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I’ve worked with Cranks before and was delighted when they invited me to host a Cranks Supperclub to celebrate their new Winter Menu at the Cranks Kitchen in Totnes, Devon. I jumped at the chance to take part.
A supperclub is essentially a pop-up dinner—often run from someone’s home—which can be great fun for hosts and guests. Rather than open the evening to the public, I invited a small group of friends for a cosy Cranks-inspired supper.
Cranks’ winter menu features a comforting tagine, which inspired my Moroccan-style Lemony Sweet Potato & Olive Vegan Tagine. It’s packed with preserved lemon, dried apricots, chilli and cinnamon—a little taste of North Africa for a chilly Hertfordshire evening.
I’ve included the recipe below if you’d like to try it. I made a large batch and ate it for three days straight—this one improves with time, so it’s ideal to prepare ahead for guests.
I served the tagine with a bright herby pistachio couscous inspired by Yotam Ottolenghi’s Plenty. The fresh green herbs and crunchy pistachios balance the sweet, spiced tagine beautifully.
In the rush to serve, I forgot to photograph the chilli flatbreads, which we used for dipping into hummus. They were simple: a basic bread dough spiked with chilli, divided into 12 pieces, rolled thin and dry-fried for a minute or so each side until golden and blistered. I wrapped them in a clean tea towel to keep them warm and soft—if rolled very thin they crisp faster, but the towel keeps them pliable.
No Moroccan-inspired meal is complete without hummus. I used my roasted garlic hummus recipe, which made a big tub that lasted for lunches all week.
Vegan Tagine: Shopping List
You will need:
- Red onions
- Garlic cloves
- Fresh ginger
- Sweet potatoes
- Red chilli
- Lemon
- Fresh coriander
- Fresh parsley
- Tinned chickpeas
- Cinnamon
- Turmeric
- Preserved lemons
- Vegetable stock powder
- Pitted olives
- Dried apricots
- Pine nuts
Don’t forget to save the recipe for later or share with friends.
Do send pictures of your tagine on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram to show me how it turned out!
Kate x
📖 Recipe
Lemony Sweet Potato Tagine
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 red onions, sliced
- 3 garlic cloves, peeled & crushed
- 2 teaspoon fresh ginger, peeled & grated
- 3 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into large chunks
- 400 g tin chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon turmeric
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 red chilli, finely sliced
- 2 small preserved lemons, finely chopped (include peel and pulp)
- 2 teaspoon vegetable stock powder
- 3 tablespoon pitted olives
- 100 g dried apricots, finely chopped
- Juice of ½ a lemon
- Handful fresh coriander and parsley
- 2 tablespoon pine nuts
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan or casserole. Gently fry the onions for about 5 minutes until softened. Add the garlic, ginger, sweet potatoes and chickpeas and cook for a further 5 minutes.
- Add the turmeric, sugar, chilli, preserved lemons and stock powder. Cover with boiling water and simmer gently for 15 minutes with a lid on.
- Add the olives and apricots, season with salt, and simmer for another 10–15 minutes until the sweet potatoes are tender. Add a little more water if needed to create a thick, saucy consistency.
- Stir through two-thirds of the chopped herbs and the lemon juice, then divide between bowls and scatter with the remaining herbs and the pine nuts.
Nutrition
There are plenty of quick, easy recipes in my book Vegan in 15. If you enjoy these recipes, thank you for your support!
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Disclosure: This post was sponsored by Cranks, who paid me to host the supperclub. All opinions are my own.