Moroccan cuisine is distinguished by its diversity, and it is one of the world's most famous kitchens, and the reason for its diversity is due to Morocco's interaction with the outside world for centuries, as it is a mixture of Amazigh, Saharan, Arab and Andalusian cuisine, and the cuisine of the Middle East, the Mediterranean and Africa, as affected and influenced by the kitchen European in modern periods.
Moroccan cuisine joined the UNESCO World Heritage List through the healthy Mediterranean diet, in partnership with Spain, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Cyprus and Croatia.
The Iftar table in Morocco reflects this diversity and increases its richness every year.
The Moroccan breakfast table includes, at different standards of living: milk, dates and harira (a Moroccan soup with a wide reputation, made from tomato juice and a mixture of spices, beans and flour), and Shabakia (one of the main traditional sweets), and it also includes pancakes of all kinds, salts, juices, eggs and fish, then tea and slaw. And the beriwat, and among the families those who put a main dish at breakfast, and some of them delay it a little until after the Tarawih prayer, and most often it is Moroccan dajin.
Al-Jazeera Net offers today's items from the kitchen of Chef Naima Al-Asri (35 years), nicknamed Umm Essam, who has been cooking for more than 10 years, and is a professor of cooking at the Pascal Center in Agadir, Morocco.
Today's Chef holds various diplomas and certificates of appreciation. She participates in judging cooking festivals and radio programs in Morocco. She specializes in general cooking (cooking and sweets) from Moroccan and international cuisine.
Naima tells Al-Jazeera Net that she chose to teach cooking instead of working in hotels or restaurants, because it gives her more room for freedom of creativity, innovation and renewal of dishes, and considers that cooking is an art that requires love and passion, and then a special creative touch.
Pumpkin and fig juice (Al Jazeera)
Pumpkin juice and figs
Ingredients: a
kilo of oranges (remove the peels and cut them), a kilo of pumpkin in small squares, a quarter of a kilo of boiled figs, milk with peach flavor, half a kilo of bananas, water, sugar as needed.
Method:
Boil oranges and pumpkin in water and let it cool down.
We mix the mixture and filter it from the impurities.
Add the rest of the ingredients to the mixture and mix all in an electric mixer.
Avocado and Shrimp Salad (Al Jazeera)
Avocado and lemon salad (shrimp)
Ingredients:
Half a kilo of peeled prawns, 2 avocados, a pinch of salt and black pepper, a clove of garlic, small pieces of "surimi" (crab), canned corn, a small onion, finely chopped, a can of tuna, mayonnaise, lemon juice, kumron seeds Complete for decoration.
Method:
In a frying pan, place the lemon, butter, salt and black pepper over a low heat.
Leave the moon to cool down, and add the rest of the elements (of course we have cut the avocado into small squares).
We put the salad in individual cups or a large plate, decorate it with a moon.
A circular leaf (a small mhencha) (the island)
Mehchenh appetizer
It is a small Moroccan appetizer in the form of a rose.
Ingredients:
fluffy paper (very thin dough sheets) and filling.
Filling Ingredients: A
kilo of chicken breast pieces in the form of squares, two chopped onions, a kilo of colored pepper pieces, salt and a little black pepper, crushed garlic cloves, minced parsley, puree sauce (hot sauce), green olives pieces, minced cheese, chicken spices, vermicelli Tray, and lemon juice.
Method:
Put the onions on a low heat with a little oil and butter until they become golden in color.
In another bowl, put the types of peppers on low heat with a little oil.
We also cook the chicken pieces with the oil and butter in a frying pan until they are soft.
Mix the onion, pepper and chicken in a frying pan, then add the rest of the elements, and start forming the leaf in the shape of a rose, or any shape we want (a sikar, a briwa, a small pasta, a circular mhencha ...).
Harira Moroccan is the most popular soup in Morocco, Chef Al Asri served it with almonds instead of chickpeas (Al Jazeera)
Harira with almonds and celery
Because Harira Moroccan is the most popular soup in Morocco, Chef Al Asri gave us her recipe with almonds instead of chickpeas.
Ingredients:
chopped onion, 4 crushed tomatoes, chopped celery (two tablespoons), chopped cilantro, tomato paste, salt and black pepper, a little ginger, a teaspoon of ghee, a tablespoon of olive oil, a quarter kilo of square meat pieces, a cup of lentils , A cup of boiled and peeled almonds, a cube of spices, and a spoonful of white flour to thicken the soup.
Method:
In a pressure cooker, put the onions with the oil, and add the meat and all the ingredients, except for the flour, with an ample amount of water.
When the elements are cooked, in a bowl mix the water with flour, add a little vermicelli and tomato paste, add the mixture to the boiled elements in the water, and continue cooking until the flour thickens and the calories level.
Stuffed fish, a main dish (the island)
Oven stuffed fish
During Ramadan, Moroccans accept fish consumption in many ways, and Chef Naima Al Asri chose to offer us a recipe for fish stuffed in the oven.
Ingredients:
fish weighing two kilograms.
Ingredients for marinad (fish marinade):
crushed garlic cloves, a little parsley and coriander, lemon juice, two tablespoons of olive oil, salt and black pepper, cumin, dried red pepper powder, and harissa (optional spicy).
Fish filling: 2
chopped onions, small pieces of canned mushrooms, Chinese vermicelli, green olive circles, a little garlic, harissa (optional spicy), tomato paste, mixed pepper bits, hard cheese, black pepper, shredded lemon (pickled), a little Lemon (shrimp), squid, a little parsley, cilantro, butter.
To decorate:
fried broccoli, calamari and squid.
Marinating the fish:
We prepare a mixture (marinating) the fish by mixing the above ingredients together, and put the mixture over the whole fish and leave it for two hours.
Preparing the filling:
In a frying pan, put the onions with a little olive oil and vegetable oil mixture, and leave it a little over a low heat, add the pepper variety, then the mushrooms and spices and add a tablespoon of tomato paste.
We cook squid in steam, and boil lemon in a little water.
Add the lemon and squid to the previous ingredients, add the lemon juice, parsley and Chinese vermicelli (boiled in boiling water), and leave the filling to cool.
Cooking method:
In an oven tray covered with cooking paper, put the open fish on the back side and stuff it with the mixture, cover the filling with grated cheese, and leave the fish in the oven in a medium heat until it becomes tender.
Chosun hive pierced with the almond knot (Al Jazeera)
Chebakia dessert with almond filling
The Moroccan table is characterized by special pastries (sweets) that are served in Ramadan, and Naima Al-Asri says that there are approximately 17 hives in different shapes, derived from the chebakia or the pierced and the almond "brioat", and today the chef offers us the Choson Chebakia honey with almond knots.
Ingredients: a
cup of sesame powder (after frying, grinding and sifting it), a cup of crushed and sifted almond powder, a cup of a mixture of olive oil and edible oil, a cup of melted butter, two tablespoons of ground and sifted (fennel), a tablespoon of cinnamon, a tablespoon of vinegar, A cube of saffron, a pinch of grated nutmeg, a bag of chemical yeast, a pinch of regular yeast dough, a kilo and a quarter of white flour, two and a half cups of (perfumed) water with orange blossom spirit.
Method: First
, mix all the dry ingredients with the oil.
Then we sift the mixture and leave it overnight.
On the next day, add water, yeast, butter and vinegar to the mixture.
We cut the dough into portions, then unfold (flake it) and cut small circles.
We make an almond paste mixture (we grind a quarter of a kilo of boiled and peeled almonds, with 125 grams of fine sugar, and add a little orange blossom spirit, a spoonful of melted butter and an egg yolk).
Place a ball of almond dough in the center of the dough circle, and close it in the form of "choson" (half a ball).
We fry the chesson in oil, dip it in honey and decorate it with a little sesame or grated almonds, then serve.