Marrakesh, Morocco

First, we flew from Bilbao to Madrid in the early morning, then connected with the flight to Marrakesh, Morocco. I was expecting many Moroccans on the plane but everyone I saw (except 2 guys) looked European. Maybe that's because we were using Iberia Air?

When we arrived at the Marrakesh airport, I already had some culture shock... It looked like a municipal airport in middle of desert; I thought Marrakesh was a touristy city.

After clearing customs, we were looking for the driver who was supposed to pick us up at the airport. But we didn't see anyone holding a board with our names. We waited for a while and started to panic a little. It's not the type of place where you want to be left alone (at this point, I felt like I was on another planet....). By the time we tried to figure out how to make a phone call though, a young man showed up apologizing for being late. I was really glad to see him.

Then, we were transferred to a riad. Riads are a type of traditional Moroccan housing. The owner of the riad also runs the cooking class as well as arranging tours. Her riad is so beautiful and the courtyard (which is typical feature of riads.) was very nicely decorated. She was waiting for us with a nice lunch.


First, this was a Moroccan bread. It's a bit like pita bread.

Next was Moroccan salad. Many Mediterranean and Middle Eastern countries have their own version of this type of salad (tomato, cucumber, onion, lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper). But the difference in this salad was hard boiled egg. As well as the sliced hard boiled egg on top, the chopped eggs were mixed in the salad. So, it looked a bit "mayonnaisey".

Another salad. Different vegetables, including carrot, green beans, zucchini, rice, etc. were tossed with mayonnaise and topped with olive and parsley. Because of the rice, it was more substantial.

This chicken was excellent. It was marinated with different spices and topped with caramelized onion. Very flavorful.

After lunch, we explored the city center. As we started walking towards the square, things get more lively. We saw a bunch of food stands and they looked so inviting (even without the famously aggressive Moroccan salespeople). Because we would have dinner soon at the riad, I was trying to behave...


 We had a dinner on the terrace of the riad. It had cooled down and there was a nice breeze. I was expecting a very warm night so I was very glad of this.

This was the starter. It looked like an eggroll. But the skin is even thinner and crispier than an egg roll. I thought it was filo dough at first but it had more body. The inside was, I guess, sweet potato.

                               This soup was excellent! It was all vegetarian but very satisfying.

                This is tangia, which is the name of the pot as well as dishes cooked in the pot.

This was inside the pot - lamb. Very slowly cooked so that the meat fell off the bone. Very complex and spicy (not "hot" spicy, though).

From the left, carrot jam (more like chutney), sweet potato and egg plant. All very good.

 

 

Dessert - baked meringue. It had some floral note. Crunchy outside and soft inside.

 

 

This is still the first day. And I'm so full..... I'll have 3 days "intensive" cooking class from tomorrow....