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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. :-)
1.23.2011
Marrakech: Tales from the Red City
This travel photo-journal is divided into four sets:
Why Morocco? I wish I can share a romantic reason why Hubby and I chose this destination -– so far removed from our city life. The cause was pragmatic. The Hubby forgot to renew his Philippine passport and by the time we were about to book tickets three weeks before my mandatory vacation kicks in, visa requirements will not get processed in time. There were only 2 countries outside Southeast Asia where we can go: Morocco or Brazil. Rio tickets cost $2,500, so Morocco it is: 4 days in Marrakech, 5 days in the Sahara desert.
The heart of Marrakech is the main square -- Djemaa el Fna -- enclosed in a walled city or the medina. I am up at 530am and took the taxi alone to the main square (glad to report it is safe although I did get a lot of curious looks) to catch the sunrise. The locals, dressed in this part of the town in traditional wear, are walking about to catch the early morning commute. The shop owners are starting to set-up wares to sell for the day. The early starters are the fresh orange juice vendors selling a glass for 60c each. The vitamin C is much needed since I was starting to get colds. Beats my staple glass of Emergen-C powdered drink. No surprise on the abundance of orange sellers as orange and olives trees dot this land.
(above: leather tannery inside the walled city)
The City Square at Night
Set III: The Saharan Dunes [coming soon]
Set VI: Portraits of Maroc [coming soon]
About this trip
Why Morocco? I wish I can share a romantic reason why Hubby and I chose this destination -– so far removed from our city life. The cause was pragmatic. The Hubby forgot to renew his Philippine passport and by the time we were about to book tickets three weeks before my mandatory vacation kicks in, visa requirements will not get processed in time. There were only 2 countries outside Southeast Asia where we can go: Morocco or Brazil. Rio tickets cost $2,500, so Morocco it is: 4 days in Marrakech, 5 days in the Sahara desert. I tell stories in pictures more than words so if you need travel advice, email me.
In a nutshell, this trip was borne out of pragmatism but the experience is storybook magic.
Marrakech – Tales from the Red City
Marrakech is a welcome assault to the senses. From the plane, the buildings and city structures are visibly of a single color: caladryl pink. It was made into law to keep the color consistent to preserve the city’s character based on materials first used in the early days.
Inside the medina is a veritable maze of souks, riads (local hotels with a central courtyard) and residences. Interesting supply chain system to support local commerce. The donkeys are tasked to make the deliveries inside the shops in the medina. Money is exchanged and the owner and donkey are off to the next shop. It is easy to get lost in the maze so kids pop from out of nowhere to be unsolicited guides for a few dirhams. Since one can navigate around via Google maps GPS, this was really not necessary so when I said “No Thanks”, I got an enthusiastic “F@#k You” from the kids as I was walking away. Pretty impressive vocabulary especially that Arabic and French are the main languages spoken here and English is not all that common.
If you are a hard negotiator, shopping is a delightful exercise to flex those bargaining muscles. 50% is at least the average markdown and my main approach is to walk away, and the shopowner will run after you. From high quality leather goods (tanneries are within the medina), crafts, plates, antiques, spices, pure silver jewelry --- this place is a shoppers paradise.
At night the main square converts into more than 100 stalls selling meats, vegetables, cous-cous cooked on the spot. Stalls dedicated to snail soups also abound. The snail soup is spicy, a perfect appetizer.
From Dawn to Sunrise Inside the Walled City
(above: leather tannery inside the walled city)
The City Square at Night
