Moroccan Monday

One thing about self-isolating and being cooped up, you have time to catch up on a few things, so I will attempt to catch up on a few blog posts, that have been on the back burner. So on with our meatless Monday Night Dining adventures….

If there is one thing Shawn likes, it’s a challenge. It’s easy to cook without meat. What is not as easy, at first, it to make sure it’s balanced and that you are getting proper nutrients – doesn’t hurt if it is tasty! So, we have decided to expand our vegetarian repertoire and see where we can take it. Plus, I will soon be travelling to a very meat-based part of the world and I need some home cooking to sustain me. This week, it is just our trio for dinner… Let’ call it a little send off to me.

This week, we took a little trip to Morocco, one of our favorite cuisines, but this time with a focus on their vegetarian delights. We decided to serve family style instead of breaking the meal into courses. The menu consisted of : Grilled Aubergine in honey and spices; Roasted tomatoes with saffron and cinnamon; Lentil salad with red onion and garlic, and white bean hummus with pomegranate.

I know some of my friends do not like eggplant, but I am sure that one of the preparations that we make would convince them. These were slightly crisped at the edge, with the spices and honey, that gave them a lovely rich flavour. The tomatoes almost melt in your mouth and accompanied the lentils with a burst of flavour.

This was served alongside roasted beets and carrots with a cumin vinagrette, and couscous with dried fruit and nuts, with a cinnamon pinwheel.

The couscous always looks so lovely with all of the colours of fruit and nuts peeking out, but is is also tasty and I love the different textures in your mouth, chewy fruit, crunchy nuts, with the rice- like base, mmmmm. I love beets, in most forms, but roast them and add some goats cheese and I would serve these all the time. alongside the carrots, it made for a colourful, delicious dish.

I hate admit it, but one reason I like doing Moroccan food, is to have an excuse to get out the tagine and show it off. Ours was found at an antique store in an old bank, in Orillia. The owners didn’t know what it was, so it was a good deal. Shawn filled it with Yams, carrots and prunes, for a tagine to be proud of. Add a salad of sauteed herbs, with chili and preserved lemon and some flatbreads, and then you realize that’s a lot of food for 3 people! We do love leftovers…

I hope you can get an idea of the riot of colours, flavours, textures and scents featured in this meal. We wanted to show that vegetarian meals don’t have to be boring, but may have overshot. Then again we got to enjoy these dishes for days, accompanied with other flavours, some vegetarian and some not. So here’s to Morocco and it’s food.