Vegan Moroccan Tofu and Quandong Tagine

A mildly spicy, fruity and garlicky Moroccan style dish flavoured with cinnamon based ras-el-hanout spices. Designed for the vegan, the dish comprises tofu, red oriental dates, apricot, quandong (Australian native peach) and cashew nuts. Served with basmati rice or couscous. To make the dish, use your favourite tagine recipe, substituting meat for tofu, or follow these general instructions.

Ras-El-Hanout Spice Mix
Ras-el-hanout is a North African spice mix used in Moroccan style cooking. The spice mix can be simple or a complex mixture, reportedly up to 50 different exotic spices, including Spanish fly. Sweet spices dominate, namely cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg/mace and sometimes cloves. To make your own, try the following adapted from a recipe by Michael Smith of Food Network:

Ingredients:
3 tablespoon cinnamon, ground
1 tablespoon cardamon seeds or pods, ground
1 tablespoon cumin seeds, ground
1 tablespoon carraway seeds, ground



Tofu Tagine
A tagine dish is normally cooked in a special clay pot (of the same name) with an inverted cone lid to help distribute the heat. A stove top casserole works fine for this recipe. The most important thing in the technique is to simmer gently until the oil floats to the top, as in a great curry.

Ingredients:
500 g firm tofu,cubed
1/2 cup (85 g) cashew or favourite nuts, milled to paste
4 garlic cloves, milled to a paste
1 onion, sliced
2 tablespoon ras-el-hanout, ground
1 teaspoon tumeric, ground
2 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon chilli flakes, to taste
1 cup red oriental dates
1/2 cup dried apricot
1/2 cup dried quandong (Australian native peach)
500-750 mL water
1/4 cup coriander leaves, chopped
extra cashews, or nuts of choice, for garnish

Put everything, except water and coriander, in a stove top casserole and marinate for 1 hour. Add water to cover the tofu. Bring to a slow simmer. Simmer for 1 to 1.5 hours until the sauce thickens and the tofu is meaty. Add the fruit and simmer for about 30 minutes until plumb. Alternatively poach the fruit separately to avoid overcooking. To serve, sprinkle the coriander over and garnish with extra cashews.