All posts tagged Moroccan

Ratatouille style Briouats

By On 26/09/2011 In Food With No Comments Permanent Link to Ratatouille style BriouatsPermalink

As I mentioned last week, Harissa is a great accompaniment with Moroccan cooking, so I thought I’d follow it up with something you could serve it with. These little goodies are called Briouats and are kind of like a Moroccan spring roll. As with any Moroccan cooking it’s packed with all sorts of different spices and this recipe requires a Ras el Hanout mix. This spice mix is a Moroccan blend of spices which I couldn’t get my hands so I made up my own version with what I had in the cupboard. Ras al Hanout literally means ‘top of the shop’ in Arabic and is usually a mixture of the best spices the seller has to offer. The mixtures usually has over a dozen different spices and some recipes have over one hundred! Jeepers! When we visited the spice market in Marrakesh the sellers had all sorts of different mixes they made up including ones for ‘wives who couldn’t cook’ – fact. Needless to say I took 100g of that blend.
Normally briouats are shallow fried but I wanted to keep it healthy & light so these little treasures are baked. These would be perfect as an entree or finger food and are surprisingly easy – just roast and roll….
x e.

 

Ras el hanout

This recipe requires two teaspoons of spice so you’ll only need a pinch of each. If you make too much you could always use it as a rub onto any roasted meat.
Cinnamon
Coriander
Cumin
Nutmeg
Tumeric
Sweet paprika

Ratatouille style Briouats

By Jamie Oliver

2 ripe tomatos
1 medium sized aubergine
1 onion
1 red pepper
2 courgette
2 cloves of garlic
2 teaspoons of ras el hanout spice mix
filo pastry
olive oil
greek yogurt
harissa
salt and pepper

 

  1. Preheat oven to 170°C
  2. Wash and chop the vegetables into small pieces. Place them all in a roasting dish and crush two cloves of garlic over them, sprinkle over the ras el hanout, drizzle some olive oil and season. Toss all the vegetables so the all covered in the olive oil and spices.
  3. Place in the oven for 45 minutes and turn them over half way through. Once cooked let them cool.
  4. When the vegetables have cooled, lay 3-4 sheets of filo on the counter top and place a few spoonfuls of the roast vegetables along the length of the pasty leaving a gap and the bottom and at the edges. Roll them up, folding in the edges just before you reach the end.  Seal the ends by brushing some olive oil over the end of the pastry lightly brush some more all over. Bake them at 190°C until golden and crisp.
  5. To serve, place a few spoonfuls of greek yogurt in a bowl and some harissa and cracked pepper.

Moroccan Preserved Lemons

By On 15/08/2011 In condiments, Food With 2 Comments Permanent Link to Moroccan Preserved LemonsPermalink

 The very first tagine I had was in Marrakesh in a small restaurant just off Jamaa el Fna, the main square. It was stinking hot and me and my friends were starving after flying in that morning on a 6am flight…from Stanstead. This was the first time I’d ever been to a Muslim country and I was loving every minute of it. Everything from the busy markets, the food, the smells from the spice markets :) and tannery :( , the riad style houses, the noises (calling to prayer) – were all so foreign and new to me; I couldn’t soak it all in quick enough.

Anyway, I will always remember that first tagine I had that day. I had no idea what it was but I was looking forward to it all none the less. I was so confused about what to order because cous cous was the extent of Moroccan cusine I knew. I decided to order the Lemon Chicken Tagine and to this day it is still listed in my top 5 food moments of all time. I’ve discovered that lemon plays quite an important part in Moroccan cuisine (along with pomegranates, mint, lamb and loads of spices) and thanks to Jamie Oliver, I’ve now discovered what gives their dishes the fresh zesty flavour- preserved lemons.

Last week I went Op shopping and bought a big bunch of lemons for 20c each – bargain. Then later in the week we met up for dinner with Seb’s aunty who gave us about another 10 from her garden. It was very tempting for me to make all sorts of different lemon cakes, biscuits and slices (all my favourite) but I knew I’d want to eat them all…not good for the waist line. So, preserved lemons. A must for Moroccan food and according to Jamie, once you start adding them to dishes, you can’t stop. All I have to do now is wait a good month.

 

Recipe by Jamie Oliver
 

Moroccan Preserved Lemons

10 small unwaxed lemons
200 g coarse sea salt
2 fresh bay leaves
7 black peppercorns
2 sticks of cinnamon
 

1. First you’ll want to sterilize a 1 litre jar. Wash it in warm soapy water and ensure you rinse it well. Take off any rubber seals and place it in a 100°C oven for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, put the seal in a bowl of boiling water. After 20 minutes remove the jars from the oven, taking care not to touch anywhere near the opening of the jar and leave them to cool.

2. Squeeze the juice from 5 of your lemons and put to one side. In your other 5 lemons, cut a deep cross into the top and keep going until you’ve cut 3/4 of the way through. They should stay joined at the base. Pack a teaspoon full of salt into each one and place in the staralized jar.

3. Layer the lemons up with the cinnamon sticks, bay leaves and peppercorns. Once all your lemons are in the jar, pour in your lemon juice and top up with water.

4. Seal up the jar and leave it for a month in a dark space. Give the jar a gentle shake every couple of days to move the salt around.

After a month the lemons are ready for using. Jamie has a few different recipes in his book “Jamie Does” where he uses these Preserved Lemons. After a month I’ll try to make one of them to use the lemons I’ve made. Yum.