We've had the opportunity to learn some Moroccan cooking here at the home base. The food is so delicious! The tajine seems to be the main item in most meals, and it is actually a cooking tool like a clay bowl with a lid that looks like a hat. You fill this up with olive oil and vegetable oil, place it on a gas burner (or barbecue) and toss in whatever it is you want to cook. The lesson we had was for lemon chicken with olives, but it could easily be adapted for vegetarians by using potatoes and turnips instead of chicken. The main ingredients for the tajine include: 2 chopped onions, cumin, ginger, black pepper, salt, 2 cloves of garlic, and a bullion cube of saffron, and 1 preserved (or brined) lemon, 2 tbspns parsley and cilantro. When the oil heats up, you toss in the salt and chicken (or whatever you are substituting for it), then after 10 minutes, toss in everything else, stirring it around really well. You can also add peas and carrots--basically, whatever you want. Cook for 45 minutes, adding the olives 5 minutes before you serve, and voila! Super delicious tajine. The flavors all blend together so well, it reminds me of a yummy roast.
We also learned how to make tea the Moroccan way, and that involves a great deal of boiling and pouring (and three to four very large cubes of sugar!). The secret to good tea is to pour from on high to get good foam. Just aim well and remember to leave a half an inch at the top of your glass so you don't burn your fingers when drinking the tea.
This week, we are going to learn how to make pastries. The food here is so good--healthy and unprocessed, and basically vegetables and lentils or chickpeas. The grains we've had include couscous (mixed with raisins and cinnamon), vermicelli, and rice. And for breakfast, we've had corn bread, which is my favorite--it's kind of sweet, which makes it a little "different"--as well as eggs (scrambled or boiled). I can't really identify the spices in the vegetables, but it seems that parsley, cilantro, and turmeric are used a lot, as well as salt, pepper, and garlic. Oh, and there are a lot of salads here, as well as the BEST OLIVES EVER.
Next post: The Sahara desert and camel riding.
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2 comments:
Aren't the olives fabulous!?! I wouldn't have believed there could be such a difference. I think that was what I liked best about the food in Israel. Wonderful olives at every meal.
Thank you for all the great posts
so adorable! they do look like
The cantan is great, all the posts here about that pattern have prompted me and it looks like you did a very professional job. thermal pallet cover
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