Month: October 2017

pastilla

we ate a lot of tagine and couscous in morocco, but what really stood out for me was a dish called pastilla… which according to wikipedia, it’s actually an andalusian meat pie that migrated to north africa, and became popular there.

pastilla is a bit tricky to figure out, because being small and simultaneously savoury and sweet, it straddles the border between entrée, main course and dessert. all i know is that it’s delicious! the meat (traditionally pigeon, but mostly chicken these days) is mixed with roasted almonds, eggs, saffron and other spices, covered in super crispy dough sheets, and finally dusted with sugar and cinnamon before serving.

the result is a fragrant pocket of goodness… though it can be a bit tricky to dig into!

so it’s a bit of work, but when you finally manage to get a piece of it inside your month, it’s a-ma-zing!

bon appétit! :P

Post author By ana
Post date October 7, 2017
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in morocco

night falls on jamaa el fna

Post author By ana
Post date October 6, 2017
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foooood in morocco

breakfasts in morocco

my favourite meal of the day does not disappoint in morocco — there are lots of different kinds of buns and breads to try, and orange juice is never far behind. the french influence can be felt on the croissants, baguette and pains au chocolat that often pop on the breakfast table too. all good things, in my book!

here are some of the things we’ve eaten in marrakesh, fez and rabat:

from left to right, krachel (anis and sesame sweet rolls) and beghrir (semolina pancakes), and then on the right there’s khobz, the omnipresent moroccan bread.

msemen are the pan-fried squares of dough. they’re one of my favourites and remind me of chinese street pancakes (minus the scallion). they also come in round versions, called meloui.

and finally, a new egg-dish: eggs with khlii, which is a type of beef jerky (dried meat that is preserved in animal fat).

i’m looking forward to revisiting a few of these this week, and try something new as well.

analogue wednesdays in morocco photography roll4roll

analogue wednesday #111

more bits of london and morocco from our earlier visit, mixed together via roll4roll. click the image to see a bigger version.

in morocco

moroccan patterns

by a combination of old promises and a serendipitous houseswap request, we’re back to morocco this week for the second time this year. which is unexpected and brilliant, because i liked it the first time around, and there is so much left to explore. this time, i’m hoping for a glimpse of the countryside, and perhaps even the coast.

while i do some exploring, i thought i’d use the week to schedule a few posts with impressions from our last visit. this is the first one. enjoy!

islamic architecture has fascinated me since we first set foot in malaysia, almost 10 years ago. each room, door, façade or fountain is a masterpiece, a fractal of colours in tiles and carvings, quotes and rhythms filling all the white spaces until there’s nothing left to cover.

in particular, i love how they play with calligraphy, how the letters and words in arabic dance together, their movement woven so beautifully into the architecture. it almost makes me want to learn the language just for the script… almost.

for now, i look forward to just running my fingers through all this beauty once more.