Crunchy asparagus and seabass

For 4 people, Preparation and cooking time: 1 hour.

• 12 green asparagus of average size 
• 480 g seabass fillet without skin 
• brik pastry 
• a few leaves of lettuce for decoration 
• 24 coriander leaves 
• 6 saffron 
• pistils oudi (clarified butter) 
• 3 tablespoons olive oil 
• salt, pepper 

For the argan oil vinaigrette 

• 2 cloves pink garlic 
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce 
• 1 glass argan oil 
• 2 tablespoons sherry 
• vinegar salt, pepper

The pastry used for brik, small triangles with sweet or savory filling, is called malsouka. It is prepared by beating three eggs and mixing with about 200 g durum wheat semolina and a tablespoon of extravirgin olive oil. Leave to stand at least 1 hour and cook the mixture in an oiled pan to give a very thin pastry sheet. Clean the asparagus, scald in salt water and keep topping up with very cold water. Dry with a cloth. Cut the seabass fillet into 12 fingers 7 centimetres long. Heat the olive oil with the saffron in a pan for 5 minutes and allow to cool to enhance the flavor. Pour the oil on the fish fingers and leave to macerate for 30 minutes with salt and pepper. Cut the brik pastry sheets into 24  strips measuring 7 centimeters by 10. Brush the clarified butter onto the pastry strips. When the asparagus is dry, roll into the brik pastry, leaving the tips uncovered. Drain the fish fingers, keeping the saffron oil for decoration. Place on two coriander leaves and roll into the brik pastry like cannoli. Cook the asparagus and fish fingers in a non-stick pan and season with pepper and salt. Prepare a serving dish with a little salad, arrange the asparagus and fish on it. For the vinaigrette, finely slice the cloves of garlic and mix with the other ingredients in a suitable vessel or a mixer. Serve with the asparagus and seabass in brik pastry.

Taachat, Dumplings

Traditional recipe for 4 people,
Preparation and cooking time: 1 1⁄2 hours

For the dumplings:

• 1⁄2 kg wholemeal wheat flour 
• 200 g corn flour For the sauce 
• 1⁄2 kg lamb 
• 5 cloves garlic 
• 1⁄2 teaspoon saffron filaments, 
• 1⁄2 teaspoon powdered ginger 
• 1 glass argan oil, 
• 100 g oudi (clarified butter) 
• 1⁄2 teaspoon salt  

Oudi is an ingredient of taachat and many other dishes. It is a butter without milk whey (the liquid obtained after coagulation of milk). It can be kept and does not go moldy, change flavor or aroma. To prepare it you melt butter and leave to stand until it goes hard. You then remove the upper part, eliminate the white liquid settled on the bottom of the container and finally melt the butter again. If desired you can add a pinch of thyme to give flavor. Put the diced meat in the base of a couscous pot, and brown on a low flame in argan oil and clarified butter. Add the whole cloves of garlic, saffron and ginger. Pour in 1 1⁄2 liters of water and remove half of the sauce when it boils. Cover the pot and leave to cook on a very low flame. Mix the two types of flour in a large vessel and knead with the sauce taken from the couscous pot until you get a friable dough. Use this to make fairly large dumplings with a hole in the middle. Cook them in the top part of the couscous pot in the steam of the remaining sauce. As soon as the meat is cooked and the dumplings are firm, stop cooking. Arrange the dumplings in a serving dish and moisten with the remaining sauce. Place the pieces of meat and cloves of garlic in the center of the dish. Serve immediately.

This recipe is typical of the Taliouine region. It can also be used for free-range chicken (beldi). Traditionally the dumplings are cooked with the sauce in the same pot. In this case the dumplings are put on sticks placed on the meat like a grill, and left to cook. The holes in the dumplings allow the sauce to soak in.

Garlic Bread with Fresh Herbs & Argan Oil

Dough:

• 160 gr / 5.6 oz corn flour
• 250 gr / 8.8 oz bread flour
• 237 gr / 8.4 oz warm water
• 10 gr / 0.4 oz cake yeast (or ⅓ of that in active dry yeast)
• 5.6 gr / 0.2 oz salt
• 4.2 gr / 0.14 oz sugar
• 42 gr / 1.5 oz olive oil

Filling:

• 42 gr / 1.5 oz olive oil
• 3 cloves of garlic
• fresh basil, parsley, rosemary
• pine nuts

Suggested toppings:

• 3 sun dried tomatoes in oil
• 2 TBS of culinary argan oil

Method:

First dissolve the yeast into the warm water. Mix the flour, sugar and salt together. Then add the dry ingredients to the water, followed by the olive oil. Mix the dough on a low speed, for about 10 minutes until well developed. Form the dough into a ball, cover it and let it rest in a warm, draft free place until it has doubled in bulk. Depending on the ambient temperature in your kitchen and the temperature of your dough, this will take 45-70 minutes.

Meanwhile, mix the olive oil with the chopped fresh herbs, pine nuts and minced garlic. Season with pepper and salt. Don't be tempted to use argan oil for this; it does not tolerate high temperatures!

Preheat your oven to 200° C / 392° F

When the dough has risen, roll it out into a disk of about 1 cm / ½ inch thick. After a short rest, brush the oil mixture onto the dough and cut it into strips of about 2½ cm / 1 inch wide. Starting with the smallest strips, drape them in circles in a well oiled pan of around 23 cm / 9 inches ⌀. Leave to rest for about 30 minutes until the dough has plumped up nicely.

Bake for about 30 minutes, until the top is a nice golden brown. If you want to add sun dried tomatoes, add them 10 minutes in the last ten minutes of baking. When done, take the pan out of the oven and leave to cool for about 10 minutes.

Use the culinary argan oil to brush the loaf after it comes out of the oven to give it that special flavor.

Culinary Argan oil

Culinary Argan Oil is a tastey edible oil golden brown in colour and is used for cooking and eating. Culinary Argan oil is essencial nutritional supplement. When producing Moroccan Organic Culinary Argan Oil for food the Argan Oil nuts are lightly toasted before pressing. This gives the oil  a delicious nutty flavour and its golden brown colour.  

Although it may be used on he skin, the toasting process makes culinary Argan Oil unsuitable for cosmetic use. Culinary Argan oil is  not just an edible oil. It has been traditionally used for centuries as a nutritional supplement for a wide range of health problems.  Scientific research has produced evidence to support the traditional uses of culinary Argan Oil for health problems.

 Culinary Argan Oil is versatile, it can be eaten on it's own with bread, or used in cooking for its unique toasted, creamy, nutty flavour. It should not be used in place of Olive Oil for high temperature cooking and frying, as high temperature can destroy it's unique properties. But may be used for medium heat applications such as pan frying ingredients.

Argan is used in a range of cuisines. Adding flavour and richness to sweet and savoury dishes. To create unique nutty salad dressings, sauces, pour over food, such as steamed potatoes and veg, roasted pepper, stirred into soups before serving, roasts or Tagines. Use on grilled goat cheese with almonds, blend with honey to create a breakfast spread, blend with melted chocolate or cream to create unique ice cream toppings. Culinary Argan oil is most often enjoyed by dipping bread into the oil and eating.

Roast kebabs

Serves  4-6 people

• 1 kg meat (can be mixed) 
• 1 cup argan oil
•  cumin, 
• ginger, 
• coriander, 
• peppercorns

Preparation and cooking time: 1⁄2 hour, plus marinating time.

Mix the argan oil with the spices (cumin, pepper, ginger, coriander) and leave the meat to soak all night. Prepare the meat kebabs the next day. Cook on the grill for about 10 minutes, brushing with the gravy from soaking the meat.

Pigeon soup

For 4 people

Ingredients;

2 pigeons of about 250 g each
50 g barley semolina
 1 white onion
1 bunch parsley
1 bunch coriander
200 g walnut kernels
3 tablespoons cream
40 g butter
3-4 tablespoons argan oil
1 teaspoon salt, a pinch of pepper and ginger, 2 sticks cinnamon

Preparation and cooking time: 2 hours

Cook the onion in butter in a pan until clear. Add the pigeons, spices (ginger, pepper, cinnamon), parsley and coriander. Pour in two liters of water and leave to simmer. As soon as the pigeons are cooked, remove them from the pan and pass the soup through a fine conical strainer. Return the soup to the pan and add the barley semolina and half of the ground walnut kernels. Cook on low heat, mixing occasionally until the semolina is cooked. Debone the pigeons and chop up the meat in the pan. Mix in the cream and argan oil. Heat for two minutes before serving, decorating with walnut kernels.

Lamb Tagine with Olives

This Moroccan tagine recipe calls for argan oil, a light, nutty oil which is exclusive to Morocco. While the argan oil imparts a unique flavor, olive oil or walnut oil can also be used. Beef or goat meat may be substituted for the lamb.

Tagine of Lamb and Olives is best prepared in a traditional Moroccan tagine (use a diffuser if cooking stovetop), but good results can be achieved by slow-cooking in a heavy-bottomed pot. Avoid high heat when cooking with argan or walnut oil.

Scoop up the tagine with Moroccan bread, and try serving it with Belgian French Fries heaped on top.

Serves four.

INGREDIENTS

2 lbs. (about 1 kg) lamb, cut into 2" to 3" pieces

1 medium onion, thinly sliced

1 medium onion, chopped medium

1 tablespoon ginger

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

1/2 teaspoon saffron threads, crumbled

1/3 cup culinary argan oil

small hanful of cilantro sprigs, tied together

1/2 cup green olives with pits

1 cup water

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 210 minutes

Total Time: 220 minutes

PREPARATION

Layer the sliced onions on the bottom of a tagine. In a bowl, mix the meat with the chopped onion and spices, and add the mixture to the tagine along with the water, argan oil and olives. Place the cilantro bouquet on top of the meat.

Cover the tagine, and place it on a diffuser over medium-low heat. It will take some time for the tagine to reach a simmer, but once it does, leave the tagine undisturbed for about three hours, using the lowest heat necessary to maintain the simmer.

There's no need to open the tagine unless you smell something burning. In that case, the heat was likely too high and a little water will need to be added to prevent scorching.

After the tagine has cooked for three hours, check on the meat. It should be very tender and easy to break apart with your fingers. If necessary, cook longer. When the meat is tender, reduce any excess liquid, and serve.

It's Moroccan tradition to serve the dish directly from the tagine in which it was cooked. It's best scooped up with crusty bread, with each person eating from his own side of the dish.

By Christine Benlafquih

Moroccan Food Expert.