Los Angeles native Camilla Marcus has become a pioneer of regenerative cooking, a culinary style that focuses on sustainable, locally sourced ingredients, meat alternatives, net-zero farming and reducing food waste. Now, the multi-hyphenate chef and entrepreneur—who resides with her husband and four children in a storybook ranch house in Mandeville Canyon—is releasing her first book, My Regenerative Kitchen: Plant-Based Recipes and Sustainable Practices to Nourish Ourselves and the Planet (Chelsea Green Publishing). Here, Marcus shares one of her favorite fall recipes.
Roasted Vegetable Tagine
makes 4 to 6 servings
Ingredients:
4 tablespoons (60 ml) avocado oil
1 small yellow onion, diced
5 garlic cloves, grated
1 teaspoon fresh ginger, peeled and grated
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
1/2 teaspoon chili flakes
Pinch of saffron
2 1/2 to 3 cups of medium-diced hearty vegetables
11/2 cups (240 g) cooked chickpeas
1 cup (240 ml) vegetable stock
1 cup halved grapes
1/2 cup medium-diced dried fruit
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon minced preserved lemon
1/2 cup pitted chopped Castelvetrano olives
Recipe:
Heat two tablespoons of the avocado oil in a tagine or Dutch oven over medium heat until shimmering. Add the onion and cook for five minutes, until tender, then add the garlic, ginger, turmeric, cumin, cinnamon, coriander, chili flakes and saffron. Bloom the spices in the oil for one-to-two minutes. Fold in the chopped vegetables and cook for about five minutes. Add the stock, grapes and dried fruit and season with salt and pepper to taste. Turn the heat up to medium-high, cook for 10 minutes, then cover and turn the heat down to a gentle simmer for another 20 minutes, until everything is tender. Finish by stirring in the preserved lemon and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper if needed. Remove from the heat and sprinkle with the olives and remaining two tablespoons of avocado oil. Serve with couscous, shallot labneh and fresh herbs, if you like.
“The key here is using heartier vegetables that take a bit longer to cook, like beets, sweet potatoes, carrots, leeks and winter squash. The dried fruit that works best is similarly more enduring—apricot, goldenberries, prunes, plums, cherries—to ensure all components keep their shape and bright flavor rather than breaking down too quickly during the long cooking process.”