Vegetarian Tagine with Fennel, New Potato and Green Olives

Ingredients

• 2 medium onions, chopped
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 bulbs of fennel cut into thick slices
• 250g baby new potatoes, halved
• 3 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
• 1 red chilli, halved and de-seeded (not chopped)
• 2 tsps Ras el Hanout (if not available increase the other ground spices by half)
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp coriander seeds
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• ½ cinnamon stick
• 1 preserved lemon
• 1 bay leaf
• 600ml boiling water or stock
• 100g pitted giant green olives
• 50g dried apricots (and/or dates) chopped in half
• 2 large ripe tomatoes, chopped
• Salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• Pomegranate syrup to taste
• Lemon juice to taste
• a handful of fennel tops (the leafy fronds), dill or chopped fresh parsley or coriander