Filed under: Maroccan Meal
Every Moroccan family had to have a lamb slaughtered in celebration of Eid el Kebir, which coincided with New Year’s in 2007. The sheep were transported by any means possible; it was quite a sight to see – countless sheep were balanced by skilled drivers on scooters making their way through the buzzing streets of Marrakech. We celebrated New Year in the Atlas Mountains in Morocco that year. Now, a year later, I tried the tagine (a dish cooked in an earthenware pot with a conical lid), in memory of the one of the best New Years I have ever had. It is not difficult at all, it just needs time to cook softly so that it falls of the bone. I have always wanted to write a recipe of a dish that your can put in the oven in the oven before you go to work, and then take it out when you arrive at home. Why not make up an occasion to celebrate and have some friends/family over for a quick dinner after work? To Aid and New Year!
For 4-10 people, depending on your choice of cut
2 garlic cloves
3 onions
½ t ground cumin
½ t ground coriander
½ t ground tumeric
1 t ground cinnamon
1 t ground ginger
1 t ground black pepper or freshly ground black pepper
2 cloves
2 cardamom pods
A pinch saffron (enough just to pick up between your two fingers)
1 shoulder of lamb (enough for 5) or one leg (enough for 10)
1 cup olive oil
2 cups water
1 cup big juicy raisins
4 T honey
½ cup toasted flaked almonds, to serve
Chunky bread, such as ciabatta of baguettes (French loaves), to serve
Take out a casserole/potjie/ovenproof dish with a lid and preheat the oven to 100 degrees Celsuis. Mix up all the spices and the garlic in a portal and mestle or alternatively crush the garlic by chopping it finely and then adding a little salt and with one side of your knife, working it into a paste. Add two tablespoons of water and work everything into a paste. Set it aside and chop your onions roughly into squares. Rub the paste all over the lamb. Place the onions, then the lamb in the dish and add the oil and water, stir a bit, cover and place in the oven. Forget about it until you arrive home and you can smell it. This is slow food, and I recommend you let the ingredients become friends for a good 7-9 hours. When you are 10 minutes away from serving, mix in the honey and raisins and let it rest in the oven, turned off, while you make a salad (try the Moroccan Salad), lay the table, and pour yourself a glass of wine. Serve with rustic bread to mop up the juices. And eat with your hands.
*If you want to have the real deal – try making it on an open fire, just let it cook slowly for the day on glowing coals. I tried it with the dish once. It is beautiful. Of all the dishes I have experimented with, my family dubbed it as one of the most delicious by far. And it made me realize – food is not difficult! The secret is – it just takes time.
It was December 2006 in Morocco – my family and another family, the Dreyers, found ourselves in a carpet shop in the Imperial City of Fes. We could not believe our eyes (or our stomachs for that matter) – sitting in this surreal room, having lunch of salad, marinated olives and bread, among millions of large rugs collecting dust in the corners of the majestic riad (close to a mansion, with the rooms designed around a patio). Nevertheless, the lunch did not come priceless – we were eagerly offered some carpets afterwards: “Shock me with your price. I give you very good price,” (nothing is sold without bargaining first in Morocco).
A page alone cannot begin to describe how the northernmost country of Africa captured my heart… . Now, where I am living in the southernmost tip of Africa, there are still the bright memories of one of the best holidays I had in my life with my family and friends. This is one of the recipes I brought back with me and it allows one to travel over deserts, jungles and oceans to experience Morocco – all in just a serving of this salad.
What do you need to go on this trip?
Only 8 of the reddest tomatoes
One red onion
2 T chopped mint (a small bunch)
2 T good extra virgin olive oil
A big pinch salt
Freshly ground black pepper, three or four grinds
3 T freshly squeezed lemon juice
A pinch of icing sugar
Your itinerary:
Take out your serving bowl (a plate will look gorgeous) and ingredients. There is one thing of tomatoes, actually two, which make or break the tomato – never store tomatoes in the fridge (excepts mini ones) and always go for the reddest ones – and then Mohammed’s your uncle! Firstly cut your onion from the root to the top part where the leaves sprouted from, length-ways in half. Peel it and discard (if it goes onto your compost heap, you are doing your bit to the environment too), then cut it in thin slices. Do this with both halves. Toss the slices into your serving bowl, while loosening the bits of the onion. Cut the tomato in quarters, the chunkier the better, but you still want to be able to put it into your mouth in one bite! I don’t like fighting with huge pieces of salad ingredients at all, it must be totally recognisable but also chewable. Morocco will really come to town when you chop the mint finely next, and then add it. In with the lemon juice, salt, pepper, and olive oil. Morocco has arrived – it is ready to serve – with bread and olives, with your invention, with a tagine, or on its own as a refreshing lunch.
Everybody drinks it – a mixture of 1T Chinese green tea in a pot with boiling water, a bunch full of washed mint and 4 T sugar. Traditionally served in beautiful glasses and poured from a height to airate the water. Warning! You can leave out the sugar if you do not want your teeth to look like a moroccan’s, but do try it every now and again for a treat, it is heaven after walking/working the whole day, this is the perfect pick-me-up for locals and visitors alike…
This keeps in an airtight container/sterilized bottel for a good month.
For 10 people you need:
1T olive oil
1t cumin seeds
1t fennel seeds
1t coriander seeds
1/4t cardomom, ground
pinch ground nutmeg
pinch cinnamon
1 1/2 cups olives (preferably green ones)
1T fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 T feshly squeezed orange juice
3 garlic cloces, finely chopped
One small red chilli, finely chopped with seeds
Heat the olive oil, cumin -, fennel – , coriander seeds, cardamom, nutmeg and cinnamon in a saucepan pver a medium heat for about two minutes, shaking and keeping an eye on it in case it wants to burn, for about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat, add the olives and toss to coat. Stir in the remaining ingredients. Refrigirate at least 4 hours before use.
