More Than A Meal…A Moroccan Cooking Class
Rachel, Rosie and I (Jess) arrived at the Clock Kitchen Café in Fes, Morocco in the morning to meet our charismatic, energetic, incredibly lovely chef and teacher, Souad. Souad won us over the minute we met as she explained the menu and offered her suggestions on what to cook. We drank mint tea and decided upon a smoky eggplant appetizer, split pea soup, a spiced lamb and vermicelli dish made with lots of honey, and a date and almond nougat phyllo dessert. Are you hungry yet?
Our first stop was the market to buy produce, lamb, pasta, beans and handmade phyllo. The offerings were abundant and beautifully fresh. We took our provisions back to the kitchen and began cooking. We learned all about Moroccan spices, the warm combination of turmeric, garlic, cumin, ginger and cinnamon that defines north African cuisine.
The eggplants and peppers roasted over the fire. The spice-massaged lamb marinated and then pressure-cooked. The vermicelli was steamed at least three times – an art that produces perfectly defined and flavorful strands of carbohydrate goodness that soak up all the braising liquid.
We combined the date and almond pastes and rolled it into the phyllo. Then we made our way through the narrow medina alleyways to the communal ovens. These same ovens have been baking for the residents of Fes for hundreds of years. What a sight!
The boys – Russ, Andy and Jordan – showed up in the early afternoon to taste test and enjoy the finished meal, but not before some dancing interludes. Souad taught the kids to belly dance and they taught her the floss. A true cultural exchange?!?
The meal was incredible. It was one of the best and most memorable food experiences of my life. Despite the excellent teaching, it is a repast that can never be reproduced. The food, perhaps, but certainly not the magic that happened in Souad’s kitchen where we laughed as much as we cooked and we left feeling a little less like tourists and a little more like locals.
*The music in the video is a Moroccan song recommended by Souad. Proper credits here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2JOC0EH9AI
