Eating Around the World (From Home....And Gluten Free...): Morocco

Welcome to Morocco! According to Google, Morocco has 36,910,560 people, and the capital is Rabat. For some reason, I always pictured Morocco in the Middle East - not Africa! I don't know why, but from the pictures that I have seen of Morocco, it is a beautiful country. Their national food is...

Morocco political map

Couscous!

This one was going to be challenging since couscous is literally wheat pasta. There isn't any getting around that. I did find some brown rice couscous online, but everywhere was sold out. So, I made some for Handsome Husband to eat, and then I just ate the rest of the dish without it. Everything else, however, I managed to do gluten free! Here's what I did:

MOROCCAN CHICKEN TANGINE

Marinade for Chicken

2 Onions, finely chopped

4 Cloves Garlic, finely chopped

1 Bunch Cilantro, finely chopped

1/2 Lemon, flesh separated from peel

1 tsp Ginger powder

1 tsp Turmeric powder

1 pinch Saffron

1/2 tsp Salt

1 tsp Pepper

4 tbsp Avocado Oil

Chicken and Vegetables

8 Chicken Thighs, bone-in

2 Medium Carrots, chopped

20 Green Olives

Combine the onion, garlic, cilantro, flesh of the lemon, ginger, turmeric, saffron, salt, pepper, and avocado oil in a bowl. Combine well and then massage into the chicken.
Cover and place in the refrigerator and allow to marinate for 1 hour (or overnight).
Place heavy-based saucepan on a stove top over a moderate heat.
Sear the chicken in batches for about 10 minutes, browning all sides.
When the chicken has been browned, add 1 cup of water and the marinade to the chicken and bring to a boil.
Lower the temperature and simmer for 1 hour.
Add to the pot the carrots and green olives.
Simmer for 15 minutes more. Serve with couscous.

(Source: https://www.compassandfork.com/recipe/an-easy-authentic-moroccan-chicken-tagine-recipe/?utm_campaign=coschedule&utm_source=pinterest&utm_medium=Compass+and+Fork-+Food+and+Travel&utm_content=An+Easy%2C+Authentic%2C+Moroccan+Chicken+Tagine+Recipe)

ORANGE SALAD WITH CINNAMON

2 Oranges

Juice of one orange

1/2 tbsp Honey

1 tbsp Orange Blossom Water

2 tsp Cinnamon

Mint leaves

Mix orange juice with honey and orange blossom water and refrigerate.
Peel the oranges.
Slice the oranges into medium slices.
Arrange the oranges on a serving dish.
Pour reserved cold juice over the oranges.
Sprinkle with cinnamon and garnish with a few mint leaves. Serve fresh.

(Source: https://www.196flavors.com/morocco-oranges-and-cinnamon-salad/)

MOROCCAN ALMOND CIGARS

12 large sheets brick dough (I used this recipe to make the brick dough to make it gluten free (

Vegetable Oil, for frying

1 Egg White, beaten

For the Almond Paste

10 oz Raw Almonds

1 cup Icing Sugar

1 Egg White

2 tbsp Orange Blossom Water

1 tsp Lemon Zest

For the Syrup

1 1/3 cup Sugar

1/2 Fresh Squeezed Lemon

2 tbsp Orange Blossom Water

4 tbsp liquid honey

Almond Paste (Marzipan)

Place the almonds in a saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil, and stop cooking after a couple minutes.
Drain the almonds and place them between two kitchen towels and pat dry.
Place the almonds in a food processor and add icing sugar, orange blossom water, and lemon zest.
Mix until you have obtained a smooth paste. Place the dough into a bowl and add the slightly beaten egg white and knead well.
Let stand for 15 minutes in the refrigerator.
Take out of refrigerator and form 2-inch sticks and set aside.

Syrup

Pour the sugar into a nonstick pan and cover the sugar with water.
Add the lemon juice and orange blossom water.
Place the pan on low heat and, using a wooden spoon, stir once (not more) when the sugar is boiling.
When the sugar reaches a temp of 195 F, stir in the honey and stir the pan by the handle (not the spoon).
Cook gently until reaching a temp of 220 F.

Folding the Cigars

Place a stick of the marzipan about 1/2 inch from the edge of the brick dough.
Fold like a burrito.
Close by brushing with beaten egg white to stick.

Frying

Heat a large volume of oil in a non-stick pan (don't use stainless steel - they will stick) until the temp reaches 340 F.
Fry the cigars over medium heat, turning occasionally, until golden brown.
When done, place in a colander to drain.
Dip the still hot, but not burning, cigars into the hot, but not burning, syrup and place them on oiled parchment paper to cool. (Do not put them on a plate - they will stick and you won't be able to get them off easily...trust me...)
Wait until they are completely cool and keep them in a cool place.

(Source: https://www.196flavors.com/morocco-almond-cigars-cigares-aux-amandes/)

Overall, we really enjoyed the chicken tangine. It had really good flavor, and the chicken just fell off the bone. The olives gave it an interesting flavor, but it worked really well. I couldn't find preserved lemon as the original recipe called for, so I used regular lemon instead. I think I would like to try it with preserved lemon. I did not care for the oranges or the Almond Cigars, but Handsome Husband loved them. The orange blossom water gave me a headache! It smells just like orange blossoms! But the oranges with cinnamon - I would never have thought about that combination, but it was quite tasty! The almond cigars were very crispy when they came out of the hot oil, but got soft when they were coated in the syrup. I think they would have been better without the syrup. Also, as I noted above, you should NOT put warm almond cigars with syrup on a plate without oil - they will stick and you won't be able to get it off...

So the rating. We are both going to rate the dishes on a scale of 1-10.

Taste of Moroccan Chicken Tangine (1 is terrible, 10 is amazing): 7