After an intense first month in the medina we realised that we’d been so focused on our house project that we’d barely seen anything further afield. So when a friend suggested a daytrip to a town nearby where he was building a holiday home we jumped at the chance to take a break. A few friends piled into the car with us and we set off one morning for Moulay Idriss.
Moulay Idriss is one of Morocco’s most important pilgrimage sites because it houses the mausoleum of the saint from which the town gets it’s name. It has only been open to non-Muslims for the past 70 years or so, and only allowed non-Muslims to stay overnight in the town for about the past five. It’s also a very pretty, chilled out hill-town so is a great place to escape the bustle of Fes medina.
We took the scenic route past some beautiful views of mountains and lakes and then wound through old olive groves and villages to approach the town from the back. Predictably, out of the three police traffic controls we passed by on the way, we were stopped by two. Both times we hadn’t been speeding but the appearance of a foreign plated car always seems to signal ‘opportunity’ in the minds of the cops here. Once again though, with a bit of Darija and Vincent cleverly opening an empty wallet (he had stashed our money in his pocket earlier) we managed to be waved on without too much trouble.
We spent the afternoon at our friends half-finished house having a lazy lunch and enjoying the view, then noticing the waning light Vince and I took the opportunity to photograph the Roman ruins at nearby Volubilis. The UNESCO archaeological site is beautiful but looked even more spectacular in the fading light with stormy skies behind it, so we both ran around taking photos for an hour or so, with the plan to come back another time to explore properly.
Back in Moulay Idriss, we all headed to a hotel that our friends co-own and were lucky enough to be treated to an impromptu Moroccan cooking class by the mother of one of the staff.
We all took turns chopping and peeling, while her son translated her instructions to us and we wrote down the recipes as we went. The Moroccan lady was impressed with Vincent’s chopping skills and he immediately went to the top of the class!
Some of the preparation techniques caused consternation however, such as the method for peeling root vegetables. In the absence of a vegetable peeler, we were instructed to boil the carrots, potatoes and beetroot whole with their skins on. After they were cooked, we then had to scrape the skins off the boiling vegetables with a blunt knife and/or our fingernails…juggling a hot potato while scraping the skin off with your nails is not a process I would recommend, but it is very funny to watch.
Over an hour or two we helped to prepare a lamb tagine with prunes and almonds, warm salad of carrots, beetroot and potatoes, tomato and cucumber salad and – my favourite – a hot salad of aubergine and tomato.
The aubergine is charred and produces a fantastic smoky flavour, and when combined with the chilli and garlic of the chermoula paste is sensational.
Ingredients:
2 tomatoes
2 aubergines
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp red paprika
1 tbsp veg oil
2 tbsp olive oil
1 ½ tbsp chermoula paste (see below)
Method:
Cook the whole aubergines directly on a gas flame until soft, turning regularly to blacken all the skin. Remove from the heat when cooked and place in plastic bag to steam off the skins. Meanwhile clean, peel and dice tomatoes.
Peel the aubergines removing all the skin and then chop roughly.
Fry the tomatoes and spices over a high heat with most of the oil, stirring and crushing them as they soften.
Mash the aubergine into the tomato mixture, stirring well and leave the mix to reduce down to a sauce like consistency. Stir through the chermoula and a dash of olive oil and serve with chunks of bread for dipping.
Chermoula paste is made by chopping two red chillis, a whole bulb of garlic, a handful each of fresh coriander and flat-leaf parsley and grinding the whole lot with a mortar and pestle. Add salt to taste at the end and a tbsp of olive oil, mix well and store in the fridge for adding to fish, meat, sauces etc.
Needless to say, we had a wonderful meal and were delighted to not only try some home-cooked Moroccan food but to learn how to do it ourselves as well. We drove back to Fes feeling energised from our day away, and resolved to return again soon. Next time however, we would bring a vegetable peeler.
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