Sigh, she loved eating - her waistline was visible proof. And she
poured over cooking blogs.....dreaming, dreaming. One of her
favorites was Winos and Foodies, by the lovely Australian blogger, Barbara. So
she asked, Please Barbara....would you, could you do a guest blog for me on some Moroccan dishes?
And look what arrived on her blog doorstep! Mmmmmmm......
All recipes on Barbara's delicious blog, right here.......
********************************************************
If the blogging fairy came along and tapped you on the
shoulder and said "you can choose to spend the day with any blogger in
the world " - who would you choose? I'd choose to spend the day with
Maryam in Morocco.
We'd sip mint tea and eat stuffed dates while she showed me all the
pretty rugs and fabrics and glass jars she has collected on her travels.
Stuffed Dates
Remove seed from fresh dates and
stuff with cheese and nuts of your choice. I like the salty feta cheese
against the sweet date with the crunch of a pistachio nut. A soft brie
with almonds also makes a tasty filling.
I'd ask Maryam to introduce me to her favourite couscous maker so I could I'd learn to make perfect couscous.
Plain Couscous
Add
400 ml of warm water to 350grams of couscous and 1/2 a teaspoon of
salt. Rest for 10 minutes, then rub 2 tablespoons of olive oil into
couscous to break up lumps and aerate the grains. Place in an ovenproof
dish, dot with 20 grams butter, cover with foil and heat in 180C (350F)
oven until the couscous is heated through, about 15 minutes. I often
add brown flaked almonds. Pine nuts and dried fruits also go well with
couscous.
Left over couscous is the perfect filling for stuffed vegetables.
Stuffed Tomatoes
Remove insides of tomatoes and
cook to reduce to a sauce with onions, spices and preserved lemon. Mix
with couscous and fill tomato cases. Bake in a 180C (350) for about 25
minutes.
Naturally we'd spend the afternoon shopping. When
we returned to Peacock Pavilions we would enjoy a refreshing glass of
pomegranate juice..................
Pomegranate Drink
Put some ice in a glass, add a
dessert spoon of pomegranate syrup and top with soda water. For a
sweeter drink replace soda water with lemonade. I'm sure a shot of
vodka would work in this drink.
.................and some local olives.
Orange and Rosemary Olives
Crack olives with a meat mallet to split skins slightly. Marinade
olives overnight in orange zest, rosemary spikes and olive oil.
In the evening we'd sit under the olive trees and eat platters of
watermelon.
Citrus Watermelon
Remove skin and cube the watermelon. Sprinkle with freshly squeezed
orange juice and scatter mint leaves over the platter.
Then just before midnight the blogging fairy would re-appear and it
would be time to say goodbye to Maryam. I think I'd need some help to get all my shopping home.
*************************
See full recipes right here. And Shoukran, Barbara!