Moroccan Cuisine: slow cooked stews to sheep's brain!
10/2/2024
So we booked two walking tours! Recommended for the bold walkers, and definitely worth the $40 per person price.
Let me preview a list of foods that we encountered during the day:
Tajine - a slow cooked stew of meat, (lamb, chicken beef), and potatoes and carrots, almonds and spices.
Tangia - an beef specialty slow cooked beef in a clay pot.
Mango Virgin Colada
Moroccan Mint Tea.
Olives of varying ripeness and seasonings, from light green, red to black, in spicy brine and garlic.
Roasted Peanuts and Moroccan Trail Mix.
Snails - poor little snail things. Inspired by the French Escargot.
Hairira - a garbonza bean and tomatoe based soup, served with a honey flour sesame sweet crunchy dough.
Cumin roasted sheep cheek and tongue.
Sheep brain!
Mixed Grill Platter of Beef, Lamb sausage, chicken and frites
Tajine!
Tajine - Lamb
Tajine, Vegetarian, carrots and potatoes.
Background: Many years ago in 2013 I visited Morocco on a Wharton International Trip. Sans the monkey on my head an yelling Yella Yella, I barely remember the food. But I knew about the night market, and I knew that I was scared to travel it alone. Without a guide it was intimidating. Our fearless advisor on the trip said NO street food allowed! The GetYourGuide guide, who runs an instagram account called: Instagram_Untold_Stories, would change all that.
A Flavored nuts stall, along with rolled flour bites. "Trail Mix" according to our guide, it was really delicious.
As Anna and I returned to the front of Cafe De France, not late this time, we started the tour with Olives. The story goes that women have progressed substantially and still hold culinary culture to heart. The mayor of Marrakech is woman! But they still pride themselves on making the best Olives.
We both don’t like olives, but if it’s not ripe, and brined with Garlic and seasoning, it definitely changes the taste!
As we moved to the trail mix stand, I finally understood all the colors. They were simply different flavors and different herbs to roll and coat them in. They were outright delicious! Different crunchy biscuits and pistachios mixed in. Everyone loves a honey/sugar coated crunch!
Sampled assortments, don't be afraid to approach!
Snails!
My goodness I forgot the snails! They roast them in a sauce, and it’s like a stew of clams. Just stab the head with a toothpick and pull them out. Voila, the texture is that of a clam. Put that way, it’s not exotic! Right Lee? Right?
Hairira - Tomato based stew
Next we as the Hairira, something Muslims break fasting with with the sweet honey glazed flour roll and sesame. I loved throwing the honey crunch in the tomato and bean soup!
A flashback to Vietnam and the food tour: the exotic challenge was Ballut, an impregnated chicken egg, eaten with fertilized Embryo! Yes I had it, soft beak, spine and feet and all. It tastes like Egg yolk with meat, if not too bony. It sounds really gruesome, and I’m not sure why I’m not grossed out.
Sheep's Head
The sheep brain.
Let’s figure out how we got here, Lee Kramer my advisor said no street food those 10 years ago? Oh how I’ve fallen. I looked to my wife, “anything seasoned and in a stew and prepared for taste, would taste good!”
So once the cheek and tongue came out, seasoned with Cumin in a stew, it was tasty. Tacos de lengua anyone?
Okay back to the brains. The final challenge. I heard from my friend Miller that brains tastes like Tofu. So here I go! I stabbed a piece with a toothpick, and mush mush mush.
It tasted like a soft boiled egg, the egg white portion, and a chewier tofu. I didn’t want to look at the smooth ridges too closely.
Our guide said that sheep’s head should be enjoyed with company, as it’s a religious celebration ceremony, not to be enjoyed by itself.
I liked the brain, it really tastes less dramatic that say eating liver or chicken gizzards. That stuff I can’t palette!
Once the tour was over and we were treated to a great dinner of Tagine and Tangia, bread, lentils and a yogurt dessert, Anna and I were finally ready to face the Merrekech night market, on our own!
Sheep's Brain
We saw a few more vendors, selling what I would’ve got, a mixed fried meat in bread mix. We haggled for coasters and a magnet, said La Shakran multiple times and vendors for items we didn’t need, and made our final InDrive request of the night.
The Taxi controller and the taxi mafia were scary, and our driver was hard to find us. But we found him, who turned out to be the one and only humble Chef Nor on YouTube. I think he has 700 subscribers! He showed us how to make salt crusted sea bass in the oven, with butter and lemon.
I guess the tail end of the night was all about food!
Tangential shoutout to the breakfast hamburger I ordered feeling a little homesick. It was pretty damn good with some French frites and mayo too.
Tomorrow brings a photoshoot, and then to Lisbon!
