A cozinha marroquina no Algarve

Pouffe or no pouffe? Tooled leather pouffes smack a bit of tourist trophies but, if you like the ethnic vibe, you gotta sit on a pouffe, god forbid, when you eat Moroccan food.We cant promise the fine tooled variety but you can certainly be guaranteed of an enjoyable day at a Casa Rosada Moroccan cookery workshop.This year we have re-worked the format and given it a new theme.



"A cozinha marroquina no Algarve" is an introduction to Moroccan food and its influences in today´s Algarve. Al-Gharb, means "The West” in Arabic and oe al-Gharb was the term that gave rise to the present day word Algarve, literally the western lands south of the Iberican peninsular.

Moroccan cooking is a blend of traditions.From the Berbers came tajines and slow cooked stews, bringing with them the North African staple cous cous brought to life by steam and oil. Bedouin Arabs introduced dried pastas,dates and breads. More succulent additions of olives,olive oil,argan oil,nuts,apricots and herbs came from the Andalucian Moors.Almost every Moroccan dish tells a story of civilization. The cuisine of the indigenous Berbers is highly adapted today in classic dishes. The Arab invasion brought new spices, nuts and dried fruits, reflecting the country’s colourful past, and the Jewish added sophisticated preserving techniques of lemon, olives and pickles, refining the basis for the cuisine we know today.
Combine an Arab sensibility with a European recipe using locally available ingredients, and you pretty much have Casa Rosada´s modern take on the truly Moroccan kitchen.
The essence of Moroccan food is sharing it with loved ones. Mealtimes tend to get very social and consumed with much laughter and talking, with a lot of dishes requiring the use of hands and or bread in place of a utensil

This is traditional, simple and honest food that doesn’t require sophisticated techniques and overrated cookbooks.Moroccan cuisine is extremely accessible with its gentle cooking methods of Tagine and Couscous along with spices, fresh vegetables, nuts and dried fruit. Every dish is cooked with love and without deadlines,and most of all no microwave. Even strict vegetarians can find plenty of good things to eat.  
There are as many Moroccan tagine recipes as there are salt cod recipes in Portugal with its 1001 revenue.We cant possibly make them all in a day, but along with Briks, briouats, Berbers, Bastillas, Barquqs and Bakoula, some of the topics covered in the workshop might include

Essential Ingredients in Moroccan Cooking
Cooking with cous cous  
How to create a Moroccan Tagine
Preserving Lemons
How to Make your Own Ras El Hanout the must-have Moroccan spice blend 
Creating a mezze 
Essential Moroccan Cookware 
Making chermoula /harissa Moroccan soups
Berber desserts M´hencha, apple pie
Creating a mezze 
Essential Moroccan Cookware 
Making chermoula /harissa Moroccan soups
Berber desserts M´hencha, apple pie
 
.... and when the day is done lets all sit down in the garden and enjoy the fruits of our labour 

For workshop tariffs check Casa Rosada´s website