Moroccan Feast

This is the second time I've been to this restaurant but I didn't blog about this restaurant the first time I went which was in December 2010 (must've been busy with the Xmas season or something) so I thought I should write about it this time.

When you step inside the restaurant you instantly feel that you are transported to Morocco. The table tops are mosaic tiled, there are Moroccan themed coloured lanterns that hang from the ceilings as well as other ornaments like mosaic-style painted plates hanging on the walls and spice coloured fabrics cover the cushions that are placed on either the couches or chairs.

Even the toilet has a Moroccan theme! Here's a photo I took of a cupboard that stores toilet paper!

On both occasions that I dined at Moroccan Feast I had a discount voucher. My first voucher was from 'Jump On It': $39 for a 3 course meal and a bottle of wine, normally $80. This deal was pretty good value for money. I thoroughly enjoyed the food very much and I was sufficiently stuffed by the end of the night.

Spicy Meat Moroccan Cigars with Tahini~ 6 pieces $15; Rolled Eggplant stuffed with seasoned minced beef & topped with Tahini ~ 3 pieces $16

For entrée we ordered the spicy meat Moroccan cigars- kinda like a Moroccan version of spring rolls and rolled eggplant stuffed with beef. Both entrées were absolutely delicious.

Prawn tagine

For mains, hubby ordered the prawn tagine since he felt like eating some seafood but this dish was a bit ordinary in terms of flavour, maybe it wasn't the best choice for a tagine...

Lamb Tagine

Lamb tagine on the other hand is absolutely to die for- lamb meat falls off the bone effortlessly and is sweet tasting from the combination of apricots, caramelised onions and dates.

The dry, undercooked couscous is probably the only let down. Not even a topping of the tagine sauce can revive it.

Chocolate Soufflé $9 and Apple and Cinnamon Pie served with vanilla ice cream $8.50

Desserts were a bit ordinary and not very Moroccan- chocolate soufflé and apple pie!

My only suggestion for them would be to introduce some traditional style Moroccan desserts on their menu to cap off the Moroccan dining experience.

For drinks, instead of a bottle of wine we ordered home made lemonade with mint which was nice and refreshing and a perfect accompaniment to our meal.

My second voucher which I used on this occasion was from 'Spreets' and the offer was:
2 course feast for two including drinks $48 (valued at $96).

Second time around we didn't get a choice of what we wanted as an entrée  Instead we were given the Agadir Feast which was an assortment of salads served with pita bread and dips.

Agadir Feast~ a combination of 6 salads and dips $26; pita bread for dipping $1.80 a piece

Starting from the top, going from left to right there is the:

Chickpea salad, made with Moroccan Feast's special spice recipe
Tangier beetroot salad seasoned with the chef's spice mix
Smoked eggplant dip seasoned with garlic, lemon and salt
Red cabbage salad with coriander and fresh herbs
Lentil salad with capsicum, lemon and fresh herbs
Fez matbuha (tomato and capsicum dip with chilli and garlic)

All the salads and dips were delicious, very flavoursome and fresh tasting- my favourite was the smoked eggplant dip. It was great to sample so many different dishes

Lamb Tagine

For mains, hubby couldn't go pass the lamb tagine which we had ordered the first time we went to this restaurant and it was actually this dish that made me fall in love with this place. The lamb is melt in your mouth tenderness served with sweet dates, apricots, sultanas, almonds on a bed of couscous which was better this time since the sauce soaked into the couscous. The first time we dined here the couscous was served separately with some vegetables on the side and it tasted rather ordinary and a bit dry.

Chicken Marrakesh served on a bone with olives

Chicken was nicely cooked and again, the meat falling off the bone. Good flavour and generous portion size.

Overall, I would highly recommend this restaurant if looking for authentic, honest, home style Moroccan food that is tasty, good value for money. Service the first time we went wasn't that good- we had a very grumpy looking waitress who hardly spoke to us and made us feel a bit like second class citizens for using a discount voucher but the second time we got a lovely gentleman that was very accommodating with our last minute booking, polite, friendly and not overbearing-  he checked on us every so often without it feeling like it was intrusive or constantly interrupting our meal, the waitress was no where in sight- maybe she had left?

Chicken Tagine

Chicken Tagine- Morocco’s second most popular dish after couscous and considered to be the national dish.

A tagine is the Moroccan equivalent of a stew, usually fragrant with spices and often piquant with olives or preserved lemon. The name also refers to the earthenware dish with a conical-shaped lid that the dish is usually cooked in.

I don't own a tagine so for the following recipe I just used a large oven proof dish. You can also use a dutch oven or pressure cooker too.

This recipe takes some time to prepare and cook but it's worth the wait especially when you can smell the wonderful aroma of the chicken tagine fill your house as it is cooking!

Serves 4

Ingredients

Chermoula Marinade
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2cm piece ginger, peeled, finely grated
½ preserved lemon, lightly rinsed and thinly sliced
2 onions, chopped
½ birds eye chilli
1 tbsp sweet paprika
1 tbsp ground coriander
1 tbsp ground cumin
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander, stems and leaves
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
½ teaspoon saffron threads, soaked in a little water
½ cup olive oil
2 bay leaves, torn in half

4 chicken marylands or 1 whole chicken, size 10 or 12
1 tomato, chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 large potatoes, cut into wedges
1 red onion, sliced
1 tomato, sliced
100g pitted green olives
8 large fresh medjool dates, halved and pitted
1 bunch fresh coriander, chopped
1 cup water
1 preserved lemon, cut into 6 segments
Couscous, to serve

Method

Marinade: Process all ingredients together in a food processor until finely chopped and thoroughly combined. Leave for 30 minutes before using. Can be stored in the refrigerator for up to seven days.

Wash and dry the chicken and remove backbone, wing tips and any excess fat. Cut into pieces. Prick chicken all over with a fork to allow marinade to penetrate. Rub all over with ½ of the chermoula marinade and refrigerate overnight or for at least 2 hours.

Combine the tomato and onion with a little more chermoula and spread into the base of the tajine (this will prevent the chicken from burning on the bottom).Arrange chicken pieces in the centre of the tajine on top of tomato mixture. Coat potato wedges with chermoula and arrange around chicken. Top with red onion slices, then tomato slices and olives and dates in between the potato wedges.

Mix chopped coriander with remaining chermoula and water. Pour over mixture. Decorate top with preserved lemon wedges.

Cover tajine with lid and cook on a very low gas heat for 45-60 minutes. Do not stir or lift the lid during the cooking process.

If using a large ovenproof dish, cover and place into a 200°C preheated oven and bake for 90 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.

Serve the Tajine directly to the table and impress your guests with a waft of fragrant steam when it’s time to serve.

To make cous cous:

Place 1 cup chicken stock into saucepan and bring to the boil. Remove from heat. Stir and pour in 1 cup couscous. Cover and allow to stand for 3-5 minutes.

Stir with a fork to separate grains. Spoon couscous onto plates. Spoon over chicken and sauce. Serve hot and enjoy :)

Notes & Tips

Preserved lemons are conserved in salt, lemon juice and oil, and impart an extra tangy flavour to dishes. Buy them in sealed jars at delis and selected supermarkets.

A cheat's version of this recipe is to substitute 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon rind and 2 teaspoons lemon juice for the preserved lemon in this recipe.