This is a recipe modified from Deborah Madison’s Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone. All vegetarians should have a copy of this book- it is foolproof!!.

I love artichokes but I hate fiddling with the spiky fibrous vegetable to get at the delicious heart in the center. I find these fresh artichoke hearts (Montrerey farms) at Whole Foods occasionally and when I do- I always buy 5-6 packets and freeze the rest. The flavor is exactly the same as a freshly steamed and cleaned artichoke- never watery, always delicious. I used green olives rather than the oil cured black olives Deborah Madison recommends- I’d suggest using the black olives if you have them, they add so much more flavor in these stewed dishes.

Tagine is a Moroccon dish of slowly stewed covered meat- this vegetarian version cooks much quicker and the artichokes absorb all the flavors beautifully

Ingredients:

1 packet  herbal artichoke hearts (6oz)

1 large onion- and 2 large bell peppers- 1/2 inch diced

15 oz of chickpeas (either canned or pressure cooked for 15 minutes after an overnight soak)

3 tbsp olive oil

Flavorings: 12 olives finely chopped, 1 preserved lemon finely chopped, 1 tbsp parsley, 1 tbsp cilantro

Spices: 1 tbsp Harissa paste  (1/2 tsp ground cumin, 1/2 tsp ground black pepper, 1/4 tsp caraway seeds, 1/4 tsp turmeric, 11/2 tsp ground red chilli powder, 1 tbsp tomato paste) and 1 pinch saffron threads (ground into a powder).

Heat oil- add onion and peppers and cook till translucent and slightly browned. Add spices or harissa. Add artichokes and saffron and cook for another 2 minutes. Add chickpeas, olives, lemon, cilantro, parsley and 2 cups of water. Simmer for 15-25 minutes till all veggies are completely tender.

Serve over couscous with chermoula sauce (4 coarsely chopped garlic cloves. 2/3 c cilantro finely chopped, 1/3 cup parsley finely chopped, zest of 1 lemon and juice of 2 lemons, 1/2 tsp cumin, pinch of cayenne pepper, 1 tsp sweet paprika, 1/2 tsp sugar and 1/3 cup olive oil). The chermoula keeps well in the refrigerator for 1-2 weeks.