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Steamed Sheep's head

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  Christine Benlafquih The dish everybody looks forward to during Eid-al-Adha and also a very popular street food in Morocco: steamed sheep's or cow's head. You can make this easily at home and it's definitely worth a try !! Before the head can be cooked, it is charred over coals until it is completely black. The burnt skin is scraped off, the head is cut in half and then, if desired, into more pieces. The brains are removed and cooked separately; the tongue is steamed with the head. Ingredients:   1 sheep's head (cut into 4 to 8 pieces and washed thoroughly) 1 1/2 tablespoons of salt cumin 1 small bunch of parsley and / or coriander (tied in a bouquet) 1 onion (very coarsely chopped or sliced) Steps:  In a large pot or pressure cooker fitted with a steamer basket, bring a large quantity of salted water to a boil. Make sure the water level is below the bottom of your steamer basket. In a large bowl, combine the salt and cumin. Add the meat and mix, using your fingers to

Baghrir expres (quick Moroccan pancakes)

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  Picture: https://www.la-cuisine-marocaine.com/ Easy to make and a delight to have for breakfast !! All hail the thick and delicious Moroccan pancakes drenched in melted butter and honey. This recipe comes from https://www.la-cuisine-marocaine.com/ and allows you to make your baghrir without blender. Enjoy!  Ingredients:   tea glass measures 150 ml 2 teaspoons of fine durum wheat semolina 1 teaspoon of flour 3 teaspoons of lukewarm water 1/2 teaspoon of salt (+ or - depending on taste) 1 tablespoon of sugar 1 sachet of instant baker's yeast (1 tablespoon) 1 sachet of baking powder Steps: -Put the baker's yeast and sugar in a tea glass, then fill it with lukewarm water, mix and leave to act for about 2 minutes while you prepare the other ingredients. -In a large bowl, put the fine semolina, flour, salt mix with a whisk then add the baker's yeast-sugar-water mixture and the remaining two teaspoon glasses of lukewarm water while mixing with the whisk to prevent lumps from for

Rfissa (Trid)

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Picture by: Aux Délices du Palais I had never even heard of Rfissa before  I moved to Morocco in 2015. And mind you, I'm half Moroccan! How could I have missed out on such a delicious dish for so many years. But, no need to worry. I managed to catch up in the meantime. Now I came to find out that it's not even that hard to make at home! It's based on msemmen (Maghrebian pancake), onion broth, ginger, coriander, saffron, ras el hanout and essential fenugreek (tifiḍas in Amazigh, halba in Arabic) which gives it its flavor.And nowadays you can find Moroccan spices practically anywhere. Make sure to use the freshest produce you can find, preferably from the local Moroccan store or supermarket. Ingrediënts: 1 free-range chicken weighing 1 kg 300 (or 5 chicken thighs) 3 chopped onions 1/2 teaspoon of turmeric 1 teaspoon of ginger 1 teaspoon of ras elhanout A few pistils of pure saffron Salt & pepper 1 small bunch of parsley and cilantro 2 tablespoons of olive oil 2 tablespoon

Moroccan Pepper & Tomato Salad (Taktouka)

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This one seems too simple to be delicious but trust me, it is! I believe that roasting the pepper to peel off the skin is what adds to the flavor. This salad goes with any dish, meat, fish, or vegetarian. I do prefer to make it an hour in advance so the different flavors have blended well with each other.  Ingredients:   4 large green peppers 4Large tomatoes (blanched and peeled) 1 large garlic clove, minced 1tbsp. cumin powder 0.5tbsp. chili powder 1tbsp. cilantro (finely chopped) Salt Pepper Steps: -Grill the peppers, turning occasionally until the peppers are roasted. Remove and place in a plastic bag, and tie securely. This will make the pealing much easier for you -Meanwhile, seed the tomatoes and cut them roughly into cubes. Remove the peppers from the bag and remove the skins and discard the stems and seeds. -Dice the peppers and  mix with tomatoes and pressed or grated garlic -Season with chili powder, cumin, salt, and pepper. Stir in the chopped parsley and olive oil, then tra

Restaurant review : "Freshi Casablanca"

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I tried this restaurant for lunch at work at a time when I was a bit 'over' fast food. In Belgium, this was my way of eating. As clean, balanced, and healthy as possible. Fast food was a once in a month thing.  Yet good and affordable healthy food is not easy to find in Casablanca. At least not to me! Apparently, we need to kiss a few frogs at first. I can't tell you how many times I've tried a dish and thought: "I can make this way better myself and for this price, I can feed 4 people. You can find Freshi Casablanca right here:  Freshi Casablanca I looked at the menu and immediately checked out the soups! I love a good soup but am quite particular about it. Went for the Pumpkin soup, and the salmon bagel. Now the bagel looks a bit messy and you don't get a fancy one like in the pictures that are covered in seeds. But, let me tell you, I enjoyed it. So much I ordered it again the next day and added a chocolate mousse. Again, I was pleasantly surprised! Even the

Restaurant review: Pao Pao

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Morocco has some of the best foods to offer! Yet finding good restaurants is not that obvious. The best food is still being eaten at homes in my opinion. I have been disappointed a few times and not only at your local snack bar. Even at rather pricy restaurants, I've been let down. So I decided to share with you my experiences so far about eating out in Morocco! Let's start with Pao Pao! Their fresh and modern Asian look caught my attention rather quickly on Instagram! You can find them right here:  Pao Pao So I decided to give their menu a try. Maybe it was not the best option but I went for 1 steamed Bao and 1 bubble tea. The Bao was dry and not cooked to order. It also came without any sauce. The bubble tea was nice. I enjoyed it. I went for a Jasmin tea with almond milk and sour apple Boba. On another occasion, I tried their matcha tea with strawberry Boba and their chicken sandwich. Those were absolutely delicious! Did not film it that time but I will order again.  I give

Deep fried anchovies

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  Picture: http://cuisinedeoumotalal.over-blog.com/ These go incredibly well with Bissara soup or just on their own as a delicious snack. Buy your anchovies fresh and if you're lucky the fish monger will clean them for you. If he/she does not provide that service, don't get discouraged! It'll take you about 30 minutes to clean them but it's most definately worth it!  This video shows you exactly how to do it:  I usually marinate 1 kg of anchovis  in :  - Juice of 2 lemmons -Paprika -Kurkumma -Salt (not too much!) -Pepper -Freshly chopped parsley -2 gloves  of pressed garlic -Olive oil for about 1 hour. Then I cover them in all purpose flour an deep fried them until light golden.  And that's how simple it is! Happy snacking !!    -