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2.27.2011
2.09.2011
Spice and Sizzle: A full day Moroccan cooking class
This travel photo-journal is divided into four sets:
I am a big fan of Moroccan food –- what best way to enjoy it than to dig in and create good food. I found a highly rated class in Tripadvisor run by cooking expert Lalla Nezha. The focus is on Tajine cooking which I had never tried before. This is letting meat, vegetables and spices stew in a special clay pot.
The meeting place for the class was in Café France by the main square where all the tour groups and classes meet that two rogue students mistakenly joined our group. Too bad Lalla is so popular the class was full for the day.
First Stop: Grocery at the Jewish Market
Lalla brought us to the Jewish Market where the locals shop far from the touristy souks (shops). What an experience. We went in a tiny spice shop. Lalla showed us almost every spice in there including the 35-spice mix – paprika, cardamom, curry, cumin, anise and many more. The cardamom was grounded on the spot from the seeds. Some are local to Morocco like argan oil (similar to olive oil but from Argan trees) and orange flower flavored water that they add in tea. I honestly cannot keep track of everything. Reminded me of Herbert’s Dune series. “He who controls the spice controls the world”. It was pretty cool to smell and have a little taste of the sweet, fragrant and sneeze-inducing Moroccan spices.
Other interesting stops in the market: variety of marinated olives to try, fresh bread made on the spot and tasting various hardened butter to preserve meat.
The highlight of the market stop: the protein source.
Fresh food is a literal concept in this exercise. My classmate who picked pigeon and chicken for the Tajine had to choose from real live pigeon and chicken. These guys had to be weighed and brought to the butcher for the kill. He slit the chicken’s throat, dipped it in hot water and placed it into a machine that takes out the feather. Well, hello lunch.
The fish were local from the coastal areas. The sellers were handing raw shrimp for us to try and it tasted real fresh.
Next Stop: Lalla’s hood for the cooking class
Lalla’s house is about a 20-minute drive outside the walled city of Marrakech. Her place is lovely with a central courtyard dotted with olive trees. Lalla makes homemade olive oil from the olive trees. Our group quickly was put to work to chop, slice, dice and spice. We each had our each Tajine pots and we were asked to choose between sweet or berber Tajine. The cooking started with the protein – fish, chicken, lamb – and then we added spices and vegetables. The sweet Tajine was sweetened by prunes and apricot. The berber Tajine was more traditional and salted with pickled lemon. This reminded me of Philippine green mango dipped in salt. Double yum. Each Tajine clay pot was now put under the coal for 45 minutes to cook up.
While waiting for the main meal, we made side dishes such as sliced deep fried eggplant with tomato toppings, a Moroccan salad and local dumplings. Lalla’s assistant also taught us how to properly pour tea. Start with the pot touching the rim of the cup then slowly pull upwards and tilting as the cup is filled. I love tea here, it is sweet and contains some spice and orange water.
My classmates were good company and serial travelers. It made for very interesting conversation and ideas where to go next.
The Tajines were finally done and yum. I enjoyed my lamb Tajine, and shared it all around. Bon Apetit!
And yes, I am still domestically disabled in the kitchen department. I should've taken notes. I'll stick to photography for now. :-)
Set III: The Saharan Dunes [coming soon]
Set VI: Portraits of Maroc [coming soon]
I am a big fan of Moroccan food –- what best way to enjoy it than to dig in and create good food. I found a highly rated class in Tripadvisor run by cooking expert Lalla Nezha. The focus is on Tajine cooking which I had never tried before. This is letting meat, vegetables and spices stew in a special clay pot.
The meeting place for the class was in Café France by the main square where all the tour groups and classes meet that two rogue students mistakenly joined our group. Too bad Lalla is so popular the class was full for the day.
First Stop: Grocery at the Jewish Market
Lalla brought us to the Jewish Market where the locals shop far from the touristy souks (shops). What an experience. We went in a tiny spice shop. Lalla showed us almost every spice in there including the 35-spice mix – paprika, cardamom, curry, cumin, anise and many more. The cardamom was grounded on the spot from the seeds. Some are local to Morocco like argan oil (similar to olive oil but from Argan trees) and orange flower flavored water that they add in tea. I honestly cannot keep track of everything. Reminded me of Herbert’s Dune series. “He who controls the spice controls the world”. It was pretty cool to smell and have a little taste of the sweet, fragrant and sneeze-inducing Moroccan spices.
Other interesting stops in the market: variety of marinated olives to try, fresh bread made on the spot and tasting various hardened butter to preserve meat.
The highlight of the market stop: the protein source.
Fresh food is a literal concept in this exercise. My classmate who picked pigeon and chicken for the Tajine had to choose from real live pigeon and chicken. These guys had to be weighed and brought to the butcher for the kill. He slit the chicken’s throat, dipped it in hot water and placed it into a machine that takes out the feather. Well, hello lunch.
The fish were local from the coastal areas. The sellers were handing raw shrimp for us to try and it tasted real fresh.
Next Stop: Lalla’s hood for the cooking class
Lalla’s house is about a 20-minute drive outside the walled city of Marrakech. Her place is lovely with a central courtyard dotted with olive trees. Lalla makes homemade olive oil from the olive trees. Our group quickly was put to work to chop, slice, dice and spice. We each had our each Tajine pots and we were asked to choose between sweet or berber Tajine. The cooking started with the protein – fish, chicken, lamb – and then we added spices and vegetables. The sweet Tajine was sweetened by prunes and apricot. The berber Tajine was more traditional and salted with pickled lemon. This reminded me of Philippine green mango dipped in salt. Double yum. Each Tajine clay pot was now put under the coal for 45 minutes to cook up.
While waiting for the main meal, we made side dishes such as sliced deep fried eggplant with tomato toppings, a Moroccan salad and local dumplings. Lalla’s assistant also taught us how to properly pour tea. Start with the pot touching the rim of the cup then slowly pull upwards and tilting as the cup is filled. I love tea here, it is sweet and contains some spice and orange water.
My classmates were good company and serial travelers. It made for very interesting conversation and ideas where to go next.
The Tajines were finally done and yum. I enjoyed my lamb Tajine, and shared it all around. Bon Apetit!
And yes, I am still domestically disabled in the kitchen department. I should've taken notes. I'll stick to photography for now. :-)
