The Moroccan Table

For as long as i can remember, my mom has been making her Moroccan pepper salad. Having grown up spending my summers in Casablanca, I took for granted these spicy, flavorful contorni that adorned the table morning, noon, and night. It wasn't until well into my culinary journey that i realized the importance of this and other 'condiments' on the Moroccan table.

Being at the crossroads of many cultures and civilizations, the cuisine of Morocco has been influenced by the native Berber cuisine, the Arabic Andalusian cuisine ; brought by the Moriscos when they left Spain, the Turkish cuisine from the Turkish and the Middle Eastern cuisines brought by the Arabs as well as the Jewish cuisine.
The history of Morocco is reflected in its cuisine. Political refugees left Baghdad in the Middle Ages and settled in Morocco, bringing with them traditional recipes that are now common in Morocco, but forgotten in the Middle East. We know this because there are striking similarities between a 12th century collection of recipes by Al-Baghdadi, and contemporary Moroccan dishes. A signature characteristic of Moroccan cuisine is cooking meat with fruit, such as quince with lamb, or apricots with chicken. Further influences upon Moroccan cuisine came from the Muslim refugees, who were expelled from Spain during the Spanish inquisition. There are many theories about when the Jews came to Morocco. Many prescribe to the theory that Jewish people were native to the region, others insist it was during the Spanish inquisition that the Jewish population flooded southward into the Maghreb. Personally, I'm confident that there was a little of both.
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Those salads bring back so many memories of my laid back summer days, doing nothing more than reading scary books, and running back and forth to the corner sunflower seed vendor. That hot paper sack of tiny salty seeds was my absolute favorite. I dont think I could read without them! But second to those fresh roasted bits of heaven, are these salads that I share with you!
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Roasted Pepper Salad:
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1 of each yellow, red, and orange bell pepper
2 Pasilla or Anaheim Chilies
2T olive oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
a splash of wine vinegar
salt and pepper
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In your broiler, place peppers and chiles about 6 inches from the flame. You dont want to stray too far from the kitchen because these will need some attention. Turn the peppers until they are evenly charred. Once they have been charred all the way around, remove all of the peppers and wrap them tightly in foil to allow the steam to separate the skins from the flesh of the pepper. Once they have cooled, remove the skin and seeds and cut the peppers into thin strips. Place these strips in a bowl. Crush garlic into a paste. My favorite tool for doing this is a zester. Its low tech, fast, and very effective. combine the garlic, olive oil, vinegar, and peppers. add salt and pepper to your tastes. This salad is awesome with chicken, lamb, steaks, on sandwiches or with nothing more than a nice crusty piece of bread.
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Fresh tomato and roasted peppers
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2 Anaheim chilis
3 firm, ripe tomatoes, medium dice
3T red wine vinegar
2T canola oil
1 clove garlic
salt and pepper.
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Start by roasting chilis in the broiler in the same manner as above. In a bowl, combine Diced tomatoes, crushed garlic vinegar, oil. Once your chilis are peeled, seeded and diced, add them to the bowl. give it a good mix and refrigerate. I eat this guy all by itself, but its great thrown into a salad, or with grilled meats.
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Roasted beets with cumin.
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4 red beets
1/2 tsp cumin
juice of 1 lemon
olive oil
salt and pepper
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wrap each beet in foil and roast at 400 F for about 40 min. or until tender. Unwrap them carefully and cut them in half lengthwise to help them cool faster. once they have cooled, cut into a medium dice and place in a bowl. add the remaining ingredients and chill. My mother makes an amazing Tagine with lamb, onions, apricots and prunes. This salad is an amazing accompaniment to such a rich and flavorful meal. My grandmother actually makes this salad with carrots instead of beets. Just peel carrots and roast or boil them, cut into rounds and combine just as you would with the beets and enjoy!
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