A FEAST FOR THE TASTE BUDS

Tagines maroc riaddartaliwint marrakech

Culinary Journey

Moroccan gastronomy has recently been celebrated as one of the best in the world! A trip to Morocco is also an opportunity to discover new flavors, a rich and subtle cuisine.

In a word: THE TAJINE

In the beginning was the Tagine! The word refers to both the cooking container and the recipe prepared therein. The vessel is made of clay, sometimes glazed and decorated. It is round in shape and the lid may be round or conical. Most culinary historians agree that tajine is of Moroccan origin, very old, especially from the region of Tafraoute.

 

Gravure XVIIe siècle femme au tajine riaddartaliwint marrakech

17th century print

 

The tajines are sort of stewed stews. The ingredients, meat, fish, spices and vegetables will cook at the same time. The preparations are therefore as varied as possible, often based on olive oil and sometimes argan oil.

Beef tagine with quince, M’rouzia lamb tagine  with honey and almonds, pigeon pastilla, chicken with preserved lemons, chicken trid…

 

 

tagine d'agneau aux pruneaux riad dartaliwint marrakech

Lamb tajine with prunes, almonds and honey

 

 

Poulet trid ou R'fissa riaddartaliwint marrakech

Chicken Trid or R’fissa

 

As appetizers we find many different Moroccan salads and various stuffed briouates, all delicious ! Desserts offer the whole range of pastries, gazelle horns, milk pastilla…

 

briouates-riad-dar-taliwint-marrakech-scaled

Stuffed Briwates, vegetable or cheese

 

Pastilla au lait riaddartaliwint marrakech

Milk pastilla

 

Mouth already watering ?

And what about the essential Moroccan couscous with seven vegetables !

 

Couscous aux sept légumes maroc riaddartaliwint marrakech

 

Fusion cuisine

Moroccan restaurants will offer you family and traditional dishes.

It is true that the recipes are first tasted at home. In this, they remain rooted in  history and know few changes in their evolution, unlike the western cuisine.

Morocco is a crossroads between the Mediterranean and the Sahara, Europe and Africa, and is an in-between in terms of cuisine.

In this Mediterranean aspect you can find Berber, Arab but also Andalusian and Jewish influences. There are sometimes surprising alliances, incessant back and forth between salty and sweet.

 

 

Pigeon pastilla, icing sugar, cinnamon

Pigeon pastilla, icing sugar, cinnamon

 

Moroccan cuisine is joyful and colorful, it can be both soft and highly flavoured, but never spicy.

A large part of the spirit of this gastronomy lies in the use of spices  that give the dishes all its voluptuousness.

 

tangias four riaddartaliwint marrakech

 

 

For sure, the secrets of good mixes and dosages are well kept.

Holiday meals are often pantagruelic and couscous can be only a second course before the main one !

 

Tagine with chicken, preserved lemon and olives

Tagine with chicken, preserved lemon and olives

 

Traditionally, they would overlay as many tablecloths as there are dishes to be served.

A friend tells me that when she was invited to someone’s house, she would just discreetly count the number of tablecloths  to know how many dishes (six or seven) would come in order to manage her appetite and not offend the lady of the house.

Try to surprise your friends with the following recipe.

La Tanjia Marrakchia

This first recipe will surprise you with its simplicity. Minimum action and manipulation! You will understand better when you know, that it is a dish prepared by men, once is not customary!

The legend

The story tells that one day a woman, weary of her husband’s laziness, abandoned him to his sad fate. At dinner time, he takes the leftovers from the pantry, puts everything in a jar made of earth (tanjia) with some rancid butter and water and goes to the hammam.

Before a relaxing hammam session and conversations with friends about his marital woes , he slips the jar into the oven of the hammam. He forgets his tanjia. After several hours, he ends up retrieving his pot. Oh surprise, oh wonder, it is cooked and damn tasty! As often in cuisine history, accidents may be good and Tanjia was born.

 

Tangia marrakchia riaddartaliwint marrakech

 

 

The tradition is still respected today and every day we can see men who carry their tanjia to the hammam oven. The terracotta pot is closed with a lid of cardboard paper tied with a string.

 

tangias four riaddartaliwint marrakech

 

Recipe

In the absence of tanjia, you will use a large pot (ideally terracotta). Put all the ingredients, namely for 4 people: 4 tablespoons of olive oil, 1.5 kg of shank and veal, 1 lemon confit cut into quarters, crushed garlic (6 cloves in shirt), 1 teaspoon of coriander, paprika, cumin, ginger, turmeric, and ras-el-hanout (mixture of spices), bay leaves, a pinch of saffron (1/2 gram) and a teaspoon of rancid butter (smen), salt, pepper. Mix everything, add 25cl of water. It is better to marinate all night.

Cover the pan, bake in oven (140°) or over low heat for three to four hours. Check the amount of water, the meat must not dry out but become confit and melting!

It is ready!

Possibly served with  couscous semolina.

Enjoy your meal!

 

Tagines Maroc riaddartaliwint marrakech (2)