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Photographs by Meadow Linn

Thursday, September 30, 2010

Become a Kitchen Tourist

Become a Kitchen Tourist 
Join me in becoming a Kitchen Tourist. Traveling and experiencing new cultures and cuisines is something I love to do. However, when I can't travel the globe, I enjoy exploring the flavors of the world by employing my taste buds to take me to exotic locales. Without leaving my little house in California, I can spend an evening in Greece, the following morning in Mexico, and be in Japan in time for lunch.


This spring I had the opportunity to vacation in Spain, not just with my taste buds but also with my feet! At the Straight of Gibraltar, Spain and Morocco are only 12 miles apart. Within an hour of leaving Spain, we found ourselves transported to another world, a world where herbs and spices permeate the air and hand-shaped loaves of bread are fed into stone ovens heated by blazing fires. Snake charmers and vegetable vendors are on every corner. Hand-painted pottery and delectable dates and herb-scented olives can be purchased from men in long robes.

I enjoyed haggling with a young man for a good price on a beautiful bowl and inhaling the aromas of the open-air market, but it will be no surprise that lunch was my favorite part of the day! We were brought plate after plate of fire-grilled meats, meats stewed with dried fruits and nuts, and savory couscous, which we washed down with sweet and herby Moroccan mint tea. What I love about Moroccan cuisine is the use of herbs and spices and the delicate balance between sweet, salty, and savory. North African food is full of flavor and full of fresh and aromatic herbs and vegetables.

At the moment, my backyard garden is brimming with scrumptious heirloom tomatoes of varying sizes, colors, and shapes. Homegrown tomatoes are one of the great pleasures of the late summer months. I created the following recipe to take advantage of the bounty of my garden and to relive the afternoon I spent in Tangiers soaking in the world of Scheherazade and One Thousand and One Nights.

From the comfort of your home, be a Kitchen Tourist and travel to Morocco. This simple and flavorful salad uses easy-to-find ingredients but elicits images of the narrow streets of the Casbah. This salad can also be used as a condiment for roasted or stewed meats. Serve it with pita chips and it becomes a Moroccan style salsa.


Moroccan Tomato Salad
Serves 4 as a salad 
Serves up to 10 as a condiment or salsa

1/2 medium yellow onion, diced
juice of 1 lemon
1/4-1/2 teaspoon salt (use the larger amount of salt to serve as condiment or "salsa")
1 15-ounce can of chick peas (garbanzo beans), drained and rinsed
1 large heirloom tomato or two medium-sized tomatoes (approx. 1 1/4 pounds), chopped
1 cup loosely packed fresh mint leaves (approx. 1 small bunch), sliced into a chiffonade*
1 cup loosely packed fresh cilantro (approx. 1 small bunch), chopped

In a medium bowl, combine the onion, lemon juice, and salt. The lemon will pickle the onion while you prepare the other ingredients, so it won't be quite so piquant. Add the other ingredients and mix together. If the tomato is ripe and juicy, you may have a surplus of liquid in the bowl. Before serving, transfer the salad to a clean bowl using a slotted spoon.

*Measure the mint and cilantro in a 1-cup dry measuring cup before chopping. The best way to cut the mint, without bruising it, is to make a chiffonade, which is made by layering  approx. 5 mint leaves on top of each other, rolling the pile lengthwise and slicing it crosswise like a sushi roll.

1 comment:

  1. Hi Meadow,
    Having tasted your delicious fare I can say that there are good and bad,chefs remarkable ones but than there are Masterchefs. I truely believe that you are one of these.
    Your knowledge of foods from all countries is remarkable and your blends of herbs and spices are supbre The Mexican fish on Wednesday was out of this world and a delight to the taste buds
    thanks again for 10 days of great food.
    Lesley

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