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Marrakesh Lamb Tangia


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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