Chickpea, Apricot and Almond Tagine

Why it works

A tagine is a braise built for time rather than attention, which makes it the natural fit for a slow cooker and for a batch. The nutritional argument is the chickpea: legumes eaten regularly are among the more consistent dietary predictors of cardiovascular outcome across cohorts, and a dish that produces six portions of them in one go is how that consistency actually happens. Dried apricots contribute potassium at a density most fruit cannot match, which matters because potassium works against sodium on blood pressure. The spice blend is doing real work too. Cinnamon, cumin, and ginger all carry compounds with measurable antioxidant activity, and the long cook extracts them into the sauce rather than leaving them on the surface. The almonds go on at the end so they stay crisp.

Ingredients

• 2 × 400 g tins chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 150 g dried apricots, halved
• 400 g tin chopped tomatoes
• 2 onions, sliced
• 4 garlic cloves, sliced
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp cayenne, or to taste
• 400 ml low-sodium vegetable stock
• 60 g flaked almonds, toasted
• A handful of coriander, and lemon wedges to serve

Method

1. Put everything except the almonds, coriander, and lemon into the slow cooker and stir well.
2. Cook on low for six to eight hours, or high for three to four, until the sauce has thickened and the apricots have almost dissolved into it.
3. Taste. A tagine wants more acid than feels right at first, so add lemon until the sweetness sits back.
4. Toast the flaked almonds in a dry pan until golden, watching closely, and scatter them over just before serving with the coriander.
5. If you have no slow cooker, cook it covered in a low oven at 150C for two hours, checking the liquid once.