Morocco - Our Second Meal

For my first time cooking one of our 196 meals, I chose Morocco. I have always been interested in Morocco's culture, because they have such beautiful art and architecture, but I did not know much about Moroccan cuisine. I was interested to learn that it is itself a very multicultural cuisine, "typically a mix of Berber, Arab, Andalusi, and Mediterranean cuisines, with slight European and sub-Saharan influences," per the Wikipedia page. I love the tagine we bought - like a dutch oven but prettier.

When? May 29, 2020
Who cooked? Lauren
What's for dinner? (Recipe links) Beef kofte with spicy harissa tomato sauce, lamb tagine, pita (recipe from my friend Sarah), couscous, dates, peppermint tea. For dessert, we had slices of blood orange soaked in orange blossom water and sprinkled with powdered sugar (not shown here).

(I also made us cocktails with flavors inspired by Moroccan cuisine -- pomegranate juice, mandarin vodka, and orange-blossom water. However, while Morocco is not a dry country, it is predominantly Muslim, so this part of the meal was not really that authentic.)

I enjoyed everything. Mark said the lamb tagine was "phenomenal," so that was a win. :) I especially loved the harissa (spicy roasted red bell pepper flavor), which I have never had before. Definitely plan to keep buying harissa and adding it to sauces, it's delicious! I also didn't realize dates are so tasty - like a chewy, chocolaty flavor. Nice. I also enjoyed the sweetened peppermint tea in little glasses - apparently serving tea is the sine qua non of mealtime in Morocco.

We also watched a Moroccan movie after dinner, La Source des Femmes (2011), which was fantastic, about women in a rural Moroccan village who use a sex strike to try to lobby their husbands for greater freedoms, especially, the right not to suffer miscarriages due to carrying heavy pails of water from the remote source. Beautiful movie.

The small amount I have learned about Morocco through this experience has really made me want to visit - I hope we will, once it's safe to travel again!

Percent complete: 1%

Morocco Stats:

• Population: 35,946,383
• GDP: 300
• Life Expectancy: 76.5
• Founding Date/Age in 2020: 788/1232
• Official Language: Arabic; Tamazight (a language I had never heard of!)