Tagine of pork, summer squash, sweet peppers, and mint

 There are a number of tagine recipes I haven't made because lamb is quite expensive, so I'll get 'round tuit when I get lamb. Except, at the gym, a friend from the Med was informing me that he was about to make so many ancestral souls scream, and substitute pork for lamb in a Lebanese casserole. 

And I cocked my head to the side, and said, "You can do that? It works?"

"Oh, yes. The flavour is a little different, but it works just fine."

Well, then! I cubed up my pork loin, and promptly made a very nice dish.

3-4 Tablespoons of olive oil
1 onion, diced
2 Tbsp minced garlic (or to taste)
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp coriander seeds (I used powder, not whole seed.)
1 Tbsp fresh mint, rough-chopped 
1-2 Tbsp fresh ginger, grated or chopped
2.5 lbs pork loin, cubed into bite-sized pieces

1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
2-3 summer squash, cut into bite-sized pieces
1-2 zucchini, cut into bite-sized pieces
3-4 mini sweet peppers, diced (or 1-2 yellow/red bell pepper)
1 can fire-roasted tomatoes
small bunch of parsley, rough-chopped
small bunch of mint, rough-chopped (in addition to the Tablespoon of mint used above)
1-2 lemons, cut into wedges

Heat the olive oil in the tagine (or enameled cast iron dutch oven). Toss in the onion, cumin, coriander, ginger, garlic, and mint. Once the onions begin to soften, add in the meat, and pour in just enough water to cover. Scrape the browned bits off the bottom, let come to a boil, then cover and simmer for 90 minutes.

Then add salt, pepper, squash, zucchini, tomatoes, and if necessary, more water. Replace lid, cook for 15 more minutes, until the veg is cooked but retains a little bite. 

Turn off stove, uncover, toss in parsley & rest of mint, stir, serve with lemon wedges on the side to sprinkle over the dish just before eating. 

Served without couscous, it even counts for keto! Too much water? No worries, serve it as a soup!

This was good enough I am now plotting to bring in my mint plant this winter, despite the feline frustrations to indoor plants. That way, we can have it again and again.