Thursday 22 September 2011

In the Beginning.....

It all started at the beginning of the summer 2010.  I got the taste for Morrocan food and began to experiment at home.  Now I am not a complete foodie and by this I mean I am not utterly obsessed, but I do like to think that I am a good cook.  Well my husband says I am, whether or not he is saying that for an easy life is another matter!  So I cooked and perfected over a couple of weeks a lovely lamb tagine with apricots (recipe to follow later) which needless to say the hubby loved.

Now, we very rarely do anything off the cuff, but seeing as we had a little bit of spare cash we decided to do something "crazy" for once and within 3 hours I had found and booked a private Riad in the centre of Marrakesh Old City - the Medina.  Which not only had views of the Atlas Mountains but also could accomodate 8 guests and came with 3 members of staff!  So about 8 weeks later off we trundled, with my brother and sister in law and friend in tow to Marrakech.

We had an amazing cultural holiday which I will not bore you with the details of, but my love of Morrocan food only grew more intense as the week long holiday went on.  We had our own cook at the Riad and so every alternate night she would cook us the most beautiful, authentic, home-cooked food.  Each night we would have three courses, starting with 5-6 salads for our entree which ranged from green bean to orange salads.  This would then be followed by a scrummy main, we had cooked for us the most DELICIOUS lamb tagine where the meat was falling off the bone.

Not only did we have our dinner cooked for us but also our breakfasts.  Now some days it was something quite simple like fruit and yoghurt but other days it would be something naughty and delectable like French Toast, now this sounds plain and boring, but believe me, it was the best damn French Toast that I have ever had!!

On the nights that we didn't stay in the Riad to eat we went and dined in the Medina - Djemaa El Fna
- this is a spectacle all on its own!!  Not only is the food amazing but it is dirt cheap, you can eat for around £3.00-£4.00 per person - thats if your brave enough to tackle people trying to put snakes and monkeys on you from all directions!

 Chicken Tagine...yum yum - although admittedly not as good as the lamb tagine!

 Kebabs - cooked on a homemade BBQ - which the cook made in the INDOOR kitchen!

 A tasty breakfast of fruit, hard boiled eggs (sadly) and pancakes.

 The remnants of one of our dinners at the Djemaa El Fna.

 A couple of the amazing salads put in front of us for our Entree.



 Bizarrely we were served chicken and chips one night - but it was all homemade and the chips were gorgeous!!
Just some of the treats at the Medina - although as a hint - don't buy them here as you will pay tourist prices - ask someone at your hotel or Riad for advice on where the locals go to buy their groceries (especially spices) - it worked for us!

We had an amazing holiday in Marrakesh and ate the most delectable foods.  After returning back to the UK, I found out a week later that I was pregnant with our first baby.  From then on I was unable to go near any spices that reminded me of Marrakesh as as soon as I caught the scent it gave me terrible morning sickness!  To this day I have still not been brave enough to give it a go!!  Seeing as I have started this little journey now I might just have to man up and cook a lamb tagine!

1 comment:

  1. A really interesting blog! Great photos. My husband has been to morocco and absolutely loved the food, so maybe I should give it a try!

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