Spice up holiday feasts with a taste of Morocco
Imagine exploring the souks of Marrakech or dining out in Casablanca. Bring Morocco’s rich history to your table.
Imagine exploring the souks of Marrakech, dining out in Casablanca and learning to cook like a local in Fes. Dream of visiting Morocco? Bring a piece of its rich history to your Easter or Passover table.
“That’s actually what I’m going to be doing for my own Seder,” said chef and cookbook author Aliza Green, who hosts smallgroup tours of the North African nation. “That’s been my culinary theme this year.”
She’s serving Moroccan Chicken Tajine with preserved lemon, green olives, and caramelized garlic.
“It’s still chicken. So, it’s not that scary but also very interesting use of the spices,” explained Green, who heads Baba Olga’s Kitchen/Catering at Material Culture in Philadelphia.
Rounding out the meal: Moroccan salads, lemon-almond cake, and her 93-year-old mother’s chicken soup.
“I feel blessed that I have that,” she said. “The chicken soup – that’s a must. We have to have it, but the other things are adaptable.”
For Easter, some feel lamb’s a must. Instead of the traditional rack, try Moroccan-inspired Lamb Shank.
“The shank has really moved up in status over the years,” described Bonnie Shuman, Executive Chef at Weaver’s Way Co-op. “We were just interested in exploring the warm flavors of the Moroccan spices – the cinnamon and the cumin.”
She includes coriander, allspice, mint, and cilantro too. After braising for three hours, “it should just fall off the bone.”
“We wanted to do something people could just put in the oven and forget about,” Shuman said. “It’s hard to overcook a lamb shank if you’re putting it in this recipe.”
Pair the lamb with couscous and a salad for “a nice acidity and freshness.” Or find it readymade at the Chestnut Hill and Ambler stores along with Passover options like Tricolored Carrot Tzimmes.
“It’s a great side dish for any entrée,” she added. “We get the large tricolor carrots, and it’s just really striking.”
“Striking” also describes Morocco’s culinary and cultural sites, which Green looks forward to exploring again.
“Open up your mind that there are other Jewish cultures,” she said. “I think that makes for richness of the Jewish experience.”
Visit Morocco or Israel
Join Aliza Green on a smallgroup culinary tour. She’s finalizing next year’s itineraries, returning to Morocco Jan. 27 to Feb. 8 and Israel Feb. 12 to 22.
“The food is my interest and spices, having written two spice books,” said the chef and cookbook author.
“As for my last three Morocco tours, there will be a good deal of Jewish content,” Green explained, “including visiting several old synagogues and the town of Essaouira, which had a majority Jewish population.”
In Israel, highlights include Tel Aviv’s Carmel Market, Jerusalem’s Old City and “El Babour, a 120-year-old, family-run spice emporium in Nazareth.”
Learn more at www.alizagreen. com.
Moroccan Chicken Tajine with Preserved Lemon, Green Olives & Caramelized Garlic
6 to 8 small grain-fed, all-natural chicken thighs on the bone or 1 cut-up chicken (about 3 pounds)
Sea salt and black pepper to taste
1/2 cup olive oil
2 to 3 shallots, peeled and sliced lengthwise
6 tablespoons tajine spices (see below)
2 quarts rich chicken stock, reduced until syrupy (3 cups)
1 preserved lemon, pith scraped away and discarded, skin cut into short julienne strips (substitute 1 lemon poked with a fork and then boiled in salted water 10 minutes, drained and cut into 8 pieces)
3/4 cup pitted green olives, drained and halved
1/4 cup caramelized garlic cloves (see below)
1 lemon, halved
1/2 bunch Italian parsley, washed and drained, leaves and small stems coarsely chopped
1/4 bunch cilantro, washed and drained, leaves and small stems coarsely chopped
Instructions
Season chicken lightly with salt and pepper. In a large, heavy casserole such as a Creuset, brown chicken on both sides in olive oil, starting with skin side-down. Remove chicken from casserole and reserve. In the same casserole, sauté the shallots and tajine spices until onions are soft but not brown. Add the stock, stir to combine and bring back to the boil. Add chicken, preserved lemon (or boiled lemon pieces), olives and the caramelized garlic to the pan. Bring back to the boil, reduce heat and cook 25 minutes, turning the chicken occasionally, until the juices are syrupy and coat the chicken. (The chicken is cooked when the meat pulls away from the bone easily and/or when a thermometer stuck into the thickest portion reads 165 degrees). Taste for seasoning and add a squeeze of fresh lemon juice to the sauce. To serve, ladle sauce over chicken and sprinkle with parsley and cilantro. Serve with roasted potatoes or roasted sweet potatoes. Serves 4 to 6. Tajine Spice Mix (yield: ¾ cup): 1/4 cup sweet paprika 2 tablespoons ground dry ginger
2 tablespoons ground turmeric 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon ground coriander 1 tablespoon ground cumin
1/2 cup whole garlic cloves, trimmed if necessary
1 cup olive oil Combine garlic and oil in a small pot, heat and allow the garlic to brown slowly over low to medium heat, about 15 minutes, shaking and stirring often. Remove from heat, cool and strain, reserving the oil and garlic cloves separately. You will have extra garlic, which is delicious chopped and mixed with steamed vegetables or mashed, mixed with the oil and used for a spread on matzo or crackers. RECIPE COURTESY OF ALIZA GREEN
Weavers Way Moroccaninspired Lamb Shank
Olive oil
5 to 6 pounds lamb shanks 1 large onion, chopped
6 cloves garlic, sliced 1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander 1/4 teaspoon allspice 2 tablespoons tomato paste 1 cup dry red wine
1 can (28-ounce) whole peeled tomatoes
1 cup chicken stock
1/4 cup chopped fresh mint
1/4 cup chopped cilantro Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Heat the oil in a large, heavy saucepan over medium-high heat until shimmering. Pat the lamb shanks dry and season with salt and pepper on each side. Add the shanks to the pot and sear until browned on all sides, working in batches to avoid crowding the pot. Transfer shanks to a plate and set aside. Reduce heat to medium, add onions and cook until soft and lightly golden, 8 minutes. Add garlic and cook another 2 minutes. Add spices and cook, stirring constantly until fragrant, about 1 minute. Increase heat to medium high, add tomato paste and stir for about 2 minutes. Add wine and bring to a simmer, reduce slightly, about 10 minutes. Add tomatoes and 1 cup of chicken stock, season with salt and pepper as needed and bring to a boil. Once boiling, nestle the lamb shanks in the liquid, cover tightly and braise in the oven for about 3 hours, basting occasionally, until the meat is falling off the bone. Sprinkle with chopped herbs and serve hot. RECIPE COURTESY OF WEAVER’S WAY CO-OP
Majorcan Lemon-Almond Cake
1/2 pound (11/2 cups) blanched almonds
2 tablespoons potato starch 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon Pinch of salt
1 tablespoon softened unsalted Passover margarine, for the pan
1/4 cup sliced almonds, preferably skin-on
4 large eggs, separated
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup honey
Grated zest of 2 lemons Passover confectioners’ sugar, for dusting
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Combine the whole almonds, potato starch, cinnamon and salt in the work bowl of a food processor and process until finely ground. Rub a 9-inch removable-bottom or springform cake pan with 1 tablespoon of the margarine, sprinkle the bottom with the sliced almonds, then dust with a little of the ground almond mixture, shaking off the excess. In the clean and greaseless work bowl of a standing electric mixer and using the whisk, beat the egg whites until fluffy, then add the sugar and continue beating until the whites are firm and glossy, 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer to another bowl. Using the same mixer bowl (it is not necessary to wash it), combine the yolks and honey. Beat with the whisk until light and thick, about 5 minutes. Fold in the remaining ground almond mixture and the lemon zest. Transfer to a wide, shallow bowl. Fold the meringue into the almond mixture in thirds so as not to deflate the whites. Spread the batter evenly into the pan and shake the pan back and forth to even the top. Bake 35 minutes or until the cake starts to come away from the sides of the pan, the center is set and a skewer inserted into center comes out clean. Cool the cake to room temperature on a wire rack, then turn out onto a serving platter with bottom up. Dust with Passover confectioners’ sugar, then cut into 8 to 12 portions.
Serve the cake topped with a drizzle of honey mixed with lemon juice (and a tablespoon or so of brandy) if desired. Alternatively, spoon a dollop of the lemon filling (see below) over top. Store the cake wrapped in aluminum foil up to three days at room temperature, or wrap well, first in wax paper and then in foil, and freeze up to two months. Yield: 1 (9-inch) cake, serves 8 to 12.
Lemon filling:
4 eggs
4 egg yolks
1 cup granulated sugar 2 tablespoons potato starch 11/2 cups fresh squeezed lemon juice (about 8 lemons)
Grated zest of 2 lemons (wash the lemons before grating)
6 tablespoons unsalted Passover margarine, softened
In a small mixing bowl, mix together 1/4 cup of the lemon juice with the potato starch until smooth. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the remaining lemon juice, the eggs, egg yolks and the sugar, whisking or stirring until smooth. Transfer to a heavy-bottomed, 2-quart nonreactive pot (not aluminum, unless it is coated on the inside) and pour in the lemon-starch mixture. Using a whisk, wooden spoon or silicone spatula, stir while heating over low-to-medium heat until the lemon filling thickens and just begins to bubble. Remove from the heat, then whisk or beat in the lemon zest and the Passover margarine. Transfer the filling to a bowl, preferably stainless steel, ceramic or glass to cool. Cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally to prevent a skin from forming. (To cool more quickly, place the bowl over a second bowl filled with ice and water, and cool, stirring occasionally.) Store the filling covered and refrigerated, up to two weeks. RECIPE ADAPTED FROM ALIZA GREEN’S “STARTING WITH INGREDIENTS: BAKING RECIPES”
Weavers Way Tricolored Carrot Tzimmes
2 tablespoons olive oil 2 pounds tricolored carrots, peeled and cut into thick coins 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom 3 tablespoons honey
1 cup orange juice (freshly squeezed if possible)
1/4 cup raisins
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
Heat the oil in a large, heavy saucepan until shimmering. Add carrots and stir, coating with oil. Add cinnamon and cardamom, stirring to coat. Cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add honey and juice; bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to low and cover, simmering for 45 minutes. Remove lid, add raisins and increase heat for 3 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season with salt and pepper to taste; serve warm. RECIPE COURTESY OF WEAVER’S WAY CO-OP