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Morocco: Simply Delicious

Categories: Middle East & North Africa, Morocco, Arts & Culture, Food

This week, the talk in the blogoma seems to be about all things edible. Moroccan cuisine [1], widely considered one of the most complex and best in the world, is derived from Arab, Spanish, Turkish, Jewish, and native Amazigh culinary traditions and is well-known for its use of vegetables and spices.

The blogger behind A Moroccan Kitchen is well aware of that fact; the blog, run by the two Moroccan chefs of Riad Laaroussa in Fez, shares recipes [2] from the riad's weekly menu:

Aujourd’hui il fait beau, c'est le moment pour faire une pique-nique : le soleil, la verdure, l'amour et la joie.

Alors suite à la demande d'un client du Riad Mr Francis on va faire la harira fassia

Today the weather is nice, it's time for a picnic: the sun, the vegetation, love and joy.

Then, following the request of a client of the Riad, Mr. Francis, we will make Fassi harira.

Liz Whitton, the Peace Corps volunteer behind Adventures of a Young Twentysomething, discusses in this post [3] the consummate Moroccan tradition – Friday couscous:

Most Fridays are what I call “Cous Cous Friday.” I would love to eat cous cous every Friday but unfortunately, not many people in my town are consistent in their Friday lunch plans. One family is though: Abdou's in Azrou. Abdou owns my favorite rug shop and his mom's cous cous is one of the best. If I am in Azrou on Friday or just have a craving for cous cous, I head to Abdou’s for Friday lunch.

Friday is the Muslim holy day. The tradition of eating cous cous for Friday lunch is similar to the tradition of Christians (or maybe just Southerners) of eating a big Sunday lunch. I like this; it reminds me of home.

Even though it is culturally insensitive, I should mention that many volunteers (me included) compare women’s cous cous—no two are alike. Some women can make a good tagine but their cous cous misses the spot. In the last 18 months, I have only had 3 bad servings. That's not a bad percentage. When I am invited to return for cous cous at these 3 places, I try to reschedule for tea instead. So far, its worked.

The women in my host family make really good cous cous. Even though its time-consuming and labor-intensive, I have promised to learn. My expectations are not too high. I just want to learn the basics so I can share the magic of cous cous with my family in Florida. Time will tell.

She also shares photos of the delicacy:

couscous

Expat Emma of The Good Life in Morocco is also talking food this week. In her post, she discusses [4] the food coming out of her riad's kitchen:

I thought I would share with you some of the wonderful Moroccan and Berber food coming out of our kitchen. These are a number of Moroccan salads. Morocca salads are usually cooked. The first one is roasted aubergine with steemed carrots, garlic, olive oil and fresh herbs. The second salad is green peppers cooked with olives and chopped tomatoes, one of my favourites.

The second photo, of the green pepper, olive, and tomato salad, is below:

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