Moroccan Feast

I had Moroccan for the first time at my brother-in-law's wedding. The fragrant flavours inspired me to experiment with a Moroccan-themed evening. I created a multiple course menu, since I wanted to try so many dishes, that there were leftovers for a week, but my two guinea pigs, my husband and youngest sister, enjoyed the feast of flavours!

I served a small welcome drink in a shot class, which was enjoyed one sip at a time, like sherry, as it was quite sweet. Cinnamon, star anise, naartjie (mandarin orange) skins and orange liqueur was a great way to entice the taste buds for the evening of flavour ahead. Even those not so fond of sweet drinks enjoyed it, like my husband did, and he usually skips the welcome drinks.

With the palate ready for more, the first course (or starter) was batbout (Moroccan Pita Bread) with five different fillings, and falafels with a yogurt dip. I made most of the elements myself, which was a bit different from the food I usually make, so I enjoyed the challenge. The fillings were tomato jam, zaalouk (eggplant based), tahini (sesame seed based), humus (store bought) and beef rashers cut into small pieces, which my husband braaied. This course could have served as the main, as it really is filling and it was quite difficult to stop eating with the wide range of delicious combinations.

The next course was harira, a soup made with tomatoes, lentils and chickpeas. I used canned lentils (which I won't be using again), but the combination of flavours was still delicious. Although I did not add anything spicy to the dish, the soup did have a bit of a kick, which makes this a great soup for a chilly winter's evening.

Already quite full from the first two courses, my guinea pigs and I happily persisted. The main course was pork tagine with couscous, shaved almonds and cilantro (unfortunately not cooked in the traditional tagine pot). This is a real hearty dish, which is perfect to share with close family and friends.

I served mint tea after dinner. Although I planned on making traditional Moroccan mint tea, we rather had store-bought tea. This was a great palate cleanser before dessert. (The tea also goes well with a bit of honey.)

We were quite full after all the courses, but since I already prepared the dough and for the sake of the experiment, I continued to make dessert - sjenj, or Moroccan doughnuts, covered in powdered sugar. This plain dessert was a great way to end the evening filled with complex flavours.

A spiced Moroccan coffee was on the menu after dessert, but we decided to leave it for next time.