Recipes and food from Morocco

Morocco is a North African country, which is the westernmost of the Maghreb countries. It has coasts on the Atlantic and the Mediterranean and, as might be expected, fish and seafood play an important role in Moroccan cuisine.

The country, like most of North Africa was the Berber, Arab and became thereafter was a French colony and then in Spanish. As a result, the kitchen of Morocco is very diverse and extensive use is made of saffron, ginger, walnuts and almonds.

Couscous is the national staple and is usually served with fish stews, chicken, meat and vegetables. Moroccan cuisine is also ranked as one of the world's great cuisines.

Here are two classic Moroccan recipes:

Chicken with tomatoes and honey

Ingredients:
3 whole chicken breasts on the bone (with skin), divided into two
2 onions, peeled and finely chopped
6 cloves of garlic
1 cinnamon stick
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
generous pinch of saffron
2 kg of ripe tomatoes, blanched, peeled and coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon packed dark honey
Juice of 1 lemon
salt and black pepper
olive oil for frying

Method:
Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan and use to brown the chicken breasts everywhere. Remove chicken from pan and set aside. Tip the onions in the pan and brown before adding the garlic and spices (except saffron). Fry for 2 minutes, then add the chopped tomatoes and season generously.

Continue cooking over high heat until the tomatoes break down and release their juices. At this point, reduce the heat and return the chicken to the pan. Reduce heat to low boil and cook for about an hour, or until the meat is completely tender. Remove the chicken at this point and transfer to a warm serving dish.

Continue to cook the sauce until it begins to caramelize and thicken and crumble in the saffron, add the lemon juice and honey. Allow the sauce to cook for five minutes, stirring constantly. Adjust the seasoning, pour the sauce over the chicken and serve.

Moroccan Harost Balls with dates, raisins and nuts

Ingredients:
400g pitted dates
100g sultanas
100g raisins
Nuts 100g
1-2 tablespoons sweet red wine

Method:
Add dates, raisins and walnuts in a food processor and blend until the mixture is finely chopped and begins to stick together. Add enough sweet red wine to form a sticky mass.

Line a baking sheet with parchment pager and drop slightly rounded tablespoons of coffee mixture over the lined paper. Roll each round hazelnut mixture into balls with wet palms.

Place in refrigerator and chill for at least 3 hours, or until the balls are firm ......