Tangia is a classic
Marrakesh dish of slow-cooked lamb with fermented butter known as smen,
spices and preserved lemons. It is made in a pear-shaped earthenware pot called
a tangia.
These deep, narrow pots are used to braise meat slowly in the embers of a fire.
The soft, unctuous meat is served with bread, harissa-flavoured olives and mint
tea. This type of meal is one of life’s great pleasures and its perfumed
perfection is easy to re-create at home: put everything into a well-sealed
saucepan, slow cook for hours and let the alchemy happen. Here I have used
ordinary butter rather than smen, to make the ingredients easy to source.
2
teaspoons cumin seeds
4 preserved
lemons, whole
6
garlic cloves, peeled
A
handful of coriander leaves and stalks
A
handful of flat-leaf parsley leaves and stalks
A
small pinch of saffron
1
teaspoon ras el hanout
25g
butter
3
tablespoons olive oil
2
lamb shanks (about 400g each)
Sea
salt and freshly ground black pepper
TO
SERVE
Green
olives tossed in harissa
Moroccan
bread, or crusty rolls of your choice
1. Preheat the oven to 270°C/250°C fan/gas mark 9. Toast the
cumin seeds in a dry pan over a low heat until fragrant. Cool and grind into a
powder.
2. Select an ovenproof pot or
saucepan that will fit the lamb shanks snugly. Put the lemons, garlic,
coriander, parsley, saffron, ras el hanout, butter, oil and 350ml water into
the pot, then add the ground cumin seeds and season well. Mix together. Add the
lamb shanks to the pot and push into the liquid.
3. Cut a round of baking paper to
fit the inside of the pot. Scrunch it up under the cold tap, smooth out and lay
snugly over the meat. Cover with a large sheet of foil and top with the pot
lid. Scrunch the sides of the foil together to seal the rim of the pot and the
lid. This will help keep as much moisture in the pot as possible, ensuring the
meat is meltingly tender.
4. Transfer the pot to the oven
and immediately reduce the temperature to 160°C/140°C fan/gas mark 3. Cook for
5 hours, or until the meat pulls apart easily at the touch of a fork.
5. Take off the lid and heat on
the hob over a medium heat for 3–4 minutes so that the sauce thickens a little.
Remove from the heat, cover with the lid and set aside to rest for 10 minutes.
Pour off the excess fat and tip everything onto a warm serving dish. Discard
the herbs and serve immediately with the harissa olives, bread, cumin salt and
mint tea.
Harira Soup :
Traditionally
cooked to break the fast during Ramadan, these days this thick soup is cooked
all the time all over the country, and eaten as a light lunch or quick snack
before dinner. The particular flavours and ingredients vary regionally, but
generally it is made with chickpeas and a carbohydrate such as potatoes. The
soup probably has its origins in a semolina-based dish eaten by the Berbers in
the High Atlas. The tomatoes would have been added with the advent of New World
foods. My version is vegetarian, using chickpeas, rice and lentils. For a pop
of freshness, I add a walnut gremolata at the end.
2
teaspoons cumin seeds
8
tablespoons olive oil
2
onions, finely chopped
3
celery sticks, finely chopped
2
carrots, finely chopped
6
garlic cloves, finely chopped
2
teaspoons ground ginger
1
teaspoon ground cinnamon
½
teaspoon ground black pepper
½
teaspoon ground turmeric
400g
tin chopped tomatoes
4
tablespoons tomato purée
400g
tin chickpeas, drained and rinsed
80g
Basmati rice
200g
green lentils
A
handful of flat-leaf parsley leaves
A
handful of coriander leaves
1
litre vegetable stock
Zest
and juice of 1 lemon
50g
walnuts
Sea
salt
1. Begin by toasting the cumin
seeds to bring out the flavour. Place a frying pan over a medium heat. Add the
cumin seeds and reduce the heat to low. Toast the seeds, shaking the pan
occasionally, for 3–3½ minutes. Cool, then grind into a fine powder.
2. Heat 4 tablespoons of oil in a
large casserole over a medium heat. Add the onions, celery and carrots and
cook, stirring occasionally, for 10–12 minutes or until soft and sticky. Add
the garlic, mix well, and cook for 10 seconds until fragrant. Add the toasted
cumin, along with the ginger, cinnamon, black pepper and turmeric, and a big
pinch of salt. Mix well and cook for a few seconds until the aroma of the
spices fills your kitchen.
3. Tip the tomatoes and tomato purée into the pan. Add the
chickpeas, rice and lentils, half the herbs and pour over the stock. Mix well.
Bring to the boil, cover, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes, or
until the lentils are soft and the rice cooked. Check the seasoning and add
half the lemon juice. Mix together.
4. Meanwhile, heat a small frying
pan over a medium heat and toast the walnuts for 5–6 minutes, shaking the pan
occasionally, to intensify their flavours. Remove from the heat and leave to
cool. Tip into a food processor and add the remaining flat-leaf parsley and
coriander. Blend until fine. Transfer to a mixing bowl. Pour in the remaining
oil and add the lemon zest and the remaining juice. Season with a good pinch of
salt and mix well.
5. Serve the soup in bowls with some of the walnut gremolata
spooned on top.
Bissara Soup :
This
protein-packed, energy-boosting soup is a staple Moroccan breakfast dish.
Traditionally, it is eaten during the cold winter months, but so loved is the
creamy consistency that it can be found all over the country, all the time. The
dried beans are cooked in garlic and spices until thick and rich, and then
served with a slick of peppery olive oil and a few warming spices. It’s
incredibly comforting, deeply nourishing and deceptively filling.
500g
dried split broad beans, soaked overnight
8 garlic
cloves, crushed
1
tablespoon ground cumin, plus extra to serve
1 tablespoon paprika, plus extra to serve
2
tablespoons olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
Sea
salt
1. Wash the soaked beans in cold
water several times to make sure they are clean. Drain well. Place in a pan and
pour in enough cold water to cover the beans by about 1cm. Bring to the boil
over a high heat, and remove any scum with a slotted spoon.
2. Put the garlic, cumin, paprika
and oil into the pan and mix well. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to
low. Cover and cook for 1 hour to 1 hour 20 minutes, or until the beans are
falling apart. You will need to top up the water levels occasionally so that
the beans are just covered, never fully exposed. Stir every now and again.
3. Season with a really good
pinch of salt and blend until smooth using a hand-held stick blender. To serve,
divide the soup into bowls, drizzle with olive oil, and add a good pinch of
cumin, salt and paprika.
Steamed Chickpea Baguettes :
Weaving
through the busy streets of Fez is hungry work, and those in the know head to
the winding alleyways of Nejjarine for their street food fix. Bustling stalls
and little carts sell all manner of deliciousness, including these chickpea
baguettes. The soaked chickpeas are steamed until soft, then seasoned to within
an inch of their lives with salt, musty Moroccan cumin and chilli powder, and
stuffed into a soft baguette that has been slathered with cream cheese. It’s a
heavenly combination of flavours and textures, and perfect fuel for the day.
250g
dried chickpeas
4
small white rolls/baguettes
200g
cream cheese
4
teaspoons ground cumin
2
teaspoons chilli powder
Sea
salt
1. Soak the chickpeas overnight
in a large pan of cold water. Drain, rinse thoroughly, and drain again.
2. Place a tight-fitting colander
or steamer over a large pan filled with water. Wrap foil over the join between
the pan and colander to help trap the steam. Heat the pan over a high heat
until boiling and steaming. Tip the chickpeas into the colander, cover, and
reduce the heat to low. Steam for 2½–3 hours, mixing the chickpeas every hour
until tender.
3. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to
160°C fan/180°C/gas mark 4 and warm the rolls or baguettes through. Cut open
and spread a generous amount of cream cheese inside.
4. Toss the chickpeas in the cumin, chilli powder and salt and
stuff into a warm baguette. Serve immediately.
Batbout Breakfast Bread with Butter & Honey :
This
simple recipe reminds me of sitting at a faded blue table in a tiny alleyway in
Essaouira on Morocco’s Atlantic coast. The chef cooked batbout,
a pillowy soft round bread, on a piping hot flat plate right in front of me,
expertly flipping each one several times as they puffed up and rose, so they
took on a little colour without burning. Olive oil and honey were poured
generously over the bread as it was served. This comforting combo is the
on-the-go breakfast of Morocco, available in various guises across the country;
in the south they mix olive oil and honey, and in the north it’s butter. Either
way, I love the simplicity of it.
7g
sachet dried yeast
1
teaspoon caster sugar
450ml
warm water
200g
fine semolina flour
300g
plain flour, plus extra for dusting
4
tablespoons olive oil, plus extra for oiling the tray
Sea
salt
TO
SERVE
Good-quality
extra virgin olive oil or butter
Honey
1. Put the yeast into a large jug. Add the sugar, and pour in
the water. Whisk together and leave for 8–10 minutes to froth.
2. Put the semolina into a large
mixing bowl. Add a good pinch of salt and sift over the flour. Pour the olive
oil into the bowl and slowly add the yeast liquid, a little at a time,
combining as you go to form a dough. You may not need all the liquid.
3. Once the dough forms, and
starts coming together, tip onto a floured surface and knead for about 10
minutes, or until really shiny and soft. Divide into 5 pieces, shape into small
balls and place, spaced well apart, on an oiled baking tray. Cover and leave to
prove for about 30 minutes. On a floured work surface, roll out each ball into
a round pizza shape about 2.5mm thick and then leave, covered with a clean
cloth, for an hour to rise.
4. Heat a non-stick frying pan
over a medium–high heat and cook the batbout one at a time for about 2 minutes each side,
then cook for a further 1 minute each side to allow the centre to cook
properly. Reduce the heat if necessary. The bread will puff up and turn golden.
If it needs more time for the dough to cook, allow a further 30 seconds to 1
minute a side until done. Keep warm while you cook the rest of the breads.
5. Serve with a choice of olive oil or butter and honey
Beghrir Pancakes :
Known
as ‘pancakes with a million holes’, these crumpet-like crêpes are soft, spongy
and delicious. Made with yeast, they are also fluffy and light. Beghrir
are cooked in homes across the country for a pre-dawn breakfast during Ramadan,
and often served with butter and honey, which they joyously soak up. You also
find them piled high in souks and markets, perfect for a snack during a busy
shopping spree. I love mine piping hot, with Moroccan nut butter (amlou).
250ml
warm water
3.5g
(half a sachet) dried yeast
½
teaspoon caster sugar
250ml
full-fat milk
2
free-range eggs
140g
fine semolina flour
140g
plain flour
2
teaspoons baking powder
A
pinch of salt
50g
butter, for frying
TO
SERVE
Honey
Jam
Nut
butter
1. Pour the warm water into a jug
and add the yeast and sugar. Whisk together and leave for a few minutes until
foaming. Add the milk and whisk in the eggs.
2. Put the semolina, flour,
baking powder and salt into a bowl. Mix well and slowly pour in the liquid
mixture, whisking as you go, until it’s all combined into a smooth batter.
Cover and set aside for 30 minutes so that the yeast aerates the mixture.
3. Heat some of the butter in a
small non-stick frying pan over a medium heat. Pour in 4–5 tablespoons of the
batter and cook for about 3½–4 minutes, or until the surface is pitted with
holes like honeycomb, and the mix set and matte coloured rather than shiny. Beghrir
are only cooked on one side so you need to adjust the heat to ensure the bottom
does not burn before the top is cooked. Put the cooked pancake onto a warm
serving dish and cover. Repeat with the remaining batter.
4. Serve the pancakes with honey,
jam and nut butter so that everyone can pick their favourite topping.
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