♥︎Vegan tajine of sweet potato, fennel & olives

For ➍

4 tbs olive oil

3 fennel bulbs, each in 8 wedges & keep the greens

juice & pulp of 2 oranges

juice & pulp of 1 lemon

2 red onions, in half moons

3 garlic cloves, sliced

3-5 sprigs of thyme

25 cl boiling water

1-2 tbs harissa

750 g orange sweet potatoes, peeled & chopped

100 g  black olives

Heat the olive oil in a heavy casserole or tagine. Add the fennel pieces and a pinch of salt and fry the vegetables for 8-10 m. Use tongs to turn the pieces so that they brown on all sides. Remove the fennel pieces from the pan and keep apart.

Put the onion in the pan and let it fry for 2 to 3 m. Add the garlic and thyme and fry for 1 m.

Fill a measuring jug with 25 cl of boiling water and dissolve the harissa in it. Add the orange and lemon juice and, if desired, a pinch of salt and pour this broth into the pan with the onions.

Add the sweet potato pieces and the fried fennel, toss gently and bring to the boil. Put a lid on the pan and turn the heat to low. Let simmer gently for 15 m.

Remove the lid from the pan and add the olives. Carefully toss again and let everything simmer for another 15 m without a lid, or until the sweet potato is cooked through.

Finely chop the fennel greens and sprinkle over the tajine before serving.

*Serve this dish with a whole grain of your choice, such as whole grain couscous, pearl barley, buckwheat, whole grain rice or quinoa. The last three are gluten-free. 

**Serve with a green salad.

Fregola & sausage with harissa

For ➋

2 tbs olive oil 

6 large sausages, herby rather than spicy* 

400 g assorted tomatoes** 

150 g fregola*** 

1-2 tbs harissa paste

olive oil 

Warm the oil in a large, shallow-sided pan and fry the sausages over a low to moderate heat until nicely browned. Remove the sausages, slice them thickly then return them to the pan. 

Roughly chop the tomatoes and add them to the sausages, letting them soften and collapse into a rough sauce over a moderate heat. ut a large pan of water on to boil and add a little salt. Tip in the fregola and leave to boil for 10 m. Check its progress regularly, draining it as soon as it is tender. Stir the harissa paste into the tomatoes and season with a little salt. Cook until you have a rich, thick sauce then stir in the drained fregola. 

Check the seasoning and serve. 

*Use eggplant chunks for a vegetarian version. Use more oil. 

**Add a little sugar for a stronger taste.

***Fregola (or fregula) is a Sardinian couscous-like toasted pasta from durum wheat. 

Bouillabaisse de poulet aux légumes (Provençal chicken stew)

For ➍
4 chicken breasts
1 carrot, chopped
1 fennel, chopped
1 leek (white), sliced
4 tomatoes
1 jet of pastis
1 capsule of saffron threads
½ chicken stock cube
2 potatoes with firm flesh
5 cl olive oil
pepper & salt
1 baguette
chopped chives
fresh rouille

Heat 5 cl of olive oil in a casserole. Add the chopped and sliced ​​vegetables; sauté for 10 m over moderate heat (vegetables should be transparent without losing their colour).
Wash and chop the tomatoes. Sift tomato juice over vegetables, squeeze the pulp to extract the most juice.
Season with salt and pepper. Add pastis and saffron. Add 0.5 l of water. Melt the stock tablet; bring to a boil, cover and cook at a rolling boil for 5 m.
Peel the potatoes and cut into small cubes 0.5 cm. Add the potatoes to the other vegetables and cook 10 m, uncovered.
Poach the chicken breasts in the sauce for 20 m. Do not boil but maintain just below boiling point.
Meanwhile, prepare the rouille.
Cut the baguette into slices and brown under the grill.
Divide the chicken breasts on plates. Surround with the vegetables and the sauce. Smear the rouille on the rust baguette pieces and arrange them around the chicken pieces. Garnish with chopped chives.

Rouille

For ➍
for the rouille:
1 egg yolk
1 tbs harissa*
2 cloves garlic
10 cl olive oil

Beat the egg yolk and harissa.
Add olive oil in small nets until a good consistency of mayonnaise is reached. Mix in the finely minced garlic and continue beating until you get a smooth, thick rouille.
Serve with bouillabaisse.

*Replace harissa by fresh peppers, chopped.

Carrot, feta & mint salad with harissa

For ➍
300 g carrots, peeled, trimmed & coarsely grated
4 tbs olive oil
1 crushed clove of garlic
½ ts caraway seeds (¼ when ground)
¾ ts cumin seeds (⅓ when ground)
½ ts paprika
¼ ts harissa paste*
½ ts sugar
3 tbs lemon juice
2 tbs flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
2 tbs fresh mint, finely chopped
100 g feta, crumbled or chopped into bits

In a small sauté pan, cook the garlic, caraway, cumin, paprika, harissa and sugar in the oil until fragrant, about 2 m.

Remove from heat and add the lemon juice and a pinch of salt.

Pour over the carrots and mix.

Add the herbs and mix. Leave to infuse for 1 h.

Add the feta.

*Use harissa or red pepper powder instead.