One-pot Moroccan vegetable tagine

I do love a good tagine. This is a really easy dish, but it tastes superb after its slow simmering.

Ingredients

Quantity	Ingredient
	olive oil, for cooking
2	large red onions, finely chopped
4	garlic cloves, finely chopped
800g	tomato passata
16	pitted dates, chopped
2 teaspoons	ground cinnamon
or 2	cinnamon sticks
1 teaspoon	ground cumin
800g	tinned chickpeas, drained
2	large red peppers, cut into 2 cm chunks
1	large aubergine, cut into 1 cm chunks
2	large courgettes, cut into half-moon slices
	sea salt
	black pepper
	fresh coriander sprigs, to serve

Heat a little olive oil in a pan, add the onions and garlic and cook for 4–5 minutes, until softened. Add the passata, dates, cinnamon and cumin and simmer for 10–15 minutes, stirring frequently.
Add the chickpeas, peppers and aubergine and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring frequently. If the sauce gets too dry, add a little water, but bear in mind the sauce should be quite thick at the end. Add the courgettes and simmer for a further 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Serve hot, sprinkled with coriander, along with wholemeal couscous or quinoa.

Cinnamon has been used for decades by herbalists to encourage blood flow and as a mild circulatory stimulant. Some studies have shown that cinnamon extracts may be useful for stabilising blood sugar levels and making cells more responsive to insulin signalling, although they have yet to be tested on humans. Still, it’s interesting stuff.