We were very fortunate to have travelled to Morocco when we were younger and stayed with extended extended family. We travelled with a Moroccan and got to see all the in’s and out’s of a couple of the big cities and some of the countryside. We visited Casablanca and Rabat, stayed in Mohammedia, took a crazy trip to Fez and then a train to Marrakesh, all in all spending about a month there.
Besides having a brief (but intense) bout of ‘Hassan’s Revenge’ for the both of us (and then grateful for separate beds in Marrakesh), our trip was amazing and we loved every minute of it. We visited old forts, many a marketplace (including Djemaa el-Fna), ate in palaces, toured ceramics makers, got henna, went to a Hammam (bathhouse), Jardin Majorelle, and a Fantasia performance.
And we ate, oh, we ate. All the things. Fresh clementines from the trees, market strawberries, street merguez, tajines full of meats and dates and prunes, couscous with piles of vegetables and choice lamb, chicken with olives and preserved lemons, local fish and seafood, sfinge, and even pizza with anchovies and olives, and plenty of orange soda. When the extended family would visit the States they would continue to make us miraculous treats like Bisteeya and more tajines.
Saffron, cumin, and cinnamon are the super combo that makes Moroccan food so dreamy and deep flavored lightened with lemony brightness. And they shine in the lusciousness of Harira — a fortified stew eaten generally in the fasting breaks during Ramadan. Meat, eggs, lentils, and garbanzo beans are the proteins while the noodles and thick broth fill you up. Flavored with parsley, celery, tomatoes, and onions, it is really hearty fare. I tone it down a bit by eliminating the lentils (and celery — mostly because I don’t have it on hand because I’m not a big fan), reducing some of the onion, and using canned chickpeas and tomatoes, and sometimes adding a bit of cilantro at the end. There are versions without the egg-lemon mixture but I don’t find them as interesting.
This is from Paula Wolfert’s original Couscous cookbook, a book I found by chance at Rivendell Books in Montpelier, VT a million years ago (ok, maybe 25) and use it often. I love Paula’s authentic processes though I adapt many that I make regularly to quicker versions. In this version I use lamb necks (salt on both sides). I heat ghee or butter with a little oil and add a healthy pinch of saffron, turmeric, ginger, black pepper, chopped onion and chopped parsley to the pot and stir until fragrant and the onions have softened, then I add the lamb necks to brown in the hot oil on either side. I pour a big can of fire-roasted tomatoes in, and then fill the can again and pour that in. Add 2 sticks of cinnamon, 2 cups of chicken broth and bring to a boil, then simmer with the lid askew for 1 and a half hours. I then add 2 cans of garbanzo/chickpeas to the pot, bring to a boil,adding fine soup eggnoodles. When they are al dente, I then stream in the lemon/egg mixture (if it goes to fast and doesn’t form long egg strands like she says, it is more like egg drop soup and is still delicious, don’t beat yourself up about it), while stirring constantly. I serve with a swirl more of lemon juice (or lemon wedges), and a little chopped cilantro.
A rich and hearty stew for the chill of Winter.
Rock Bottom Homestead 