Moroccan Cooking - Zaalouk Salad

Remember my trip to Morocco?  I keep dreaming of going back.  It doesn't help that it keeps showing up on lists of the top places to visit.  I've even started trying my hand at Moroccan food.  My favorite thing about Moroccan food was that every meal started with a bunch of different little salads (kind of like Korean food, but not quite as many dishes).  I had a hard time not filling up on the salads before our main course came (and often failed), but I guess it's better than the American tradition of filling up on bread.

I mentioned here that while we were in Morocco we went on a cooking tour, which actually ended up being my favorite part of the trip.  The tour started with someone taking us through the markets to buy a bunch of ingredients, sample some things, and get a general feel for the crazy twisting streets.  My job was to be the keeper of the money, or the "lalafleuse" as our guide kept calling me (I think it's Dutch?), so while bargaining is not a thing in the food markets, I was supposed to make sure we were getting the right amount back each time.  We also did a bit of sampling, tasted tons of different kinds of herbs and a couple of fruits I've never seen before, as well as saw the sights of the market, including one man who hangs a goat head in his shop every day specifically to attract tourists and a spice/medicine shop that also sold animal hides. After our adventure in the markets, we went back to our guide's house to cook a gigantic lunch and sip on mint tea. It included a ton of different salads, couscous, and some sardines (made by me!).  And then I had to take a nap, we ate so much.

My absolute favorite of the salads is called zaalouk, and is made of fried eggplant mixed with cooked tomatoes and some other yummy things.  It was sort of surprising, given that I don't normally like eggplant, but they kept calling the eggplants "aubergines" (crazy Europeans) so maybe I was never exactly sure what I was eating.  I could seriously eat zaalouk every day, on veggies, on pita bread, or just by itself.  Seriously, it's my new hummus.

Zaalouk

1 eggplant

4 tomatoes

1/2 tablespoon fresh parsley, finely chopped

1/2 tablespoon fresh coriander, finely chopped

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon ground paprika

pinch of chili powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 cloves of garlic, crushed

4 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon vinegar

vegetable oil

Cut the eggplant into slices and place them in a bowl of salted water.  Chop the tomatoes.  Put them in a pan with the parsley, coriander, all of the spices, salt, garlic, and olive oil.  Simmer until dry (about 5-7 minutes).  While the tomatoes simmer, drain the eggplant and pat dry.  Fry the eggplant in vegetable oil until golden brown.  Add the eggplant to a food processor and puree.  Add the eggplant to the tomato mixture and stir well.  Add the vinegar and simmer for 5 minutes.  Serve warm or cold with veggies, pita chips, or pita bread for dipping.  

And then eat it all!




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Our Favorites: Marrakech

Marrakech was unlike anywhere I've ever been.  It was loud, it was busy, and full of barely controlled chaos.  Parts of the city were startlingly modern, while other sections, like the tanneries and ironsmiths, felt almost medieval.  

To See:

When you go to Marrakech you have to stay in the medina, which is the old town.  Everything you'd want to see is within walking distance.  The main square is a must-see, as the day goes on it fills up with people selling food and a variety of street performers, from snake charmers to acrobats and more.  Just be warned, if you take pictures of anything or anyone they'll charge you, and they'll charge you double if they think you're an American.  

The other must-see is the souks, which is the marketplace in the city.  Families tend to work in one trade, and some have occupied the same stall in the markets for hundreds of years.  Jeff really liked the leather working and bought a fancy pair of shoes, but I was enthralled by the spice markets where you could buy anything and everything, or even ask the shopkeepers to mix something up to make your wishes come true.  Some people hire guides to take them through the souks but we found that unnecessary.  It was pretty easy to get turned around inside of the souks, but if we ever looked lost someone would immediately point us back to the main square.

To do:

Our favorite activity of the trip was a cooking class we signed up for in Marrakech.  Souk Cuisine is a class run by a Danish woman named Gemma who moved to Morocco ten years ago.  Instead of just cooking, like most of the classes we came across, Souk Cuisine first takes you through the souks to buy all of the ingredients you'll need for cooking, and then we were welcomed back to Gemma's home to cook (with the help of two Moroccan women) and then eat and drink as much as possible.  I was in charge of preparing some sardines covered with tomatoes, and when it came time to cook them it turned out people don't usually bake things in their own houses.  Instead, they bring their food to the local baker, who adds your food to the oven and charges based on the amount of bread he could have been baking instead.  Besides the sardines, we also made a number of salads (including my new favorite, fried eggplant salad) and the best couscous I've ever had.

To eat: 

We had heard before we left that Moroccan food is best enjoyed in the home.  It couldn't have been more true.  The meals in the restaurants we went to were never particularly amazing, but the two homemade meals we had were fantastic.  One was prepared by the private cook at our riad, the other at the cooking class.  Our favorite thing was called pastilla, which is a stewed meat pie with cinnamon sugar on the top.

No matter where we went though, the mint tea was fantastic.  I don't even like tea usually, but I've been craving it since we got back.  A simple recipe for Moroccan mint tea can be found here.  

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Spain and a Giveaway

I looked at the calendar and realized the boyfriend and I leave for our trip to Spain in Morocco in just a month! We've been talking about it for so long, it seemed like the trip would never actually come. We finalized the lineup, and will be making stops in Barcelona, Sevilla, Marrakech, and Casablanca.  I'm getting really excited to eat lots of tapas, see a bullfight, explore the markets of Morocco (& do a bit of shopping!), and hopefully have dinner in an old Moroccan palace.

Source

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Whenever I go on a trip, it seems to be an excuse to go shopping ;) It's probably going to be really hot while we're they're, so I've been stocking up on lightweight tops and dresses as well as some maxi dresses and skirts for Morocco.

On my wishlist:

Dress - F21

If anyone is interested in guest posting while I'm gone, shoot me an email at kristina@kristinadoestheinternets.com

And now a little giveaway through The Darling Prepster.  The items up for grabs are below.  The giveaway will be open until August 3rd at 12 AM PST.  

Caroline from The Caro Diaries is giving away 60 days of ad space!

Jessie from JPerry Fitness is giving away a Shakeology sample, Shakeology Shaker Cup, and Shawn T's Fast & Furious Insanity DVD! 

Kristina from Kristina Does the Internet is giving away $15 Sephora E-Giftcard!

Alicia from River City Chic is giving away a $10 Target Giftcard!

Ashliegh from The Darling Prepster is giving away 1 month of ad space!

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