Grace-Marie's Moroccan Spiced
Autumn Tagine
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This week's recipe comes from Grace-Marie Johnston, Director of the Bristol Farms Cooking School located in Manhattan Beach. Her tagine features an intriguing blend of sweet and savory spices that is perfect for any chilly fall evening.

Couscous:
2 cups vegetable stock
1 stick cinnamon
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon Kosher or sea salt
1/2 teaspoon saffron threads
1-1/2 cups instant couscous

Method:
Warm the stock, cinnamon stick, butter, salt and saffron in a medium saucepan. Remove from the heat and stir in the couscous. Cover, off of heat, until the stock has been absorbed, about 5 minutes. Remove the cinnamon stick. Fluff with a fork, just before serving.

Tagine:
2 lbs butternut squash, peeled, seeded & diced into 1" pieces
6 small Japanese eggplants, angle sliced into 1" thick portions
1 cup red onion, diced into 1" pieces
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons garlic, minced
3 tablespoons ginger root, freshly grated
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
To season: Kosher or sea salt & freshly ground black pepper

1-1/2 cups vegetable stock
1 stick cinnamon
1/4 cup honey
2 tablespoons lemon juice, with zest included

1 pound large shrimp, peeled & deveined
1/3 cup cilantro, roughly chopped
3 tablespoons mint, thinly sliced

Method:
Combine the squash, eggplant, onion, oil, garlic, ginger, cumin, chili powder, salt and pepper in a bowl. Mix well.

Warm a large skillet over medium heat. In batches, sauté the vegetable mixture until lightly browned, about 3 minutes per batch. Transfer each batch to a large bowl then repeat until all of the vegetables have been precooked.

Return the precooked vegetables to the skillet. Add the stock, cinnamon stick, honey and lemon juice. Cook, stirring occasionally, over medium heat until the vegetables are tender and lightly glazed with the sauce, about 15 minutes.

Just before serving remove the cinnamon stick. Stir in the shrimp, cilantro and mint and cook until the shrimp turns pink, 2 minutes or less.

Serve over the couscous either family-style or as individual portions.

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