We found this lovely and full-flavored vegetarian dish in Milk Street’s Fast and Slow Cookbook for Instant Pot Cooking. A tagine is a North African stew cooked in a shallow, conical clay pot that goes by the same name. This chunky vegetable dish is warmly spiced like a tagine and features the common North African pairing of sweet and tart flavors.
For extra depth and a touch of spiciness, swirl in a spoonful of harissa into the tagine just before serving or offer some at the table for spooning on to taste. You will probably want to soak up the delicious sauce with crusty bread, warmed flatbread or couscous (or choice).
Be aware, you don’t want to shortcut the prep by leaving the tomatoes whole. Slicing 2 pints of grape tomatoes may sound like a bummer, but this step helps the tomatoes break down and cook at the same rate as the eggplant.
Eggplant, Tomato and Chickpea Tagine
Ingredients
- ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more to serve
- 4 medium garlic cloves, roughly chopped
- 1 medium yellow onion, roughly chopped
- 2 pints grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
- 4 tsp. finely grated fresh ginger
- 1½ tsp. ground cumin
- 1 tsp. sweet paprika
- ¼ tsp. ground cinnamon
- Kosher salt and ground black pepper
- 2 lbs. eggplant, trimmed and cut into 1-inch chunks
- 15½ oz. can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
- 1 Tbsp. lemon juice, plus lemon wedges to serve
- 1 cup lightly packed fresh cilantro, finely chopped
Directions
- On a 6-quart Instant Pot, select Normal/Medium Sauté.
- Add the oil and garlic, then cook, stirring often, until golden brown, about 4 minutes.
- Add the onion, tomatoes, ginger, cumin, paprika, cinnamon, 2½ teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes begin to release some of their juices, 2 to 4 minutes.
- Press Cancel, then stir in ¼ cup water, scraping up any browned bits. Gently stir in the eggplant, then distribute in an even layer.
- Lock the lid in place and move the pressure valve to Sealing. Select Pressure Cook or Manual; set the pressure level to Low. Set the cooking time for 3 minutes. When pressure cooking is complete, quick-release the steam by moving the pressure valve to Venting. Press Cancel, then carefully open the pot.
- Gently stir in the chickpeas and lemon juice, then taste and season with salt and pepper. Stir in the cilantro.
- Serve drizzled with additional oil and with lemon wedges on the side.
Recipe by Julia Rackow for Milk Street
Accounting for Taste 
1 thought on “Eggplant, Tomato and Chickpea Tagine”