Moroccan Fish Stew #Food Bloggers Around the World

Moroccan food is very hot right now in the US... I was told by a food blogger in Australia that is really popular there too... I'm not surprised; genuine Mediterranean cuisines have been riding the wave of fresh and clean cooking for the last few years. Moroccan cooking has all of the freshness of other Mediterranean styles of cooking with the added exotic pinch of African and dash of Indian flavoring that just makes this food super intriguing.

Bloggers Around the World have landed in this captivating land of genie lamps and magic carpets.... here are a few simple Moroccan inspired dishes to wet your appetite for this mysterious place.

Moroccan Stuffed Peppers

Theses peppers are stuffed with beef and millet and seasoned with the Moroccan spice mix called: Ras El Hanout which is primarily a mixture of: cinnamon, cumin, coriander, ginger, cardamon, pepper and turmeric... but every family has it's secret blend. I use this mix in my recipes because it simplifies the ingredient list adding a Moroccan flavor with out a lot of work.

Chicken Tagine with Sweet Potatoes and Prunes

Tagine cooking is very common in Morocco. It is a clay vessel similar to a Dutch oven used to slowly steam and cook mostly stews. The pots are very attractive too. This chicken dish highlights the more African flavoring found in this region.

I hadn't cooked a Moroccan fish dish yet, so I looked at many fish stew recipes and came up with this simple one.

I love how this tastes like it has been simmering for hours, even thought it is quickly mixed on the stove.

Moroccan Fish Stew

by Diane Balch

simplelivingandeating@gmail.com

preparation time 20 minutes Serves: 4

Ingredients:

1 pound of firm thick white fish such as: cod, halibut, or red snapper. Skin removed and chopped into small pieces

1/4 cups of extra-virgin olive oil

1 large onion chopped

3 cloves of garlic chopped

1/4 teaspoon of Moroccan Seasoning (Ras El Hanout) McCormick

1 15.5 ounce can of chickpeas drained

1 14 ounce can of diced tomatoes

1/4 cup of pitted halved oil cured black olives

1/4 cup of cilantro minced

1 dash of cayenne pepper (or more)

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1) Heat the olive oil on medium high heat in a large skillet. Saute the onions when they start to get soft add the Moroccan seasoning, cayenne pepper and garlic in order to bloom these spices about 1 minute. Do not brown the garlic.

2) Add fish mix with spices and cook for 1 to 2 minutes. You do not want to cook it through yet.

3) Add chickpeas, olives and tomatoes heat through.

4) Add cilantro and check salt and pepper to taste. Serve over couscous or with rustic bread.

fish stew, Moroccan recipe, ras el hanout, chickpeas, tomatoes, cilantro

On July 13th be sure to visit Cooking Around the World to see what my fellow travelers are cooking up from Morocco.