A Taste of Morocco

Looking to impress your family with your culinary chops this winter break ? 

Try out these easy recipes with bold, Moroccan-inspired flavors.

Moroccan Carrot Soup (with ras-el-hanout yogurt)

2 tbsp butter

½ medium yellow onion, diced

1 pound carrots, cut into ½" wide pieces

1 tsp cumin seeds

2 ½ cups chicken (or vegetable) stock

1 tbsp honey

1 tsp fresh lemon juice

½ tsp lemon zest

¼ cup heavy cream

salt + pepper

¼ cup plain yogurt

1 tsp ras-el-hanout *

In a small pan, toast the cumin seeds until fragrant, then grind in a spice mill and set aside (alternatively, use ½ tsp ground cumin). In a large saucepan, melt the butter and sauté the onions until soft, about 4 minutes. Add the carrots, cumin and stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and let simmer for 20 minutes or until carrots are tender. Run the soup through a blender in batches until smooth, then return to pot. Whisk in honey, lemon juice, zest and cream, and season generously with salt and pepper. To serve, stir ras-el-hanout into yogurt and drizzle some over each portion.

Fennel Bruschetta

1 baguette

10 cloves garlic, minced

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil + some for brushing

2 medium bulbs fennel, sliced **

¼ cup golden raisins

¼ cup toasted almonds, crushed

2 tsp whole coriander seeds

1 tsp orange zest

¼ cup fresh orange juice

a pinch of saffron threads, crumbled

Slice the baguette into long, diagonal slices. Brush generously with olive oil and season with salt and pepper, then toast in the oven for 6-8 minutes at 350, until edges are golden brown. In a large skillet, heat olive oil and brown garlic, about 1 minute. Add fennel and continue to sauté, about eight minutes, before adding remaining ingredients and seasoning with salt and pepper. Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature. To serve, top each slice of baguette with fennel mixture.

*ras-el-hanout : a North-African spice blend; if you can’t find it in the store, make your own !

** fennel : you’ll find fennel in any regular grocery store, it’s a large white bulb with green stalks and                      fronds. The stalks should be discarded, only the bulb is edible.

bon appétit, 

henri

recipes adapted from epicurious.com