Moroccan Cooking Part 1: Soup and Chicken

Of everywhere I've been in the world, and of all the types of cuisines I've tried, Moroccan food is one of my absolute favorites. That's why I've been super excited to learn some classic Moroccan dishes in the past couple months! Most center on bread, fresh vegetables, fish, and meat, and intense, complex spices.

One of the first things I learned how to make - also one of the favorite things to eat and the first thing I tried when I got here - is bissara, fava bean soup.

It's quite simple! Put 1 kg fava beans, one whole unpeeled head garlic, ½ onion roughly chopped, some olive oil and 2 quarts water in large pot. Bring to boil and skim off the foam every so often. Continue to cook until beans dissolve, adding water as necessary, for about 2 -3 hours.

We had a bunch of friends over for lunch, so we served it in a giant bowl, topped with plenty of cumin and olive oil. Traditionally, you eat it with pieces of bread, not spoons. It was delicious, especially when you dip the bread first into a spicy paste called harissa.

The next thing I learned was the basic Moroccan stewed chicken, which is the base for many other dishes including cous cous, tagine, bastilla, and rfissa. Basically, you start with oil, onion, ginger, salt, and pepper, rubbing the chicken to coat it with spices before putting in on the burner. After a while, you add some water and cook for about an hour until it is super tender.

We made rfissa, which is ripped up erghaygef (a flat Moroccan griddle bread made with olive oil or butter) topped with chicken (stewed, then fried) and soaked in the delicious chicken broth.

The bread gets super soft, and the whole dish is warm and comforting. Above is the one my friend and I made, and below is the one her mom made. They were both delicious!

Next I learned how to make cous cous! The cous cous itself is actually somewhat tricky - you mix it with water and oil, then steam it, then mix it with more water, then steam it again. My favorite part, the onion-raisin sauce, is pretty simple though. You take a bunch of onions, oil, salt, pepper, sugar, raisins, chickpeas, cinnamon, and ginger, and cook it for hours until it reduces to a deep brown, intensely flavorful sauce. The cous cous is then topped with fried chicken and a bunch of this sauce.

I also watched my friend's mom make bastilla, which is chicken, eggs, herbs, spices, and the same onion raisin sauce that goes on cous cous, baked in thin, phyllo-like dough. It's really interesting because there's a fair amount of sugar and cinnamon in it, so it's a combination of sweet and savory flavors. She gave me a piece to take home, and I was going to take a picture, but it was so delicious that my friend and I ate it on the way home!

My first solo foray into real Moroccan cooking was yesterday, when I made harira, the traditional soup eaten to break the fast in Ramadan. I'd helped my friend make it, so I had a pretty good idea of what to do. Her version has tomatoes, onions, spices, chickpeas, pasta, an egg, cultured butter, and sheep bones for flavor.

I wanted to make mine a little different, so I also added finely grated carrots and lentils, and left out the pasta.

Here's the recipe:

Combine in a large soup pot: 

1 onion, grated

4 large tomatoes, grated

½ carrot, grated finely

large handful parsley, chopped

large handful celery leaves, chopped

¼ pound dry chickpeas, soaked overnight

1 tsp powdered ginger

½ tsp salt

½ pepper

1 boullion cube

½ pound-1 pound sheep bones and bits of meat

Cook for about 30 minutes, until chickpeas are partly done, then add six cups of water and 3 tbsp tomato paste. Simmer for about an hour, until chickpeas are tender.

Next, mix ¼ cup flour with ½ cup water, combine thoroughly. Quickly stir into soup. Let cook for a few minutes to get rid of any floury taste.

About an hour before serving or setting aside, add ½ cup lentils and cook until lentils are tender. Now you can set it aside for later, or proceed with the last steps.

Just before serving, stir in 2 tspn cultured butter and one beaten egg. Let egg cook for just a minute or two until the egg turns white, then serve with lemon slices on the side.

Notes:

 Moroccan cultured butter is kind of in between cheese and butter, with a rich flavor much like that or parmesean cheese. Substitute the cultured butter in this recipe for 1 tspn butter and 2 tspn grated parmesean. 

 

You can also add pasta, any very small shape. Simply add it the recommended cooking time before serving.

I was a little nervous, because I was making it for one of my Moroccan friends, whose mom (and apparently every other woman in this country) is an amazing cook, for the nightly breaking-the-fast Ramadan meal. But it turned out great! I brought some to my friend who taught me how to make it, too, and it won her approval. So I passed the fist test!

I'm super excited to cook for my family and friends when I get home!! Invite yourself over for dinner at the end of August if you want to try some Moroccan food!