Morocco is a county of middle-grounds. situated between the
Mediterranean and the Atlantic, between Europe and the majority of
Africa, between royal wealth and abject poverty, and so it has been
for thousands of years.
Morocco is a county of middle-grounds. situated between the Mediterranean and the Atlantic, between Europe and the majority of Africa, between royal wealth and abject poverty, and so it has been for thousands of years.
North African merchants called the Phoenicians were among the first to settle the land along this portion of Africa’s northern coast nearly 3,000 years ago, but they weren’t the first inhabitants. Berbers, the indigenous people who inhabited the country’s mountainous areas, were already there, and from the Phoenicians, they acquired the skills of masonry, weaving, iron and metalwork, according to Elaine Sosa, author of the Morocco section on the culinary travel and cuisine specialty site Sallys-Place.com.
After a short period of Roman rule, the Arab conquest of the seventh century brought Islam to the Berbers, who still make up some 80 percent of Morocco’s population, wrote Sosa, who noted that a series of tribal successors to this period ruled Morocco until Arab sultans known as the Alaouites seized power. Morocco was declared a French and Spanish protectorate in 1912 and eventually gained its own independence in 1956 under the leadership of King Mohammed V, a descendant of the Alaouites who passed it along to his son, recently deceased monarch King Hassan II.
Hassan once described the nation as a palm tree “rooted in Africa, watered by Islam and rustled by the winds of Europe,” and, like its people, the nation’s cuisine has a foot in two worlds. Here, pungent spices are matched by rich meats and tamed by sweet fruits and airy pastas.
Morocco is a land of plenty, despite its arid landscape, and the kitchen reflects this. Kitchens are sparse, with charcoals often acting as the only source of heat in the room and women, who do almost all of the cooking, preparing dishes with earthen cookware and copper pots that hang over the fire. The only chair in the room is usually a folded towel or rug. However, the dishes that emerge from these simple spaces are resplendent with vibrant colors and complex tastes.
For an honored guest, the woman of a household may spend up to a week preparing as many as 50 dishes for a feast, beginning with a combination of cold and hot salads, progressing to courses of grilled kebabs and moving on to tagines, slow-cooked mixtures of meats and spices so tender they can be pulled apart easily by hand. These would be followed by grilled vegetables and fruit served over tiny semolina grains commonly known as couscous, and then a dessert course of dense, sweet cakes, according to the “African Cookbook,” a text authored by Bea Sandler and used by the University of Pennsylvania for its African Studies program.
Diners would smell the mingling of scents like coriander, cumin, marjoram and saffron with the more common scents of olive oil and onion and capped with exotic touches like sandalwood, mint and roses, wrote Sandler, who noted that meals conclude with a glass of warm mint tea.
Spices are combined in special ways here, so much so that vendors go to great lengths to conceal their own recipes. “Ras el hanout,” or “head of the shop” serves as the common name for a specialty mixture found in every spice shop throughout the country.
A combination of between 10 and 100 spices, each vendor’s recipe is a closely guarded secret and none are exactly the same, according to CuisineNet.com, an editorial-based dining guide to more than 12,000 towns and regions.
Meals are served around low tables where diners sit on cushions and commonly eat with the first three fingers of their right hand, using bread slices as utensils, according to Sandler.
Before the food is handed out, the hostess pours perfumed water over the right hand of each diner, catching the excess water in a small basin, a tradition that bears repeating if you decide to recreate the meal at home. Other tips Sandler suggests include draping the table in a brightly colored or patterned cloth, giving guests sitting low to the ground towels to cover their laps and keeping the tabletop free of any centerpieces or floral arrangements. These may be placed around the room, she said.
If you’re interested in giving Moroccan food a try, take a peek at the recipes included from Le Creuset’s Tagine cookbook listed below. The tagine is a specialty item – a cast-iron base similar to a pie or casserole dish with a conical lid that helps dishes to retain moisture – but users can substitute a frying pan or stew pot with a well-sealed lid without sacrificing taste or money.
Fragrant Chickpea Soup
Serves 4-6
This recipe is based on a Tunisian chickpea and garlic soup called Lablabi. The garlic mellows with long, slow cooking and gives a gentle fragrance to the overall flavor.
1 c. chickpeas
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
4 large cloves garlic, crushed
3 stalks celery, chopped
1 tsp. ground cumin, level
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1 L. white stock (or substitute chicken broth)
a few celery leaves for garnish
Step 1: Soak the chickpeas overnight in one litre cold water.
Step 2: Drain and transfer to tagine, cover with fresh cold water and bring to boil. Boil for 10 minutes, skimming well. Drain and rinse in cold water.
Step 3: Heat the oil in the bottom of the tagine, gently fry all the vegetables until they are beginning to soften. Add the chickpeas, seasonings and cook for one minute, stirring, then add the liquid.
Step 4: Cover and cook for 1 1/2 to 2 hours or until the chickpeas are soft enough to puree.
Step 5: Cool slightly, then put the soup through a blender or food processor. If the soup is very thick, adjust the consistency with a little white stock. Check the seasoning before serving and garnish with a little of the chopped celery leaves.
Moroccan Lamb Tagine with Fennel and Dates
Serves 4
The combination of meats, sweet vegetables and fruits is very typical of Moroccan cookery. The sweetness is offset by the use of plenty of spices and cayenne pepper. This recipe should be served with plain couscous.
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 red onion, thinly sliced
1 fennel bulb (anise), trimmed and thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 1/2 lbs. lamb fillet cut into thick pieces
1 tsp. ground ginger, level
2 tsp. ground cumin
2 tsp. ground coriander
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper, level
1/4 tsp. salt, level
1 c. stoned, chopped dates
2 c. water
fresh coriander (cilantro) to garnish
Step 1: Heat one tablespoon of oil in the tagine base, fry the onion, fennel and garlic until all are just beginning to brown. Transfer to a plate.
Step 2: Add the remaining oil and fry the pieces of lamb until they are evenly browned.
Step 3: Add all the spices and the salt to the meat and stir well. Continue to cook for one minute. Return the vegetables to the tagine with the dates and half the water. Stir well.
Step 4: Cover and cook very gently, stirring occasionally for 2 to 2 1/2 hours. The spices will thicken the liquid as the dish cooks, so check after 1 1/2 hours and add the remaining liquid little by little.
Carrot, Orange and Coriander Salad
Serves 4
6 medium-sized carrots
finely grated rind of two oranges
2 Tbsp. orange juice
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 Tbsp. fresh coriander (cilantro), chopped
little salt
freshly ground black pepper
coriander leaves to garnish
Step 1: Grate carrots into a bowl.
Step 2: Mix all the remaining ingredients and pour over carrots, stirring well. Transfer to serving dish and garnish, then cover and chill slightly before serving.
