Chickpea and Eggplant Tagine

Boil the measured water and dissolve the 0.5 vegetable stock cube in it. Add the couscous to a bowl with the vegetable stock and cover with a plate for 10 min. After 10 min, fluff up with a fork and set aside.

Meanwhile, chop the eggplant into bite-sized pieces. Drain and rinse the chickpeas. Peel and finely chop the red onion. Peel and mince the garlic. Deseed and finely slice the yellow pepper. Peel and slice the carrot into thin coins. Chop the green olives in half.

Heat a large pan over a medium-high heat with a drizzle of oil. Add the eggplant and onion with a pinch of salt and fry for 5 min. Add the garlic, coriander cumin, paprika, ginger powder, ras el hanout (spicy!) and cinnamon stick. Fry for 1 min further.

Add the measured water, tomato passata, brown sugar, the remaining 0.5 vegetable stock cube, peppers and carrots. Reduce the heat to medium. Cover with a lid and simmer, stirring occasionally for 10 min. Meanwhile, slice the lemon into wedges. Add the chickpeas, olives and golden raisins. Simmer for 5 min further and remove from the heat. Season with salt and pepper and a squeeze of lemon juice to taste (reserve the rest for step 5).

Meanwhile, finely chop the parsley leaves. Finely chop the cucumber into cubes. Once the couscous is cooked, add the cucumber and half of the parsley (reserve the rest for garnish) to the bowl with the couscous. Add a drizzle of olive oil, season with salt and pepper and a squeeze of lemon juice to taste (reserve the rest for garnish).

Divide the cucumber and parsley couscous and the vegetable tagine among plates. Garnish with the remaining parsley and lemon wedges.