped
  • 3 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 3/4 tsp ground ginger
  • 1 tbsp tomato paste
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tsp ground turmeric
  • 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 3 C vegetable stock
  • 2 small sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
  • 1 1/2 lb butternut squash, peeled and cubed
  • 3 C fresh spinach
  • 3/4 tsp kosher salt, plus more per taste
  • 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
  • 2 C cooked lentils
  • 1 C whole wheat couscous
  • 1/4 C chopped fresh cilantro plus more for garnish

Instructions

  1. In a large saute pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and saute until tender. Add the garlic, spinach, ground ginger, tomato paste, paprika, salt, pepper, cumin, turmeric and cinnamon. Mix well and cook until the spinach is wilted.
  2. Add the vegetable stock, sweet potatoes, butternut squash to the pan, cover and simmer until the potatoes and squash are tender, about 25 minutes.
  3. Add the cooked lentils and simmer for another 5 minutes. Add more salt, if desired.
  4. Cook the couscous by pouring it into a saucepan. Place 1 1/4 C of the liquid from the lentil mixture to the saucepan and cover. Let sit for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork and mix in 1/4 C chopped cilantro.
  5. Serve in small bowls, couscous topped with the lentil mixture. Top with cilantro and feta, if desired.

Notes

Adapted from Clean Eating magazine, January/February 2014


 

 

Lentil Tagine with Whole Wheat Couscous - This Gal Cooks #cleaneating #vegetarian #nomeat

 

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51 comments on “Lentil Tagine with Whole Wheat Couscous”

  1. We just had a Moroccan food demo at school and the tagine was incredible! Those spicy flavors — without being overly spicy — are the best. This is one beautiful dish, Julie — pinning! :)

    • Oh now that is awesome! I bet it’s great to attend all of the demos at the cooking school. I’d really love to go to cooking school one day. :) Thanks for stopping by, Marcie!

  2. I like your approach, knowing that you overdid it a little and “detoxing” but not by severely limiting or restricting everything. Its hard to stay on track when you do that! We try to eat all real foods (no processed) in my home, but I have teens, so I also believe in the 80-20 rule. 80% of the time we eat this way, but don’t freak out over a 20% “splurge” That means eating out or ordering pizza in once or twice a week so my kids feel “normal” when they have a friend over… and keeps everyone on track without feeling deprived. I also try to incorporate one or two vegetarian meals a week, and am always on the lookout for new recipes. This one sounds wonderful! Thanks!

    • You are totally correct! It IS hard to stay on track when you limit yourself from everything. Sometimes I think it is good to restrict for a small amount of time to reduce your cravings but adding a little back in, with some control, is not bad at all! Thank you so much for stopping by, Kim. Have a wonderful day!

  3. This sounds fantastic! I love lentils and am always looking for new ways to cook them. I’ll be pinning this and will be making it soon. #SITSBlogging

  4. I really like this dish and your approach to clean eating. Also, anything with lentil and couscous is a win in my book! Going to check out your other recipes. #SITSBlogging

  5. Love this dish! I have to admit that I would probably try it with the chickpeas because I love them, but the lentils look just as delicious. I’m all for easy healthy recipes and love that it is full of sweet potatoes and butternut squash.

  6. This looks divine, Julie! Love tagine- definitely going to try your recipe :)

  7. Oh yummy yummy!!! I need to print this recipe out and use it. More value from #sitsblogging!

  8. Yummy!! Oh my. I gotta try this. Visiting from #SITSBlogging

  9. This sounds and looks yummy! I love cous cous.

    Joining in with comment luv #SITSBlogging

  10. I like the spices you used in this dish. I need a healthy kick myself and this will get me started!

    • Thank you, Holly! I’m leaning towards more healthier recipes on the blog this year. But of course, I will still post sweets cause sometimes I just crave them! And they are kinda fun to make. :)

  11. I love this recipe, and so many others you have. I need more lentil recipes in my life, as I embark on clean living. Will definitely check you out regularly. #SitsBlogging

    • Thank you so much for stopping by, Kia! I have low carb, gluten free and dairy free recipe categories on my blog so you can find those types of recipes there! Have a lovely week. :)

  12. Julie, this looks amazing! I had never heard of tagine until I went to Morocco and ate it first-hand! Your dish definitely does it justice! So tasty and yummy! I am not great in the kitchen, but this looks like something I might be able to do! Thanks for sharing! Coming by from SITS comment love!

    • Oh that is so awesome that you went to Morocco! I bet it’s pretty amazing to actually eat the food there after it’s made by people who have made it their whole lives/had recipes passed down through family.

      Thanks so much for stopping by, Katie! Have a lovely week!

  13. Wow this looks yummy! I love both lentils & chickpeas. Would it be weird to combine both? :) #SITSblogging

    • Not at all! In fact, I made a lentil and chickpea stew last year and it was so good! So I would definitely do one, the other or both in this recipe as well! Thanks for stopping by. :)

  14. This looks SO good. And seems healthy. :) #sitsblogging

  15. Look yummy Julie!! One of these days I need to get a real Tagine…it’s on my list! ;)

  16. This looks excellent! I love lentils!

  17. Oh… I want a healthy recipe. {hand raised and jumping} :) This one sounds awesome, I love how unique it is. Totally have never done anything with tagine before and always up for something new. Love this Julie! Pinned and sharing!

  18. My husband had to work in Morocco for 4 months and he hated the food so much. He got so sick over there. I’m sure this is better than whatever he ate though. My sister would love this so much. I will show her the recipe. #SITSBlogging

  19. This looks delicious! I bet it would be easy to make if GF. Love the design of your blog!

    Visiting from #SITSBlogging :)

  20. Sign me up for lovely healthy meals like this one! It sounds amazing with those lentils and sweet potatoes. Plus the spice combo you went with is fabulous! I need to try this for dinner as soon as possible ;–)
    Have a fantastic day! <3

  21. I’ve never had tangine before, but whenever I see it, I want it immediately. This is no exception, it looks fabulous and so exotic!

  22. This looks delicious Julie! We like both lentils and chickpeas so will have to try it both ways. Pinned!

  23. This looks incredible Julie! I love Moroccan dishes and the flavors but have not yet tried making them at home since I didn’t know where to start so I’m so glad you are sharing this! Pinning! It sounds fantastic with chickpeas or lentils and I love the butternut squash and sweet potatoes in here too:)

  24. Totally in love with this simple yet flavorful couscous. We eat a lot of couscous at home and I am always looking for new ways to spice it up!!

  25. This dish looks and sounds amazing. I’ll have to try this out soon and I am so sure that we will love it. Thank you so much for sharing the recipe at Tasty Tuesday. I am featuring it this week. Hope you’ll drop by this week and share some more fabulous recipes with us.

    Hope you have a great week. See you at the party.

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