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Moroccan Cuisine |
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Moroccan cooking enlists a wide variety of spices--ras el hanout, the most exotic blend, may include over 30 ingredients--you can capture the essence of Moroccan cooking without a visit to a North African souk.
Nowhere is the wide variety of ingredients used in Moroccan cooking on more tempting display than at a weekly souk. At these open-air markets, aromas from the spice stalls entice shoppers with mounds of cinnamon, ground ginger (Moroccans don't use fresh ginger), nutmeg, cloves, and mace. Jars filled with sweet red paprika and golden turmeric share shelf space with burlap bags overflowing with peppercorns and cumin seeds. The complexity of flavours that characterises Moroccan cuisine reflects many cultural influences in the region. But even though Moroccan cooking enlists a wide variety of spices--ras el hanout, the most exotic blend, may include over 30 ingredients--you can capture the essence of Moroccan cooking without a visit to a North African souk.
Familiar ingredients combine intriguingly
The handful of spices I use the most--cumin, sweet paprika, saffron, cinnamon, ground ginger, and black pepper--are probably already in your spice rack. What may seem unusual is that these spices are often used in combination to add exquisite depth to many Moroccan dishes, for example, the stews called tagines.
A penchant for mixing sweet with savoury
Other familiar flavours playing unusual roles include fresh and dried fruits and honey. These sweet ingredients are often added to meat dishes, such as lamb simmered with honey and cinnamon. Such wonderfully rich dishes are often saved from being cloying by the generous addition of black pepper and a touch of cayenne. This "sweet heat" is a hallmark of Moroccan tagines.
Perhaps the most famous pairing of savoury and sweet is found in the lavish, uniquely Moroccan dish called b'stila (or bastila) in which shredded pigeon, ground almonds, icing sugar, and cinnamon are layered within a filo-like dough called ourka.
In b'stila, as in many other Moroccan dishes, saffron and turmeric give the filling flavour as well as a golden hue. To bring out the saffron's flavour, I often toast the threads lightly before adding them to a dish.
Tangy, spicy, and pungent flavours round out the cuisine.
Another distinctly North African flavour is charmoula, a potent purée of garlic, paprika, cumin, lemon juice, olive oil, and coriander that is used as a marinade and as a sauce.
Back at the souk, you'll find piles of preserved lemons and plastic tubs filled with dry-cured black olives and delicious purple and green olives. Seasoned a dozen different ways, olives often serve as appetisers or as one of the main flavourings in tagines or salads.
Preserved lemons--the most important Moroccan condiment.
From time spent packed in salt, the lemon's rind turns tender enough to eat, the pulp becomes almost jam-like, and the lemon flavour is intensified. Preserved lemons add a delicious tartness to meat, poultry, or fish tagines; they're also wonderful sliced in salads. The pulp is often puréed with the sauce of a dish and the rind added at the end of cooking.
Finally, no consideration of Moroccan cooking is complete without mentioning atay b'nahna, a strong, sweet mint tea that is Morocco's national drink (to make it, see below).
Try the tastes of Morocco
· Rub beef or lamb with a mixture of olive oil, garlic, and cumin before roasting or grilling. · Serve chickpeas as a side dish seasoned with a dash of cumin, some sweet paprika, and olive oil. · Toss diced roasted capsicums with a little olive oil, ground cumin, chopped garlic, and diced preserved lemon rind. · Brew a teaspoon of Chinese green tea with 2-1/2 cups water. While the tea steeps, add a half dozen or so sprigs of fresh mint. Add sugar to taste (Moroccans like it very sweet) and serve hot.
Try this wonderful Moroccan Tagine
LAMB SHANKS TAGINE
(adapted from a recipe from The Criterion Restaurant, Lobby Level, MLC Centre, Sydney)
8 lamb shanks
2 parsnips, peeled and cubed
6 dates (optional)
4 carrots, chopped
3 onions, chopped finely
1 can tomatoes
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 cups orange juice
2 tablespoons garlic puree
4 tablespoons Herbie's Spices Tagine Mix
salt and freshly-ground pepper
4 cups water
Coat shanks Herbie's Spices Tagine spice mixture and seal lightly in hot oil. Place in a large ovenproof pot, add vegetables, and remaining spice mixture and liquids. Cover with lid or foil and gently bake for one and a half to two hours in a moderate oven, or until meat is very tender. Serve with couscous or with cooked potato cubes and cauliflower florets quickly fried together in olive oil with whole cumin seeds and mustard seeds. Serves 4 (2 shanks each).
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