New Year in Morocco

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Happy New Year

It’s hard to believe the holidays are over and we’re back at work!  And harder still to believe that it’s 2009!  I wish all our customers and clients the very best for this coming year, it might be a tough one, but we need to be positive.  Innovation is key in times of recession and may your best ideas come to you this year!

One of the best ideas I had lately was to head off to Morocco for the New Year, leaving the wind and the rain & the left-overs behind on the 27^th.  Christmas Day was a small affair this year as I shirked all visiting responsibilities and stayed at home.  On the advice of a foodie friend I visited Ennis Butchers in Rialto on the 23^rd where I purchased a wonderful piece of rib beef on the bone; it was a beautiful dark colour and had been hung for 4 weeks.  Ennis Butchers was a complete treat and while I was there the butcher said to a local that he’d be open again on Monday, ‘I can’t wait’ was her bizarre response!  But I knew exactly what she meant.  I also bought some Dublin Bay Prawns, Goose Fat and some sausages. 

Christmas Day lunch then,  was steamed Dublin Bay prawns, with a Marie Rose sauce made with Crème Fraiche instead of Mayo and a little grated fresh Horseradish mixed in, seasoned well.    We also had a little Truffled Foie Gras I’d brought back from Strasbourg.

Main course was the Roast Rib on the Bone, crisp Goose Fat roast spuds (made crispier by coating in semolina), celeriac puree and baby carrots, a rich red wine gravy and creamed horseradish.  Go to the recipes area for these, especially the celeriac puree, I can’t get enough of this stuff.

I went pretty traditional with the desert and made a Sherry Trifle, but we were so full after dinner it didn’t get a look in till the next day!

Then I headed to Morocco with some friends and family.  What a treat this place was, a feast of colour and sound and not to mention,  smells both friendly and foul.  Entering the souk in Marrakech was like stepping back in time one thousand years, I was mesmerised at every turn.  The butcher stalls were both fascinating and terrifying, with beef carcases hanging next to the donkeys that bore them to market in the morning; live chickens waiting to be chosen for the customers pot; electric plucking machines; hearts and lungs in wooden boxes, nothing wasted, and little refrigerated.  Not for the faint hearted!

We ate so well in Morocco, in both Agadir and Marrakech.  One of the best places was Dar Zellij in Marrakech.  It was also one of the most beautiful restaurants I’d ever been in.  Once inside, away from the hustle and bustle of the markets, peace fell immediately.  The tables here were divided by Orange trees growing in the middle of the Dar, and the traditional Berber drummer soothed us into extreme relaxation.  We ate bread which had been baked in a stone oven.  Locally there is an oven where people can bring their own dough to have baked.  I went to visit it and it’s pretty hot inside, the baker stands down in the pit and cooks the doughs as the women bring them in.  The smell is heavenly.  The doughs are dusted in Semolina flour which gives the finished bread a wonderful nutty crunch.   At Dar Zellij we ate this bread with a selection of ‘dips’ which included pureed aubergine, onion confit, grated beet, carrot & orange, lentils with cumin and a kick, and a sweet tomato jam.  I opted for the Beef Tagine with Prunes & Almonds and I can honestly say that this was the most delicious thing I’ve eaten in any restaurant in a very long time.  I’ll post a recipe, but what made this dish exquisite was the quality of the prunes and the almonds, it’s nearly impossible to recreate this here, but next time you’re at a market, look out for best quality almonds and prunes.  The beef was so tender it melted on the tongue, and to recreate this, you’ll need a tagine, you see it’s the cone shaped lid which causes the tenderisation, by gathering the condensation and sending it back to the pot, this intensifies flavour too. 

Back in Agadir I went to the spice market.  There was lots of fake saffron on the go, but I got some wonderful cumin and turmeric root (an amazing antioxidant).  Here in Ireland go to Green Saffron for your spices http://www.greensaffron.com/home.html , Arun is an expert and provides the freshest spices in this country, and the difference between fresh spices and the ones in your cupboard will blow you away.  

I’ve put together a few easy to prepare Moroccan inspired dishes for you…see the recipes page.  Why not go to the forum if you have any questions or even your own Moroccan foodie stories…

Happy Cooking 2009.

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