8 Hours in Morocco-5/24/10

Every time I give blood for the American Red Cross, one of the questions I must answer is "Have you been to Africa?".  Yes, I have.  I spent a total of 8 hours one day the summer of 1988 in Morocco.  This visit did not put me at risk for AIDS, an epidemic through much of the continent but it did show me a much more wonderful side of this diverse and beautiful part of the world, its food and landscape.  I've got to be honest.  I don't remember much from that whirlwind day.  We were staying on the Rock of Gibraltar for the summer as part of a youth mission project and could see the coast of Morocco every day.  One morning we caught a boat and headed to Tangier. 

I remember touring a cave.  A little research shows me that it was probably the Grottoes D'Hercules as I know we looked out from the cave onto the ocean.  We then headed into the city and walked through the most colorful, fantastic market I have ever seen.  Everything seemed to be for sale in the small alleys between the earthen colored buildings.  We then headed to a restaurant where we sat on cushions and ate with our hands. I was in awe and have loved the food of Morocco ever since.  This month's issue of Food and Wine grabbed my attention with a wonderful article about Paula Wolfert, the foremost authority on Mediterranean cooking stateside.    Tonight's meal was delightful and reminded me of that blink of a day in Africa.  

Without exception, all the adults (Devi, Dan, Richard, and I)  chose the Pot-Roasted Eggplant with Tomatoes and Cumin as our favorite dish.  This appetizer is wonderful.  The flavor is deep, rich, and blends beautifully.  The texture was perfect.   Eggplant can often be too mushy but this dish was not.  This dish would work great with pitas or sliced French bread, like I used.   I added two recipes that were not in the article about Morocco to this menu for two good reasons.  One reason is Devi doesn't do lamb, the meat called for in the recipe given.  I replaced the lamb with the Middle Eastern-Inspired Chicken with Tahini Sauce on page 116.  This recipe was pretty simple and basically involved marinating chicken and putting tahini on the side.  We all agreed that the marinade did not make a big difference on the chicken.  The yogurt may have helped the chicken stay moist but there was negligible difference in flavor from plain grilled chicken.  The tahini sauce was a bit strong for all of us.  The sesame flavor was overwhelming and made your mouth feel inexplicably dry. 

1. I also added the Carrot and Chickpea Salad on page 106 of this month's Food and Wine.  This dish was an appropriate compliment to the main dish and had cumin and chickpeas, both common flavors of the region.  This salad was good and a creative use of chickpeas.  I often find chickpeas a bit dry by themselves and the carrots and dressing were flavorful and added texture.   For dessert, I poached the pears on page 162 but I left out the prunes.  Four kids under 6 and prunes can lead to unintended consequences.  You can see I used some Pepperidge Farm Butter cookies to round out the look.  These pears were delightful.  The balance of sweet and flavor was perfect and one doesn't feel guilty after a dessert as refreshing as this one.  Eyrleigh was sad I hadn't made more.  I may have to return to Morocco with her before too long.

Pot-Roasted Eggplant with Tomatoes and Cumin-A

Middle Eastern Inspired Chicken with Tahini Sauce-B

Carrot and Chickpea Salad-A-

Poached Pears with Prunes-A