Tag: morocco

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Our Favorites in the First 50 Countries

Hey guys welcome back! I hinted at a surprise once we hit 50 countries and here we are! I know it’s a little daunting seeing all the recipes that we have been making and you are probably wondering what are the best recipes?

Looking through my handy dandy little red notebook I reviewed our ratings and came up with a list of our favorites for your easy excess. Remember I did not execute every dish perfectly and some I plan to redo after we make it through all the remaining countries. So drum roll please, here are the results!

6.5-7

Ratatouille – France rated 6.5/10
Tonkostu Ramen – Japan rated 7/10

7.25-8

Pabellón Criollo – Venezuela rated 7.5/10
Mahshee – Libya rated 8/10

8.25-10

Swallows Nests – San Marino rated 8.75/10
Machboos – Kuwait rated 9/10

OUR WINNER IS…

Lamb Tagine with Apricots – Morocco rated 10/10

Morocco was our winner!! It had a beautiful array of flavors and a nice contrast of textures. It was comfort in a bowl and warmed our hearts. Looking back at our ratings I feel like we could have rated some of our dishes a little higher, but either way here are our favorite dishes! I hope this gives you that little nudge to cook outside your comfort zone and try something new. As always let us know what you think!

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(46) Morocco – Lamb Tagine with Apricots

Tamnougalt, Morocco. Source: blogs.sas.com

Welcome to another day at The Messy Aprons, we are quickly approaching 50 countries! Today we are in Morocco, a Northern African country that is a blend of Arabic, European, and Berber culture which heavily influences the cuisine. Berbers are an ethnic group of Northern Africa that are often farmers in rural areas, but historically were nomadic merchants that brought caravans across the deserts. Fridays are known as “couscous day” which is the holy day of the week in Morocco.

I made a lovely, flavorful dish to represent the beauty of Morocco – Lamb Tagine with Apricots. Tagine is a traditional Berber, slow-cooked stew that is named after the special clay pot that it’s prepared in. These stews are full of several of delicious ingredients including chickpeas, diced tomatoes, and garlic. This dish is also full of spice that makes the dish so warm and comforting. Luckily I found a recipe that I could follow without the special cookware, time to fire up the Instant Pot!

Again, I substituted stewing beef for the lamb but let me know if you decide to make it traditionally! The recipe was straight forward, but it definitely took me longer to make than the 10 minutes of prep time. This aromatic dish had my kitchen full of Arabic smells and left my stomach growling! I decided to add extra ginger, garlic, and dry spices because why not? It did not leave us disappointed!

We LOVED this dish. I loved all of the elements and it left us craving more. I could see myself eating this on the regular. It had that winning combo of tomato and cinnamon that we had discovered in paste dishes. The topping of cilantro brightened the hearty stew. Top marks Morocco- we rate you 10/10.