Cuisine – Thinking of Morocco

Over the summer, I had the opportunity to travel to Morocco with a small group of food loving friends. It seems I missed some perfect weather back here, but the joy of feasting on an endless array of colourful vegetables and traditional tagine stews within the walls of Marrakesh, known as the Red City, and eating the freshest of fish in coastal Essaouira, in the temperate climate of the northern winter, more than made up for that.

One of the highlights was our journey into the Atlas mountains, where we relaxed over a traditional Berber lunch with views over magnificent valleys and observed some of the sad crumbled villages from their recent earthquake with the busy friendly locals. We then moved on to an overnight camp in the stony Afagay desert, although despite camels and dust, it was more glamping than camping, with a spacious tent to myself complete with hot shower and all bathroom facilities.

In Essouira, as in Marrakesh, we stayed in a riad, a traditional inn of hospitality, found within the old city walls. Quite luxurious and not expensive when compared to similar lodgings in Europe, the riad is a haven away from the inevitable and endless bustle of the crowded laneways, with cool rooms clustered around a central courtyard. But it was the food, glorious food, we were there for. The Moorish influence was everywhere, in exquisitely tiled museums and ancient inlaid floors, and I realised that I had never truly understood Spain, its buildings and cuisine until I visited Morocco.

Back home, it is rather easy to recreate the fabulous meals we devoured with so much pleasure. Autumn’s bounty, the aubergines, peppers, carrots, courgettes, carrots and tomatoes all appeared on our plates every lunch and dinner, and I especially loved the cooked vegetable ‘salads’ that were served at the start of every meal. Nothing was spicy hot, but everything was subtly spiced and aromatic with cumin, cinnamon and paprika. Moroccans enjoy their food as much as other food nations like Spain, France and Italy, and all sit round the table for hours, eating, talking and drinking the beautiful sweet mint tea.

In the markets, I was fascinated by the stalls where young men were making warka pastry. They push tiny balls of dough into neat circles, tossing them the air to stretch out until paper thin. It is sold for cooks to make bastilla pies and lovely little crisp triangles stuffed with tasty fillings of spiced meat and vegetables. Back home, I have found that using filo pastry is equally good. I have been making little savouries with filo, which I believe is a much underrated and misunderstood ingredient that can be found in most good supermarkets in the refrigerated section. Take care to keep filo covered with a damp cloth when working with it, as it dries out very quickly in the air.

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Salmon and leek filo triangles

(to make this a vegetarian dish you could substitute pitted black olives for the salmon)
For the filling:
1 leek, finely sliced
2 tbsps butter and light oil mixed
1 tsp ground cumin
½ tsp sweet paprika
1/2 cup salmon, hot smoked or lightly cooked
100 g feta cheese
3 tablespoons fresh garden herbs (parsley, dill)
1 tsp cumin seeds
Salt and pepper
1 small lemon, grated rind only

To finish:
1 pkt filo pastry
50 g butter, melted and mixed with 4 tbsps olive oil

Make the filling by gently cooking the leek in butter and oil with the cumin and paprika until it is meltingly soft but not browned. Remove from the heat, and cool. Break up the salmon and the cheese and mix into the leeks with the herbs, cumin seeds, salt and pepper and lemon rind.

Take the filo pastry from the pack and pop in under a damp tea cloth. Make sure your work surface is scrupulously clean and dry and put two sheets of the pastry on top of each other. Cut these with a very sharp knife into three strips lengthwise. Brush lightly with warm butter and oil mixed well. At the bottom edges nearest you, place a dessert spoonful of the leek and salmon mixture into the corner. Working quickly, fold that over to make a triangle and then fold this over on itself over and over, working up the strip backwards and forwards until you have a neat triangle parcel at the top. Place each triangle on a baking sheet and repeat the process until you have used up all the filling. You should have about 12 to 14 parcels. Brush them well with the butter and oil. (Keep any leftover filo tightly covered in plastic wrap and refrigerate for another use.)

Bake at 190˚c for about 15-20 minutes until crisp and golden and serve warm.