Souk Food
The other day I wrote about going foraging with Liz Knight with Mum on her birthday. What I didn’t mention is that she also had one of the stalls at the Tudor Farmhouse Market. She sells all manner of spice rubs, sauces, and syrups at fairs and some shops, and they are also available online.
We came away with a honeysuckle and tarragon syrup, and a Wild Rose el Hanout, based on the Moroccan spice mix. The original translates as “head of the shop”and is a blend of the best spices that a merchant has on offer, and is therefore supposed to act as both a luxury product and the best marketing tool that the merchant as at his disposal.
As the name suggests, the Forage version uses wild roses and spice, giving a heady blend that is every bit as luxurious as the Moroccan version. Liz also recommends adding it to a fish and tomato stew, which I will definitely be trying. If you haven’t managed to get hold of a pot of this lovely spice rub, you can use Ras el Hanout instead.
You may also remember that I resolved to make more Middle Eastern food back in January. I had a Moroccan spice, although Morocco is not exactly the Middle East, I was thinking of the fragrant dishes and spices that also encompass much North African cuisine. This seemed like a good place to revisit those resolutions, and get the whole commitment to them kicked off again.
I made this for a vegetarian dinner party. Because I used fresh tomatoes, I found that the sauce was quite liquid. I actually liked it that way, but you could thicken this by using tinned tomatoes, or add some tomato puree to the stew about 15 minutes before the end of cooking.
It is traditional to keep the vegetables quite big in Moroccan cooking, which also cuts down on the preparation time, making this a pretty easy evening meal.
I garnished it with some yoghurt with chopped coriander stirred through, although it is perfectly good without it, so you can leave this out if you want a vegan dish.
Recipe: Moroccan Vegetable Stew and Couscous
Ingredients:
For the Stew:
2 shallots, peeled and quartered
1 red pepper, cut into very large dice
2 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
2 tsp wild rose el hanout
2 carrots, cut into chunks
1 large courgette, quartered lengthways, then in cut into chunks
1 aubergine, cut into chunks
About 400 ml vegetable stock (enough to come about 2/3 of the way up the pot)
1 tin chickpeas, drained and rinsed
4 tomatoes, quartered
Bunch coriander, including the stalks, chopped
For the Couscous:
400 g couscous
500 ml vegetable stock
Zest of 1 lemon
1 tsp wild rose el hanout
2 tbsp good olive oil
This recipe serves four people
Method
On a low heat, soften the shallot for about 3-4 minutes in a deep saucepan. Add the pepper, and continue to soften. When you can see changes in the flesh of the pepper, after about another 5 minutes, add the wild rose el hanout, and the garlic, and cook until the fragrance hits you.
Add the carrots, courgettes and aubergine to the pan, and cook down for 5-10 minutes, until the courgettes and aubergines start to give and soften. You will need to stir them well when the veg first go in, to distribute the spice mix, then occasionally as they cook down.
Add the stock, and bring to the boil, cover, then reduce to a simmer. Cook until the vegetables are soft.
While the vegetables are cooking, make the couscous. In a large bowl, stir the wild rose el hanout and the lemon zest through the couscous. Add the warm stock, so that it covers the couscous by bout 1cm. Cover and set aside to allow the couscous to absorb the stock.
Add the chickpeas, tomatoes and the coriander to the stew, and warm through for five minutes.
Add the olive oil to the couscous, and fluff up with a fork.
Serve the stew atop the couscous.
I liked this couscous so much, it s difficult to imagine that I won’t be stirring through some wild rose el hanout every time I make it from now on. At least until the jar runs out.
ediblethings 