A MoroccanFeast

One of the delights of going anywhere is sampling the food.

Another is discovering instant folk art.

Here is a little restaurant just off derb Dabachi where the painter of the awning has had fun depicting the local specialities. Internationally famous chefs apparently approve... Arabic is written phonetically --unlike pesky English. No prizes for guessing who Jimmy Hollver is!

Robert's favorite olive seller in the Mellah Market.
 He likes his olives extra spicy.

How they glisten!

Good,  fresh, raw ingredients are the key to good cooking....... 

What abundance! Strawberries are in season now.

A simple couscous with seven vegetables at
 Grand Cafe de la Poste.

Salads for Sunday lunch at Villa Riad el Arsa.
Notice the one with oranges and strawberries and  cucumber
 and mint and all the little decorations round the edges.

And for dessert --oranges again and strawberries.
 Imagine having so much fruit and so many veggies you scarcely know what to do with it all...

Then little pastries with nuts and honey.

 The ones on the top row look like ripe figs.

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Buttered Rosemary Orange Nuts

I don't know about you, but when I am throwing any sort of little (or big) dinner party, I have no trouble with the main course, and no trouble with the dessert, but the appetizers always leave me a little stumped.  Maybe I've used all my culinary brainwaves on the later courses, but my mind goes completely blank and all I can visualize is a wooden board with a hunk of cheddar and some Triscuits.  Maybe a few nice grapes.

So when I actually come up with a passable appetizer, like the watermelon bites from last summer and the recent fig crostini, I feel ridiculously proud of myself.

However.

I can't be satisfied with just ONE nibble before dinner, because God forbid anyone leave my house without feeling completely stuffed, and that is where these delectable and easy little nuts come in. You start with whatever brand or mix of mixed nuts you like.  The Southern husband buys them in those large (obviously) plastic jugs at Costco, so we always have some around.  Melt about a tablespoon of butter in a large skillet and toss in 2 cups of the mixed nuts, three tablespoons of sugar, two tablespoons of coarsely chopped fresh rosemary, and two tablespoons of orange zest (most of a good sized-orange.  If you have a microplane zester, this will take you about 90 seconds tops).  Stir the whole thing around just until the sugar is melted and everything is well-combined, which will take about 2 minutes.

Now pour the whole thing onto a piece of parchment paper or non-stick foil and let it cool.  That's it...and just WAIT until you taste them.  Sweet and salty and rosemary and orange and completely addictive.  Try 'em!

Buttered Rosemary Orange Nuts, adapted from Real Simple

• 2 cups salted mixed nuts
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh rosemary
• 2 tablespoons orange zest

1. Melt about butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  When melted add the mixed nuts, sugar, rosemary, and  orange zest.  Stir just until the sugar is melted and everything is well-combined, which will take about 2 minutes.  

2. Pour onto a piece of parchment paper or nonstick foil and let cool before serving.  This will keep for at least a week...if it lasts that long!

Click here for printable recipe

Scallop, Orange and Cucumber Kabobs

I should start by saying I am slightly kabob-phobic. Generally when I make kabobs I am using either chicken or steak and assorted vegetables, and invariably the meat is cooked right and the veggies are charred within an inch of their lives, or the veggies are perfect and the meat is, um, undercooked. Which may be fine with my carnivorous Southern husband if it is steak, but chicken...not a good scenario. So I pretty much skip over kabob recipes when I run across them, despite the fact that their general approach to life -- a complete meal all cooked together on a stick -- is SO in line with my kitchen mantra: SIMPLIFY.

However, I ran across this recipe in one of my favorite cooking magazines, which is EVERYDAY FOOD. It's a little tiny magazine published by Martha Stewart's company, and I find so many great and easy recipes in it. I have a subscription to it, but you can also usually find it on those racks right by the supermarket checkout -- pick up a copy next time you are there and check it out. Anyway, they recently had a recipe for scallop kabobs, and because scallops cook in the blink of an eye, I thought maybe, just maybe, this is a kabob recipe that I can't mess up? Since the scallops and the veggies probably need the same amount of cooking time? Could it be?

It was. Glory Hallelujah.

The scallops are threaded onto the skewers with cucumber slices, orange sections, thin sliced ginger (note to self: ginger is for flavor. Ginger should be discarded before serving or your adventurous husband will eat it and it's always heart-wrenching to see a tough guy with tears in his eyes). The kabobs are basted with a honey/orange juice sauce, and take a grand total of 6 minutes on the grill. I de-skewered them onto a plate of brown rice and voila! Kabob-phobia officially cured.

Now all I need is for someone to tell me the secret to making chicken and steak kabobs. Is there a Secret Kabob Society that I can join to learn some sort of special technique? Someone let me know. In the meantime, here is the recipe for scallop kabobs, adapted with thanks from EVERYDAY FOOD.

SCALLOP, ORANGE AND CUCUMBER KABOBS

Serves 4

• Olive oil
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1/2 navel orange, halved and cut into wedges. Juice the other half and save juice for sauce.
• 8 thin slices peeled fresh ginger
• 1/2 cucumber, halved lengthwise and cut into 1/2 inch slices
• 1 pound large scallops
• Salt and pepper

1. Heat grill to medium and oil the grates.

2. Combine honey and juice in small bowl

3. On 4 skewers, thread orange wedges (through skin), cucumber, ginger and scallops, beginning and ending with oranges

4. Season with salt and pepper

5. Grill until scallops are done, turning once or twice and basting with honey mixture throughout grilling time, about 6 minutes

6. Serve over brown or white rice.