Moroccan cooking in Essaouira — Family Vagabonders

Morrocan food is very well known, and absolutely spectacular and very diverse. The most well-known is Couscous and Tajine.

My parents are great cooks and we have enjoyed cooking together as a family. We have done many cooking classes around the world, like the Mayan cooking class in Mexico, and the Thai cooking class. Every one of them was an incredible and an enriching experience. Hence we decided to take a cooking class in Morocco, it sure didn’t disappoint. My favorite thing about it is the explosion in flavors and the smells and texture that you get in Moroccan cooking. It’s always mesmerizing to see the combination of certain ingredients, herbs and spices make it into a delicious dish!

We took a Moroccan cooking class in Essaouira, a fun coastal town in central Morocco. To start, Adil (who is the husband of the chef but also an amazing cook!), picked us up outside the medina and gave us a bit of a tour around the Souks (the market area). He took us to stalls and places that were full of locals and fewer tourists, which is exactly the kind of place we like best. We watched him buy all the food we were to be cooking, and even saw a chicken being slaughtered for our tagine!

The actual cooking was done at Adil’s home, a nice, small apartment, that was perfect for the class. Adil was very, very nice, and his whole family was extremely genuine and wholehearted. Adil’s wife, Sadah, has worked with many great chefs and even cooked for the royal family! They have three children, and another one on the way. You could clearly see how close the family was. You can find more about this experience on Facebook and Instagram. The class is fun, hands one (cutting, mixing, combining spices, etc) we had fun chatting with Adil’s family, learning about Moroccan culture, traditions and their family story. And it ended in a D-E-L-C-I-O-U-S meal!

What we made;

Chicken Tajine: We started the Tajine by making a marinade - we cut five onions (and learned a new way to cut them), garlic, tomatoes, added four different spices, and herbs. We placed it all in the tajine pot (a special ceramic that is shaped quite differently than most pots we have cooked with and is found everywhere in Morocco). We then took the chicken that we had gotten at the market and marinaded it with the sauce. This was put on the stove, and cooked for forty minutes, after which, it was put in the oven to finish it off. In the end, the chicken was falling apart, and the onions had practically disintegrated. It was a burst of flavors and very tender. The leftover sauce was amazing with some fresh bread.
Couscous: This is very different then the instant couscous we are used to buying from Trader Joe’s in the US. The process of making the perfect couscous takes time and many steps. We started with chopping several types of vegetables we had purchased at the store, like onion, tomato, zucchini, eggplant, and garlic, we put it all with a cup of water to steam. The couscous itself was locally produced and had a fascinating process. First, you put a few tablespoons of oil and water on couscous, and then you have to mix it all, making sure each grain is the right texture (the best way to do it is by hand). Couscous actually has to be steamed 3 times, and each time you take it out, it becomes larger. You have to repeat the process of mixing a bit of water in it, so the couscous is fluffy. Finally, when it is all done (a process that takes a few hours), you can pour the juices from the vegetables into the couscous, and arrange them neatly. The one that we made was the fluffiest, and most mouth-watering couscous ever. This is also topped of with caramelized onion and raisin. It was heavenly!
Moroccan Salad and a Traditional eggplant salad: The Moroccan salad is made with tomatoes, onions, and fresh parsley and cilantro and almost tastes like a pico de gallo, yet with the traditional spices of Morocco. The eggplant salad we made by putting eggplants in the oven and waiting until it was practically falling off the skin. This we put with more tomatoes, and with oil, to make a very flavoursome side dish.

In this cooking class we learned all about the succulent dishes of Morocco, straight from an authentic and traditional family. We discovered how to actually make couscous and had one of our favorite meals ever. The whole experience from seeing a chicken being slaughtered to the finished product was absolutely delightful, and I 100% recommend it.