Eid Festival in Fez.

The View from Fez team were invited into a local Moroccan home to celebrate Eid. Our host was the gracious Thami from Thami's Restaurant. Just after we arrived two visitors to Fez also were invited in. One was from Mexico and the other was Tess, from Sydney, Australia.

Needless to say the visitors were amazed at their good fortune and the opportunity to experience a genuine cultural event. The View from Fez would like to thank Thami and his family for their warm generosity.

The first of three sheep makes its entrance

Sheep wrangling? No problem.

Preparing to skin the sheep

The third sheep is sacrificed

"They will never believe this back in Sydney" Tess.

"Not what I do in my living room... but..." Tess.

Preparing the kebabs of heart and liver

Fanning the flames

Thami does the barbecue

Everyone dressed up.

A satisfied Tess succumbs to the hospitality!

Meanwhile, out on the streets, every corner and spare space seems to have a fire underneath old mattress frames. Goats and sheep heads are being cooked everywhere causing a haze of smoke over the Medina.

The local boys in R'cif

Image from Imelda O'Reilly's -Bricks, Beds and Sheep's Heads

For those who would like to see more of the Eid celebrations we recommend viewing Imelda O'Reilly's short film Bricks, Beds and Sheep's Heads


Some basic facts: Cost of a sheep can be up to 3000 dirhams. Cost of having a professional kill and skin it has risen from 50 dirhams three years ago to 150 this year.





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Making B'stilla (P'stilla) ~ Photo Essay

The View from Fez has had the pleasure in the last few weeks of hosting legendary young Australian chef Katerina Annels. While in Fez we sent her out on assignment to discover the traditional way to make b'stilla. This is one of the signature dishes of Morocco and as Katerina reports it is relatively simple to make. Here is her report and her photographs.

While in Fez I have discovered warika, a paper thin bread used for both savouries and sweets. Somewhat like filo ( if you use a few layers) - this stuff is fantastic! Experimenting with ways to use warika (do i feel another article coming on?) I have decided that I like it better then filo, as it gives a beautiful crisp golden exterior when baked. Yum

Imagine my delight when Thami, from Thami's restaurant, on learning of my quest to find alternative uses of warika, offered to show me the process of making traditional P'stilla.

Warika and almonds ready for p'stilla

I arive early in the morning, Thami is out shoping, buying everthing fresh for that day. Hasania is in the kitchen preparing the vegetable dishes, (before the meat arives). When Thami comes back from shoping I am greated with a smile, a tour of the kitchen, a taste of everything that going (cooked or not) and a big bag of spices, 'so I can cook good Moroccan food at home'. Next I am dragged down the street, sat down and given a bowl of heated preserved camel meat with eggs. Before I can take more than a bite (suprisingly eddible) I am whisked back up the street again. All the niceties taken care of, we are ready to begin making the p'stilla

A small handfull of almonds is ground down to crumbs in an old brass mortar and pestle.

A hand full of rice, and some pre-socked turmeric raisins and onions are added to the mix

...a dash of olive oil

Half an onion, finely chopped, a big pinch of cinamon, a tablespoon of icing-sugar

Some sauce from the vegetable tagine bubbling in the corner is added (water would do) and then an egg

Mixed together and fried on the flat grill. I guess that the chicken would be added here, for some reason, my limited language skills cannot discover, we are making one with out chicken, or more traditionally pigeon.


Part of the joy of this cooking lesson was the way in which Thami approached everything with a joyful party atmosphere (something severely missing in most Australian kitchens).

Three or four sheets of warika are chosen.

placed over a plate

and filled with the cooked mixture

It is folded, thus...

... and thus!

until you have a neat parcel.

Then it's ready for the oven or the pan. We have done this in the oven and it works just as well.

Deep fried in hot oil till golden. The warika also protects the filling from soaking in the oil far more effectively then any other pastry I have found.

The hot p'stilla is dusted with icing-sugar

and decorated with cinnamon

Voila!

YUM BIZEF!

Soft and crispy, sweet and savoury, spiced and simple, this dish brings it all together. If your looking to try it, I recommend tapping off the excess icing sugar before tucking in to this wonderful dish.

Photos: Sandy McCutcheon

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Making traditional Moroccan couscous

Recently two of The View from Fez team took part in a traditional couscous preparation course. Australia's legendary young chef, Katerina Annels, has kindly done a review for us. Suzanna Clarke took the photographs. Here is Katerina's report...

Mmmm, couscous, one of those lovely intangible things. When I am told that we are going to a traditional couscous class I am delighted. But when can I use this skill? I imagine a process like making fresh pasta, hours spent over the dough. Undoubtedly worth the effort, but a somewhat daunting experience and hardly commercially viable.

We wind our way to café clock. spiral past the kitchens, dining rooms and up on to the terrace, with views across the Medina and I am told, the best camel burger in Fez.

In the corner of the terrace is a collection of expats and tourists gathered around a huge pot full of chicken cabbage and spices(see the recipe attached) and emitting the most delightful smells. Amongst this group is Cynthia Berning, a young peace corps volunteer 1 year into her 2 year Morocco contract, and Atika Diouri, President of ENNAHDA (a women’s association, for cultural development, producing traditionally rolled couscous) our teachers.

We start with a coarse wheat flour, wholegrain is the best (it creates a wonderful nutty flavour to the couscous) placed in a large, flat, glazed ceramic tray. A light sprinkle of water (too much will make the couscous into a dough), and perhaps a pinch of salt. Using the flats of the hands we rub the water into the couscous, those with more practice creating beautiful spiral patterns, as the flour turns to crumbs.

Once the crumbs are formed the couscous is pasted through a course sieve, a little more flour (finer this time) is added to the crumbs too large to fit through the sieve, and remixed until they to pass through.

Next the couscous is passed through a fine sieve to remove the flour, more water is added to the flour, and the above process is repeated until all the flour is transformed in to little balls neatly sized between the two sieves (the more uniform you wish your couscous to be, the closer in size you make your two sieves).

The couscous class

Once all the couscous has passed through both sieves it is ready to stream, we steam for approximately 20 mins, over the sauce and without a lid. Don’t worry about the holes in the steamer; any couscous that falls through will simply thicken your sauce. After approximately 20min the couscous will begin to pull away from the edge of the steamer, this is the sign that your couscous is ready for the first fluff.

The important stuff!

Couscous is very "hands-on"

Atika fluffs the couscous with her bare hands, first pushing the couscous apart, then very lightly and gently rubbing it between her hands to separate the grains. The rest of us look on with various degrees of horror imagining the steam scalding delicate hands and fingers. She waits, fingers unscathed, as Cynthia explains that at this point you can dry the couscous, laying it flat in the sun, till it is darker and dry.

If you’re not drying your couscous but wish to eat it, it’s time to add more water, sprinkling and mixing as we did earlier. You can add water more liberally now that the wheat is cooked it is less likely to turn to dough, however do it gradually as you want moist not sodden couscous. Once fluffed and moistened place your couscous back in the steamer and steam until it yet again pulls away from the side of the streamer, approximately 20 min.

Once again we fluff and moisten the couscous, this time adding a little oil and salt. Then its back in the steamer, one last time.  And suddenly there it is

Delicious hand rolled couscous, soft, slightly chewy, irregular, nutty and utterly delicious. This is the real deal. It’s as different from the dried couscous and cheddar is from brie.

Variations include adding dried herbs, salt and spices or using a different base flour, semolina, barley and corn flour to name just a few.

Can I see myself making this? Yes, yes and one thousand times yes, this is the real deal, I am delighted at the thought of bringing out a dish of fresh made couscous to a table full of patrons, who think they know what couscous is (as I did) and watching their faces melt as they saver the taste.

Perhaps you are lucky and have grown up with this, wondering at my amazement. But perhaps you are enthralled and wish to try? By all means do it at home, it’s far easier than you imagine. But if you want a little more guidance, or an adventure, Cafe Clock runs half day couscous rolling workshops, you can also do a full day course with the women from ENNAHDA including a home stay in Khoukhat. Khoukhat, 2.5 hours south of Fez, is known as the valley of 7 springs. El Karma spring, the fig spring, is considered the life blood of the village, and it is after this spring that the women of ENNAHDA have branded their couscous, made and dried as listed above.

If you wish to try handmade couscous but without the effort, you can contact them direct (en.associationennahda.org ) or buy through Cafe Clock, the cost is approximately 20 dirhams/kg

The real deal.... great couscous!

The View from Fez would like to thank Kat for her report and for her amazing cooking while in Fez. See also : More on traditional couscous

The Kat in her natural environment!

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