Not only do I enjoy soups during the colder months of the year, I will also never forego a good pot of stew, like this spice-laden tagine-inspired Moroccan hotpot, brimming with oriental smells and guaranteed to warm you up even on the coldest of nights.

On top of tasting (and smelling) just divine it’s also straighforward to prepare and the amount can easily be doubled should you have guests or want to keep a few servings to freeze. Below is for 3-4 hungry mouths.

Moroccan hotpot

Ingredients

• 1 medium-sized eggplant
• 1 medium-sized zucchini
• 2 carrots
• 8 button mushrooms
• 1 cup chick peas
• Pureed tomatoes (fresh or tinned)
• 1 handful of spinach
• 8 dried apricots
• 1cm³ fresh ginger
• 2 cloves garlic
• ½ ts coriander seeds
• ½ ts cumin seeds
• Pinch of chili flakes
• 1 cup cous cous
• 1 generous TS of slivered almonds
• A few sprigs of fresh parsley
• A few sprigs of fresh coriander
• Olive oil
• Salt & pepper

Directions

Cut eggplant, zucchini and carrots to your liking, quarter apricots and set aside

Peel ginger and garlic, put them into a mortar and go for it (or otherwise chop them finely). Add coriander and cumin seeds and chili flakes and grind to a rough paste.

Heat olive oil in a pot, add the contents of the mortar and stir for a minute or two.

Add eggplant, then carrots. Carefully pour the pureed tomato into the pot (it will boil vigorously at first). Turn the heat to medium.

Now add zucchini, mushrooms, apricots and chickpeas and leave it to simmer for at least 30 minutes.

When you feel like eating, cook the couscous simply by putting it into a bowl and adding a cup and a half of hot water as well as a table spoon of olive oil.

Let it sit while you stir the spinach into the stew, then dry roast the almond slivers in a small pan.

Cut parsley and coriander. Just before serving stir the parsley into the hotpot.

All done! Your Moroccan hotpot is ready to be devoured.

The only thing left for you to do is to take a ladle, load it with the desired amount of the stew and put it onto a plate, then place a generous helping of couscous next to it. Sprinkle the almonds over the couscous and the coriander over the stew.

Eat.

Enjoy!