What you need in your pantry to create Moroccan cuisine at home + recipes

Contrary to popular belief, Moroccan food is a Mediterranean food using most of the same staples as other Mediterranean countries but has a specific style unto it’s own with influences from other cuisines over hundreds of years. Here is a list of what you need in your pantry to create Moroccan cuisine at home.

Meat & Protein

• Beef, goat, mutton, lamb, chicken, seafood

Fruit & Vegetables

• Apple, avocado, almonds, bananas, kiwi, plums, persimmons, nuts, grape, pomegranate, lemon, oranges and clementines
• Potatoes, tomatoes, green capsicum (peppers), artichokes, cucumbers, zucchini, slaouia (Moroccan gourd), green beans, peas, lettuces, carrots, parsnips, sweet potatoes, mallow leaves, spinach, Italian parsley, coriander (cilantro), onions, garlic, pumpkin, squash, leeks, eggplant, zucchini, beets

Herbs & Spices

• Salt, ginger, black and white pepper, sweet paprika, cayenne or hot paprika, cumin, cinnamon, saffron, turmeric, ras el hanout (combination of cardamom, nutmeg, anise, mace, cinnamon, ginger, various peppers, and turmeric), anise, nutmeg, sumac, sesame seeds, fenugreek, bay leaves, za’atar (blend of sesame seeds, sumac, thyme, marjoram, oregano, salt)

Pantry Staples

• Semolina, couscous, preserved lemons, olives, olive oil, flour, cracked wheat (bulgur), barley, sugar, honey, tea, orange blossom water, rosewater, lentils, cannellini beans, chickpeas, fava beans, black eyed peas, dried fruit (apricots, dates, figs, raisins and prunes), harissa (hot chilli paste), filo pastry, yeast

Recipes

There are a gazillion Moroccan recipes online but here are a few make from scratch recipes for the essential ingredients plus a few recipes that use common ingredients and are easy to make.

How to make preserved lemon

How to make harissa

Mrouzia (Lamb tagine with stewed apricots and prunes) + 22 other tagine recipes

Pastilla

Bissara (Split Pea & Fava Bean Dip)

Khobz (Moroccan bread)

Zaalouk (Eggplant & Tomato Salad)

Loubia Stew (Vegan Bean Stew with Sundried Tomatoes & Kale)

Kalinte (Moroccan Chickpea Pie)

Moroccan Carrot Salad

Moroccan Hummus

Moroccan Meat Bourekas (Meat Pie)

Shakshouka (Moroccan Baked Eggs)

Ghoriba (Moroccan Almond Cookies)

Rozz bel Hleeb (Moroccan Rice Pudding)

 

Quick & Easy Orange Couscous

We all like to go to pasta or rice as a side to most of our main meals but you really couldn’t find anything easier than couscous in particular a flavoured one like orange couscous.

Instant couscous, which is what’s readily available at the supermarket has already been prepared, that is pre-steamed and dried semolina but it is quite a lengthly process if done by hand. Couscous is commonly used in North African cuisine like in regions of Morocco and some parts of the Middle East. It is also very similar to ‘grits’ in the USA. It can be used in both savoury and sweet dishes and perfect in a salad.

It’s so easy to prepare. Just add 1 cup of couscous to a dish, heat the kettle and make up to 1 cup of liquid and pour over the couscous. Cover and let sit for about 5 minutes. I had 1 orange in the fridge so squeezed the juice into a jug and made up the rest of the liquid to 1 cup with just hot water. Once the couscous has absorbed all the liquid, fluff with a fork and add a slurp of olive oil or a knob of butter. Use as you would pasta or rice but it goes particularly well with Moroccan dishes like a tagine, stew or slow cooked dish.

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Quick & Easy Orange Couscous

A delicious side to all types of dishes instead of pasta or rice. Particular nice with Moroccan or other North African cuisine dishes.

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 5 minutes

Total Time 10 minutes

Servings 6

Author Anne

Ingredients

• 1 cup instant couscous
• 1 cup liquid including any juices and flavours
• 1 tbs olive oil or 1 tbs butter

Instructions

1. Put couscous in a bowl.
2. Add 1 cup of hot water including any flavouring like citrus juices, herbs or spices.
3. Cover and let stand for 5 minutes.
4. Fluff with a fork then add a tablespoon of olive oil or butter and stir through.
5. Serve as required.

Moroccan Lamb & Roast Pumpkin Salad with Date Vinaigrette

Have I told you how much I love trying new ingredients? They aren’t always in the budget but running my kitchen like a restaurant, where I top up my basic pantry/fridge/freezer staples each fortnight, enables me to sometimes have a bit leftover in the grocery budget to buy unusual ingredients which can turn an ordinary meal into something extraordinary. Dressing a pretty standard Moroccan Lamb & Roast Pumpkin salad with a date vinaigrette sent an every day kind of meal to something extraordinary.

On this occasion, I was pretty lucky to receive two bottles of Exotic Date Vinegars, one sweet and one authentic. I didn’t even know they were ‘a thing’. If I would’ve known about them, I probably would’ve been using them all summer to dress my salads. They gave a beautiful taste to the salad ingredients which complimented the Moroccan flavours of the lamb really well in this dish.

Date vinegar has been used for both food and medicine (*) for many years in the Middle East. Some of the health benefits include:

• assists in weight loss
• prevents cancer
• remedy for a weak heart
• eases childbirth
• menstrual disorders
• strengthens immune system
• high in iron and potassium
• improves fatigue
• eases a persistent cough and helps to remove phlegm
• relieves headaches
• heals burns and skin inflammations

Exotic Date Vinegars are made from 100% dates, nothing else. There is no artificial colouring or preservatives and no chemical filtration. Who would’ve thought dates could be turned into something so delicious and healthy at the same time.

Date nights with my husband are becoming more of an ‘at home’ thing with me spending a little extra on a nice cut of meat instead of paying some ridiculous amount of money for something similar out at a restaurant. Even though these lamb steaks were $26 per kilo, these 5 steaks only cost $9, which was the only cost. I had all the other ingredients. Still a pretty cheap meal, considering. I marinated the leg steaks in a little extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper and a Moroccan spice blend. I buy the blend already made as I use it a lot in cooking but you can make it yourself with basic pantry spices. For a cheaper option, you could use either chicken thighs or breasts or go vegetarian by using chickpeas.

While that’s marinating, cube some pumpkin and toss in extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper and roast until tender. I just happened to be baking that day so these were popped in between trays of cookies and cake. After roasting, cool until required.

The easiest way I’ve found to mix any kind of vinaigrette is to put all ingredients into a jar with a lid and shake like crazy. It emulsifies pretty well. Use the date vinegar in place of your standard wine or balsamic vinegar that you would use in a normal vinaigrette.

Grill your lamb steaks until just cooked. You want it to be a little pink inside with a lovely char on the outside.

To dress your salad greens, I pour a little of the salad dressing on the platter I’m serving the salad on then toss the greens in the dressing.

For this recipe, I had rocket (arugula) and added a few sprigs of coriander (cilantro) and mint.

Place the roasted pumpkin, sliced red onion, chunks of tomato and the sliced lamb on top of the salad greens. Finish with more coriander. Pour more dressing over the top and you’re done. This was such a quick and easy meal to put together. You can prepare a whole heap of roasted pumpkin in advance and freeze and use until required. It’s a great addition to any salad. My husband and I ate from this one platter. It was romantic (and saved on washing up).

I hope you give it a try. I can’t wait to try the sweet date vinegar. Will let you know what I come up with.

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Moroccan Lamb & Roasted Pumpkin Salad with Date Vinaigrette

All the flavours of Morocco with this easy lamb and roasted pumpkin salad flavoured with a simple vinaigrette made with date vinegar.

Author Anne

Ingredients

• lamb steaks or chicken thigh or breast fillets
• pumpkin cubed and roasted with extra virgin olive oil and salt & pepper
• salad greens rocket, lettuce etc
• red onion sliced thinly
• tomatoes cut into chunks
• fresh herbs coriander, mint, parsley etc
• 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup Exotic Date Vinegar
• salt and pepper
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• pinch of sugar
• Moroccan spice blend
• Extra olive oil for marinade

Instructions

1. Marinate lamb (or chicken) steaks in Moroccan spice blend, salt & pepper and olive oil.
2. Leave in fridge for at least 2 hours.
3. Add 3/4 cup olive oil, date vinegar, salt, pepper and sugar to a jar and shake.
4. Toss salad greens and fresh herbs in a little vinaigrette.
5. Pan fry lamb steaks on high until just cooked through and charred on the outside.
6. Allow to sit before slicing.
7. Assemble salad by placing salad greens on a platter, adding roasted pumpkin, red onion, tomatoes and top with sliced lamb.
8. Top with additional coriander to serve.

Recipe Notes

Can be served on a bed of cous cous.
Can use chickpeas instead of meat for a vegetarian version.

Disclaimer: I was gifted two bottles of Exotic Date Vinegar. All photos, thoughts and opinions are my own. I was not paid for this post.

(*) The health benefits of Dates Vinegar may not be fully documented and the information provided, should not be used as a substitute for professional medical advice and treatment. Please consult your health care provider if you have any history of medical problem or before taking any alternative remedy.

Moroccan Roast Chicken with Couscous

I couldn’t tell you the last time I bought a frozen roast chicken to cook at home. And to think that’s all I grew up with. I was involved in plucking many a chicken, duck or goose on my Mum’s Aunty’s farm and we always had a roast for lunch every Sunday. When we got home from Sunday School and church on Sunday, the roast was always put on and the smells were just fantastic. All the roast vegetables, fresh beans, homestyle gravy and usually a pudding of some sort. Winter, summer, autumn or spring, we always had a Sunday roast. It always set us up well for the meat supply for the week too for school lunches and other meals.

Recently, I was asked to try a Steggles frozen chicken and I was pleasantly surprised that for under $9 I could buy a size 19 (or 1.9kg) chicken. It’s huge! (Well, huge for us.) Those little roast chickens you pick up from the supermarket are about half the size. I don’t remember my Mum or Nanna ever doing too much with the chicken but I do remember them both making wonderful stuffing (or seasoning). Nanna always made her with fresh herbs and onion and Mum’s was always with onion and dried mixed herbs. I love stuffing (and so does my son). They both used stale or older bread to make the stuffing but I wanted to try something different.

I was going to try quinoa but decided on keeping with a Middle Eastern theme and use couscous with Moroccan spices. You can buy a Moroccan blend, which I had a little leftover but usually spices like dried coriander and cumin, allspice, cinnamon, cayenne pepper, ground ginger and nutmeg are a pretty good start. I added heaps of freshly grated lemon zest to both the butter rub I used on the outside of the bird and inside the cavity with the couscous. I also added half of the lemon I used to get juice from straight into the cavity with the couscous. The aroma was fantastic while it was roasting!

I must try it again with quinoa but I’m certainly doing it again with couscous. It makes a complete meal with just a few sides. (I’ll blog about the sides I served with this roast in a couple days.) The chicken was beautifully moist and there was heaps of meat. I’ve got 2 more meals to make out of this bird so stay tuned. I also think I’m going back to cooking my own chickens. I can control the flavour, the way its cooked and can get a whole lot more meat I normally get from a rotisserie supermarket chicken.

Moroccan Roast Chicken with Couscous

• Steggles frozen chicken
• 1/2 cup couscous
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 3 tbs butter
• 1 lemon, for both zest and juice
• Moroccan spices
• red capsicum (bell peppers), finely diced
• 1/2 onion, finely diced
• salt and peppers
• 2 onions, chopped roughly

Optional:
dates, dried apricots, almonds or pine nuts (I’m not a person who likes fruit in savoury dishes but if you want to experience a full Moroccan flavour, these are essential ingredients.)

1. If chicken is frozen, defrost the previous day in the refrigerator.
2. Preheat oven to 200 deg C.
3. Heat chicken stock and when boiling, remove from heat and add couscous. Stir until couscous has absorbed liquid.
4. Add 1 tbs butter, 2 tbs of Moroccan seasoning, 1/2 of grated lemon zest, juice from half of lemon, salt and pepper, red pepper and onion.
5. Add to cavity of chicken and add the squeezed half of lemon after stuffing has been added.
6. Cut a slit to underside of one of the chicken legs and slide the other leg into it to secure.
7. Add other half of grated lemon zest and 1 tbs of Moroccan spices to 2 tbs of butter. Spread over breast part of chicken.
8. Place chicken on top of chopped onions and cook in hot oven for 30 mins. Reduce temperature to 160 deg C (fan forced) for approx 1 hour or until juices run clear from the thigh of the chicken.

Disclaimer:  This is not a sponsored post. I did receive a gift card to purchase the chicken from the supermarket. All thoughts, opinions and photos are my own.

Moroccan Pumpkin & Chickpeas with Couscous

In an effort to eat less meat (for ethical reasons), I’m preparing more meatless meals. I do love the flavours of Morocco and have cooked a Moroccan Chicken and Chickpea Stew in the slow cooker before. This dish was prepared in as long as it took to boil pumpkin. It really was fast food. I got to use up lots of vegies I had in the fridge too. If you don’t have pumpkin, butternut squash or sweet potato would work perfectly.

I love eating food from ethnic cuisines such as Moroccan, Indian, Lebanese, Turkish, etc but it can be quite a bit to set up the spices you might need. You’ll find a crossover of spices in most cuisines with cumin, coriander, cinnamon, cloves, chilli and turmeric. Moroccan food can also have nutmeg, allspice, cayenne pepper and ground ginger. For $2 to $3 you can buy a small jar of premixed Moroccan spices at the supermarket. If you find yourself cooking these types of dishes all the time, it might be more economical to buy the spices in larger packets and make up these blends yourself.

Also, if you haven’t tried couscous before, give it a go. It really is yummy and there are so many things you can mix into it to compliment your dish. I’m sure the kids will love it too.

Moroccan Pumpkin & Chickpeas with Couscous

• 1 can chickpeas, drained
• pumpkin, chopped into bite sized pieces
• 1 brown onion, sliced thinly
• (any other leftover vegetables – I had baby spinach and a grated beet/carrot/broccoli mix)
• 2 tbs Moroccan spice blend (refer above, use as little or as many as you have)
• 2 tbs extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tbs Greek yoghurt
• salt and pepper
• enough water to just cover the pumpkin in a saucepan
• cashews and/or fresh coriander to serve

Couscous:

• Make up as per instructions on the box.  Add 1 tablespoon of Moroccan spice blend to the oil and fry before adding couscous.

1. Fry sliced onion in the oil until just cooked.
2. Add spices and cook until they become aromatic.
3. Add pumpkin and other vegetables and stir. (I left the baby spinach until the end as it only needed to be heated through.)
4. Cover with enough water to just cover. Add salt and pepper.
5. When pumpkin is cooked, add chickpeas and any other vegetables. Heat through.
6. Once cooked, remove from heat and stir through yoghurt.
7. Serve on top of cooked couscous and garnish with dry roasted cashews and/or fresh coriander.

Moroccan Sweet Potato & Quinoa Patties

I could’ve gone either way in using up my sweet potatoes. I’ve been known to cook and puree them and use them in cakes and muffins just so the ‘fussy one’ gets some vegetables into her. I’ve also found that they had a natural sweetness and the cake is very moist. But I needed something for dinner last night and felt like making these Sweet Potato & Quinoa patties with Moroccan flavourings.

You could use just about anything with this mashed sweet potato. I had 2 stalks of broccollini from dinner the night before and I diced them finely and added them to the mix. Its just a matter of adding the seasoning and an egg then adding a light crumb coating, shallow frying (or oven bake if you like) and you’re done.

Moroccan Sweet Potato & Quinoa Patties

• 2 medium (or 1 large) sweet potato, boiled and mashed
• 1/2 cup quinoa flakes
• leftover vegetables, diced finely
• 1 egg, beaten
• Moroccan seasoning
• fresh coriander (or in a tube)
• panko breadcrumbs
• oil for frying

1. Mix mashed sweet potato, quinoa flakes, leftover vegetables, seasoning, fresh coriander and beaten egg. (If mixture is too ‘wet’, add extra quinoa flakes.)
2. Form into patties and coat lightly with breadcrumbs.
3. Shallow fry until golden (or alternatively spray with oil and bake in the oven).

I served my patties with a simple salad of baby spinach leaves, Roma egg tomatoes and a vinaigrette of olive oil, lemon juice and coriander. I have some leftover for the freezer which I’ll use for a quick lunch on a burger with lots of salad.

Moroccan Chicken & Chick Pea Stew

This was popped in the slow cooker at lunch time and was steaming hot ready for dinner time. I just love the slow cooker so much since I’ve had the kids. Sometimes I’ll brown the meat but other times, I just bung it all in. This stew is great for that using chicken thighs and tinned chick peas plus some basic pantry spices. You can use whatever vegies you have on hand but I used sweet potato, carrot and cauliflower.

Moroccan Chicken & Chick Pea Stew

4 chicken thighs, diced
420gm can chickpeas, drained
2 small or 1 large onion, diced finely
1 sweet potato, diced finely
2 carrots, chopped
cauliflower florets
1 tin diced tomatoes
1 cup chicken stock
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground all spice
1/4 tsp ground chilli/cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
4 cloves garlic, crushed
salt & pepper
1 tbs lemon juice

Combine all ingredients and cook in a slow cook for 8 hours on low or 4 hours on high. Alternatively, cook in an oven proof casserole dish for an hour in a 180 deg C oven or on the stove top on simmer until carrots are soft.

Serve with cous cous or rice.

Serves 6.