Moroccan Cuisine Flavor And Fire

 Morocco is a fascinating country, best known from the classic movie "Casablanca." Yet it's so much more than that. It has tagines, and spices along with flavorful desserts and drinks.

Morocco is a mix of different cultures and people, The same can be said for it's cuisine.There is influence from m the southernmost Spanish province along with Berber, the indgenous culture of North africa. Arab and Mediterrenean influences are also there.It has the most in common with Middle Eastern cuisine than any other North African country. It's history is ancient , with dishes first coming about doring the Seventh Century CE. The Moroccans usually cook with beef, mutton goat and  and lamb along with chicken and seafood. Dishes are usually served with rice or flabread to scoop up meats and gravies. lemon picled or preserved lemons along with fermented butter or smen flavor foods. Of course there are the rich and fragrant spices.Dishes  are rich with cinnamon, nutmeg, turmeric, ginger and paprika to name a few. There is also  saffron, mace , fenugreek,cayenne, black pepper, anise and fenel. Sesame seeds also figure into recipes too. The Moroccans also love using mint,verbena, sage, bay laurel, parsley and peppermint.

Any home chef can easily replicate Moroccan cooking. Tagine, is cooking in a special clay pot which you can get on Amazon for $29.95 . etsy, williams and Soniomoa along with Milk Street also sell them at higher prices ranging from $35 on etsy to $71.25 on Milk Street. Tagine is a sweet and savory blend of spices that can also be cooked in an open skillet. Apopular one is made with chicken , honey, olives,lemon zest and fresh lemon juice. Chopped onions and minced garlic are also added along with a mix of spices, namely, paprika, cumon, coriander, and ginger. This can be served with couscous or even a flat bread like pita to sop up the sauce. The breakfast dish  of the moment shakshuka is also big in such cities as Fez and Rabat. This is a breakfast dish tat can easily be cooked for any brunch. It's poached eggs cooked in a tomato sauce with peppers, garlic  onions and spices such as paparika, coriander, cumin and cayenne. A sweet and savory pastry called briouat is also popular. They can be filled with lamb beef or chicken for a quick snack or sweet filled with almond paste and cinnamon and coated in warm honey and orange flower water.

Try  Moroccan cuisinetoday. Enjoy the fragrant blend of spices as they grace both sweet and savory recipes. The recipes are a wonderful escape to the exotic.

 You can contact the International Red Cross  if you want to donate or help those affected by the Moroccan earthquake.

Cold Days, Sunny Meals

The temps are dipping. There's more night than light and the pressure of the holidays are coming  at full speed. It would be nice to escape this, take a trip to a warm happy go lucky island or exciting , exotic country. However that ' s impossible - or is it? Cooking sunny bright meals, from sunny bright places is a mini escape from  dull, chilly days.It's an exciting way to enjoy winter cooking.

One sunny bright place that has so many tasty recipes is Morocco. This corner of northwestern Africa has some yummy dishes that are easy to make. Cooking Moroccan may also be the perfect time to add a tajine pot to your kitchen arsenal. Everyone from Williams-Sonoma to J.C. Penney's now sell  them.  If you don't have one, no worry. A pressure cooker can sub for it. Slow cook a chicken with an array  of such spices as cumin and ginger.Saffron colors it to a blazing sun yellow  while raisins temper the spices kick. A plus is that it takes an hour which allows you to work around cooking it. A second  plus is that the recipe is bendable.You can use lamb or veggies instead of fowl.. Couscous is another dish that will bring to mind colorful bazaars and rainbow sunsets. Squash and chickpeas are added to this wheat semolina along with dried fruit and spices such as turmeric and cinnamon. For a light weekend supper try bagels with za'atar, an easy to make dip. This is a mix of sumac,thyme and roasted sesame seeds along with marjoram, oregano and coarse salt. Dip the bagel(it should be hand rolled , not those big puffy kinds) first in  a small bowl of olive oil and then the spice mix. Za'atar can also be sprinkled on eggs,, salads and veggies to zing them up.

Everyone love the Caribbean , with it's warm seas and balmy nights. To capture some of that heat , try making a few of the dishes of the area. Jamaica gives us the fiery jerk - which can be translated into a pork , chicken or chicken wing dish. You can buy jerk seasoning or better yet make it yourself. It's a blend of onion powder, chives, allspice and cinnamon. Cayenne gives it its' color and fire while nutmeg and cinnamon gives it a tinge of sweetness. It can be rubbed on the wings a few hours before.  Serve it with a tangy pineapple infused sauce. Jerk pork is another fiery dish, guaranteed to satisfy that longing for Kingston. It's taking pork loin, marinating it with a heady mix of Scotch Bonnet peppers, a mix of orange and lime juices along with  a blend of soy sauce and olive oil and then grilling it over an open flame (hopefully the grill hasn't been put away yet) Serve with a plate of hot festivals, a fried zeppoli like fritter that tempers the jerk's spiciness. Plaintains can also be served. These are a type of banana that are excellent prepared the sweet way with brown sugar and butter. Vanilla and cinnamon are also added to accentuate the taste.Plaintains can also be fried into a fun crispy chip too.

Let your kitchen take you to those exotic, sunny places. It's easy to make a tangine or jerk chicken and pretend you're in Morocco or Jamaica. Consider these exotic dishes a vacation for your palate.