Monday, November 16, 2009

Cuisines of Europe and the Mediterranean: Morocco & Tunisia!


Welcome to the Cuisines of Europe and the Mediterranean.  This journey will takes us all over the great continent of Europe and all its neighbors including Northern Africa, the Mediterranean Islands, and the former Eastern Block. As you can tell by all these exciting faces, everyone is happy to be back in the kitchen instead of the classroom this past 6 weeks. I've never been to Morocco or Tunisia so let's go see what's cooking.

Chicken Smothered in Green Olives. A personal favorite of mine even though I don't really like olives.  The trick to removing the bitterness from the olives is blanching them and stewing them with a lot of dominant spices such as cinnamon, ginger, sweet paprika, and those strands of saffron goodness.

Next favorite was is the Chakchouka au Merquez. Merquez is a spicy, sweet beef sausage flavored with a hint of anise and mint. Topped with a little Harissa and garnished with Baked Eggs. Just wait till Denny's gets a hold of this, you will be seeing it everywhere.

Moroccan Baked Fish. Dang my landlocked upbringing! I always pass up the fish but it sure looks perrty (insert Arkansas accent here).

Last favorite of the Moroccan/Tunisian experience is the Moroccan Couscous with Lamb, Mint, Apricots, and Cashews garnished with Pickled Radish. This culinary region is beautiful for their flavors combinations and I am looking forward to exploring this cuisine more in my own home kitchen.  Off to Spain, France, and Italy.....................all in two days!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Every dish looks so good! I found your blog through the CIA in Hyde Park's twitter feed. (I live in Upstate New York.) I like the photos you take in class. How do you have time to take photos and finish your assignments?