Tags
Apricots, Butter, Cayenne pepper, Chickpeas, Cinnamon, Coriander, Cumin, Ground ginger, Lamb, Mint, Moroccan spice, Morocco, Nutmeg, Onion, Paprika, Parsley, Tomato
So staying on the continent of Africa we head North West 5,015 km to this beautiful part of the globe. I have never been but am told it is beautiful, but I do love Moroccon food, so will be interesting to see what I can come up with for dinner tonight…
Morocco is officially the Kingdom of Morocco and is a country in North Africa in the Maghreb region. Rugged mountains and dessert land is what Morocco is considered to be like and similar to France and Spain it has a Mediterranean and Atlantic coastline. The population of Morocco is approximately 33 million and covers an area of around 172 square miles. The capital is Rabat. However, the largest city is Casablanca with other familiar major cities such as Marrakesh, Tangier and Agadir. It has a culture that is a mixture of the native Berber, Arabs, Sub Saharan African and Europeans
Morocco is a constitutional monarchy with an elected parliament. The King holds huge powers and legislative powers over religious affairs, the military and foreign policy and Executive power is implemented by the government. Islam is the principle religion and the principle languages are the indigenous Berber, Moroccon Arabic, Arabic and extensively spoken is French. There is so much to learn about Morocco but don’t want to bore you too much but have a look here for more.
Moroccan food/cooking is deemed one of the most significant cuisines in the world and the reason for this is the diverse influencers from settlers and migrants who have passed through and made their mark. Tagines and Couscous originate from the first natives of Morocco – the Berbers. The Arab settlers brought with them dried fruits, nuts and spices along with recipes of sweet and sour mixtures. Olives, Olive juice and citrus were introduced by The Moors and the Jewish – Moors introduced the preserving methods that can be used with lemons and pickles. “The Ottoman Empire” gave us BBQ – kebabs to Moroccon food, while the short lived French colony made its mark by introducing pastries, cafes and wine. All Moroccon dishes have a place and vary with the season, market and region…
Time, for us, this evening is an obstacle as I don’t get home form the day job until 17.30 ish and then to begin to cook a Tagine would be difficult and also there would be no marinating time. I searched until I found something quick, simple and tasty and hopefully I have achieved this. I opted for Ground Lamb Meat Skewers. which I am going to serve with Spicy Moroccan Rice.The recipe includes chicken, but am going to omit this as we are having the kebabs/meat skewers…
