Fes & Pickles

This journey starts in Fes, where Eric's and my lovely guests Kate & J.T. gifted me this cookbook. Thanks ladies! The Fes medina is bound to get any food lover's imagination running wild. Each stall sells some different foreign produce that I've never experimented with before, like cardoons, quince, neon red and orange berries, and tremendous 4 feet long squash. As you walk down the crowded alleys live chickens in their cages squawk, the glazed eyes from mounted camel head stares down at you, and all the while you're surrounded by smells of spices, smoking meats, honey glazed pastries, rotting things underfoot... ok I'm doing a bad job of describing the indescribable Fes medina so go read some travel writer's blog or better yet just go see for yourself. 

My point is, Fes is a wonderful place to start a cooking adventure. First up on my journey was pomegrante, beetroot, & red onion salad. Beetroot for all you non-British speakers out there is just plain beets. But more about that later. Tonight I was ambitious enough to make 3 of the easiest recipes in the book - tomato & preserved lemon salad, harissa, and harissa pickled onions.

Harissa

Harissa is one of my favorite condiments but I never had it on hand much because an imported can in Chicago costs over 10 dollars and the harissa you can buy in the supermarket is a sad and sour substitute for the real thing. Harissa is a Tunisian creation, not Moroccan- just ask Paula Wolfert. But no problem, because now I finally know how to whip up this delicious and fiery paste at home.  It's so simple and is a spicy lover's dream.

Take a bunch of fresh red chillis. Cut off the tops and throw the rest, seeds and all, into a food processor with maybe 2 tbs of white vinegar, lemon juice, salt, and a tbs of sugar. Blend it up. You should end up with a thick paste that makes you cough uncontrollably and gets your eyes stinging when you take the food chopper lid off.

 DO NOT PUT YOUR FINGERS IN YOUR EYES! If you want though, immediately after making harissa you can rub your fingers on your lips and get très red, plump lips without any Sephora "lip plumper" gloss that costs 20 dollars a tube. My lips are still tingling 2 hours later.  

Lastly, put your harissa paste in a jar and leave it out for a few hours before refrigerating it. This helps the flavors meld together. Don't know how long harissa will keep, but it's so full of capsaicin I bet it will last as long as it takes you to finish it. I added some minced preserved lemon rind to give my harissa a Moroccan touch.

Don't know what to put it on? Try saucing plain pasta with a teaspoon of the paste, or adding a bit to broth to give it a kick (esp couscous broth). Mix it into burgers, dip french fries into it, or rub it onto meat as a marinade. Or do as the Tunisians do, mix it with a tiny bit of water and sop it up with bread as a snack.

Harissa pickled onions

Another favorite condiment, pickled onions, and so easy to make. Heat up some vinegar and add some salt and harissa- watch it though, only a teaspoon. Pour this over sliced red onions and 2-3 hours later you got pickles. According to the book these keep for 2 weeks in the fridge.

Tomato & preserved lemon salad

A simple tomato salad with salty capers and bits of preserved lemon. Dice a tomato, throw in a minced clove of garlic, some capers, parsley, mint, lemon juice, olive oil, and salt. I minced half of a rinsed, preserved lemon rind and threw that in too. 

You can eat this as is or serve it up with pasta or toasted bread. It was quite delicious and the capers, mint and lemon rind give it a lot of character that makes this salad not your ordinary tomato salad.

Unfortunately I wasn't serious about this blog until after I finished eating the second meal that I made. As there aren't many pictures documenting the cooking process, you'll just have to use your imagination. 

Hta min baid - until later.

Ready... set... yallah!

Last weekend I finally got my hands on the Clock Book, a cookbook highlighting recipes from Cafe Clock in Fes. During my 6 month stint in the ancient city I spent many hours of refuge at the Clock, indulging on french fries and Coca Lights. Occasionally when I would feel rich enough I would cough up 90 dirhams for a camel burger, and then later on figured out how to make my own for a fourth of the cost.

Anyways, they now have a cookbook and its full of delightful recipes for classic Moroccan fare such as chicken tagines (clay pot cooking) and zaalouk (roast eggplant salad) and Westernized plates using typical Moroccan ingredients. In all honestly, I feel guilty that during the past 6 months I have eaten maybe 5 to 10 authentic Moroccan meals, preferring to create Child, Hazan, and Bittman dishes in the comfort of my own kitchen.

But not anymore! Starting today I am going to start on possibly another overdose of Moroccan cuisine by cooking every recipe from this book. Thankfully, it's not too big. Only 89 recipes with 62 days left in the Kingdom. Some recipes will be a cinch and truth to tell not all too Moroccan. But others, like the lamb mechoui and Fessi-style tangia are going to be a little tricky, especially because I don't have an oven at home.

We'll see. I may just be setting myself up for a failure. But hopefully I'll rekindle my excitement for this remarkable cuisine, and maybe you too will be inspired to start preserving lemons.