Moroccan Food
Eating in Morocco is an exciting and rich experience. Food in Morocco has many different styles with thousands of great restaurants in all the major cities and towns of Morocco. All of them seem to boast about one chef or another, which is good, but for most of us we want to get down to eating.
In addition, food in Rabat and other Moroccan tourist resorts is not restricted to traditional Moroccan delights. Cuisine from all over the world can be found in Morocco, including Asian, Indian, Middle Eastern, and other international tastes. Fast food chains are rising in popularity due to convenience and their family oriented style.
Moroccan food is one of the most sensual in the world. It appeals directly and unashamedly to the senses of smell, sight and taste in a way that no other cuisine can match. The souks are magical places, with smells and sights that make one feel hungry just thinking about them. Around every corner, waft different smells to surprise and delight.The Moroccan-born writer Edmond Amran el Maleh described Moroccan cuisine as 'the perfumed soul of our culture', a unique blend of African, Arabian and European influences. The result: a cuisine characterised by its subtle scents, delicate flavours and elegant presentation.Eating is serious business. Typically dining room walls are decorated with mosaics and richly woven carpets cover the floors. Hand carved low divans swamped by luxurious, elaborately-decorated cushions line the sides of the room and a heavy circular table is laid with ornate baroque silverware and copperwareDishes are placed in the centre of the table often in earthenware dishes in which they are cooked and everyone tucks in.Most meals begin with a simple selection of mezze, which might include a bowl of olives or a selection of cooked vegetable salads dressed with olive oil, sprinkled with cumin and served a dip and flat bread. The tagine or roast meat dish may come next, served with couscous and often a salad. A simple plate of prepared fresh fruit or dessert marks the end of the meal, before mint tea is served.
Marrakech
This trip to the Bab Doukkala market just west of the ancient, rambling medina was the start of a cookery course that would teach one how to prepare simple Moroccan food; Lucrezia Mutti, my tutor for the day and the elegant Italian owner of the Dar Attajmil riad, a guesthouse arranged around a traditional courtyard adorned with overflowing bowls of white roses, smiled mischievously as she told me we'd be making lamb tagine for lunch.
Recipe For Lamb Tagine
Ingredients
1 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp ground black pepper
1½ tbsp paprika
1½ tbsp ground ginger
1 tbsp(turmeric)
2 tbsp ground cinnamon
1 x shoulder of lamb, trimmed and cut into 5cm/2in chunks (1.1kg/2½lb meat in total)
2 large(onions, grated)
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp argan oil (see note)
3 cloves(garlic, crushed)
570ml/1 pinttomato juice
2 x 400g tinned chopped tomatoes
115g/4oz dried apricots, cut in half
55g/2oz dates, cut in half
55g/2oz sultanas or raisins
85g/3oz flaked almonds
1 tsp saffron stamens, soaked in cold water
600ml/1 pint lamb stock
1 tbsp clear honey
2 tbsp coriander, roughly chopped
2 tbsp flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 150C/300F/Gas2.
2. Place the cayenne, black pepper, paprika, ginger, turmeric and cinnamon into a small bowl and mix to combine. Place the lamb in a large bowl and toss together with half of the spice mix. Cover and leave overnight in the fridge.
3. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil and 1 tbsp of argan oil in a large casserole dish. Add the grated onion and the remaining spice mix and cook over a gentle heat for 10 minutes so that the onions are soft but not coloured. Add the crushed garlic for the final 3 minutes.
4. In a separate frying pan, heat the remaining oil and brown the cubes of lamb on all sides then add the browned meat to the casserole dish. De-glaze the frying pan with ¼ pint of tomato juice and add these juices to the pan.
5. Add the remaining tomato juice, chopped tomatoes, apricots, dates, raisins or sultanas, flaked almonds, saffron, lamb stock and honey to the casserole dish. Bring to the boil, cover with a fitted lid, place in the oven and cook for 2-2½ hours or until the meat is meltingly tender.
6. Place the lamb in a tagine or large serving dish and sprinkle over the chopped herbs. Serve.
Note: Argan oil is a Moroccan oil from the argan tree, you should be able to find it in specialist food shops.
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