Tagine of Yam, Carrots, Shallots and Prunes

Despite the prunes this is one of my favourite tagine recipes!

Ingredients
serves 4
700g Yam (or Butternut Squash) peeled and cut into bite size chunks  
16 Shallots (small) peeled and left whole  
175g Ready-to-eat stoned Prunes  
2 Carrots medium size, peeled and cut into bite size chunks  
2 Cinnamon sticks (or 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon)  
40g fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped or grated  
3 tbsp Olive Oil  
15g Butter  
1 tbsp Dark runny Honey  
425ml Vegetable stock  
 bunch of fresh coriander, roughly chopped  
 a few fresh mint leaves, chopped  
 ground black pepper  

Method
Heat the oil and butter in a tagine (or heavy based casserole) on a medium heat. Stir in the ginger and cinnamon sticks. Toss in the shallots and when they begin to colour add the yam (or butternut squash) and the carrots. Saute for 2-3 minutes, then add the prunes and the honey. Pour in the stock and bring it to the boil. Reduce the heat, cover with a lid and cook gently for about 25 minutes.

Remove the lid and stir in some of the coriander and mint. Season to taste with sea salt and ground black pepper and reduce the liquid, if necessary, by cooking for a further 2-3 minutes without the lid. The vegetables should be tender and slightly caramelized in a very syrupy sauce. 


Sprinkle with remaining coriander and mint and serve immediately.