Morocco

I am thinking of doing a whole series of Tuesdays devoted to countries with red and green flags. Isn't this a great flag? Really, the Islamic countries have got it sussed with flags.

In the vein of focusing on food I want to eat more regularly with the kids I chose Morocco so I could use the tagine paste I bought months ago and once again indulge my own personal preference for meat and fruit combos.

I checked out the tagine paste's website for a recipe and it even suggested to use chard, a much delivered but mainly ignored vegetable from our locally produced organic veg bag. Yay. But my thirst for fruitiness and the plethora of damsons in the bottom of our fridge (still not yet made into jam... don't tell my mum and dad!) lead me to get inspiration elsewhere and to finally settle on such a mix up of recipes that I feel I could even claim this one for my own! I'll call it lamb, damson and swiss chard tagine. Thanks to this blog for the damson inspiration. I noticed she is currently blogging about a rich beef and coconut recipe from Malaysia, so maybe I'll go back there for a bit more inspiration soon. It's an Islamic nation. Maybe Malaysia has a great flag too?
  
THE DISH
Lamb, damson and swiss chard tagine.

serves 4
one glug extra-virgin olive oil

one pack of bone in lamb leg steaks shoulder, trimmed and cut into chunks (probably could use any cut)
1 large white onion, halved and thinly sliced
1 large carrot, chopped into thick rounds
1/2 a 90g jar Belazu Tagine Paste
400g (canned) chick peas, drained
8-10 damsons
1 handful of chard, leaves and thinner stalks only, cut into strips
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
roasted almond flakes to sprinkle over

Season the lamb with salt and pepper.
Cook the sliced onions in oil over a gentle heat until soft and translucent (about 15 minutes). Add the lamb to brown. Pour off excess oil.
Add the tagine paste (half a jar) with 150ml water and add to the pan.  Stir to mix well then cover with another 150ml water and bring to a simmer. Add carrot slices and can of chick peas.
Turn the heat to low and simmer, partially covered for 1 hour.
Add the chard and damsons and cook, partially covered for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
serve with a sprinkle of roasted almond flakes. (I should probably admit, at this point, that when I tasted it I thought that rather bitter harissa type kick, which is probably what gives tagines their unique flavour, would not go down well with the kids so I add a tablespoon of sugar... shhhh).

serve with couscous (made with veg stock with added raisins) and I threw in some warmed flatbread that we had left over from a raucous party at the weekend to please the son with the bread fetish.

THE RESPONSE
Always a little of an uphill struggle when I haven't got husband-help to gee up the children. Youngest was super hungry as we ate too late for him and when he realised it was an adventurous day he threw himself in the armchair declaring that  he would not have tea, but only eat a peach. This is not a good sign. It can take him many minutes, and usually some serious shouting from a parent, for him to come around. But the lateness of the hour helped me feel sorry for him. I too have a terrible temper when I'm hungry, and I can spot hypoglycemia a mile off, so I got him a mini bowl full of almonds, and a couple of bits of pitta, for him to eat in the armchair. It worked like magic and soon he was at the table, actually digging into the couscous. Though he was simultaneously still declaring he hated couscous.


THE VERDICT
Eldest hardly blinks an eye at whatever is on her plate these days. It's such a relief. She's always been the easiest in this regard, actually, but I guess it's not surprising that she has the most mature taste buds. But she also ate the chick peas, declaring that she likes them. This is also a relief as she's vegetarian and really I would have preferred to have simply left out the meat for her version of tonight's meal, rather than pack it out with quorn alternatives. Mr Middle is beginning to eat heaps when he likes it. And he's developing a taste for meat. So the lamb was going down a treat. But even he also ate the chard and the chick peas. And Youngest actually ate most of it too... a mini triumph. Oh and I loved it - loved cooking it, loved eating it. N loved it. If this was the only upside of Travelling Tuesdays it would all have been worthwhile.

PUDDING
Another cheat: a friend bought N a massive chocolate and pistachio cake for aforementioned '45s' party. Well, pistachio has to be a good Moroccan treat, surely? The chocolate was a bit too bitter for the kids and the marbled cake a bit too green in the pistachio bit, but I guess that just means all the more for me :-)

 With N eating later, it never feels so easy to do any of that 'other' crossing continents stuff. We did find Morocco on a map, and watched some fab folk dancing. We even learnt which was its capital city (a place I had never heard of) had a look at some images of Rabat online. It was only later, when I was looking more closely at the map on a computer that I came across the Spanish enclaves Ceuta and Melilla along its border. The Youngest had spotted how close its most northern tip was to the southern tip of Spain and we did say briefly that it was the way you would choose if you wanted to get from Africa to Europe. But I had no idea that there are whole cities on the Moroccan coast which are actually Spanish, and that naturally they are a destination of choice for migrants feeling nervous about an illegal sea crossing.  Goodness alone knows why Spain keeps them at all. On a purely practical level they must give the government such a headache. Mind you both articles I read about them did also refer to Gibraltar. Give 'em all back. That's what I say. And the Falklands. Better stop there eh? Probably controversial enough without getting into other areas of the globe a little closer to home!

Ceuta and Melilla immigrants: http://www.capitalfm.co.ke/news/2013/07/hundreds-of-migrants-storm-border-at-spain-enclave/