JOURNAL
You know I love Moroccan food but for me Moroccan food means much more than the recipes I share, all the tagines and even more than the tastiest bastilas! Moroccan food, for me is also the food I ate while growing up. I spent a good two weeks in Morocco this summer and while I was so happy to be reunited with my family, I was also very pleased to be reunited with the sweetest tomatoes, freshest seafood and juiciest fruits!
Remember when I posted my rose harissa recipe? Ever since, many of you have been asking me for a basic harissa recipe so I thought I would make a special post just for it!
Turmeric is present in many Moroccan dishes, this ancient orange-coloured spice imported from Southeast Asia has been an essential staple in Moroccan cuisine for centuries. Recently, turmeric has been described as a major superfood thanks to its inflammatory and therapeutic purposes.
Let’s find out more!
Argan oil is extracted from the kernels of the argan tree fruits. This tree, also known as argania spinosa is endemic to the Sous valley of southwestern Morocco.
In spite of the challenging calcareous desert climate they flourish in, argan trees successfully live for as much as 250 years.
Did you know that the saffron threads we use for cooking actually come from a flower? I didn’t know and I recently found out so I decided to learn more about saffron and saffron in Morocco. Very interesting!
Preserved lemons are pickled lemon in water and salt. They are beautifully fragrant and their flavour is unique which makes them irreplaceable in Moroccan cuisine, where they are usually added to tagines and salads.
They are special cause they have the ability to add a citrusy and fragrant scent to all your dishes. Chop and add them to your salad, couscous, rice and meats, you won’t be disappointed.
Ras el hanout, is a versatile and beautifully fragrant Moroccan spice blend commonly used in Moroccan cuisine.
“Ras el Hanout” means “top of the shop” in Arabic, which suggests that the spices used for the blend are the finest spices available in the merchant's shop.
Moroccan cuisine is famous for it’s delicious stews; the legendary tagines. But what do we mean by tagine, the pot or the dish? What is actually a tagine and how does it work? Is it important to use a traditional tagine pot to make a Moroccan tagine? What’s the difference between a Dutch oven and a tagine pot?
Let's find out!
Also, last time I was in Morocco, I went to a tagine factory, Al Amal Poterie in Rabat, and took lots of pictures. It’s finally time to share them with you!
One of the main things my blog was missing so far was an introductory post about Moroccan food. I had been thinking about it for a while but I couldn’t get myself to start writing it. If we ignore the fact that occasionally, I can be very lazy, one of the reasons why I hadn’t started it was because I enjoy much more developing, cooking, photographing, testing and tasting recipes than writing historical articles. The other reason, and probably the main one, is because it forced me to face the hard truth: I didn’t know anything about the history of Moroccan food and I wasn’t sure where to start.
I have been meaning to tell you a bit more about these little tiny balls of semolina flour for a while but I haven’t had the chance. I am glad I can finally do it before the end of the year!
As the child of two strict Moroccan foodies, my experience with couscous growing up was very traditional. Let me explain. In Morocco the term “couscous” refers to a whole dish made usually of meat and vegetables cooked in a delicious broth served on a bed of steamed semolina granules (aka couscous!). “Couscous” never referred to a side dish or a salad and “couscous” was never cooked instantly. It was quite the opposite.