Skankynavia: Moroccan Munchies
Confession: I'm kinda tired of Asian food.
Maybe because I eat it every day.
So when my Mile High Dining Club friend declared he wanted to throw a Moroccan inspired dinner I was totally there. Moroccan, African and Arabian are probably the less trendy food cultures compared to the Italian, French and Japanese kitchens these days. Which is a shame because that world of taste and food craft is neither hard to make nor expensive to eat. And it's delicious!
My friend loves his flight attendant job - dealing with wine, food and delicacies at 2000 ft. Especially since he spends most of his time talking about food already (people in Berkeley would totally love him. He also adores dogs).
His kitchen is small -- always super tidy and never filled with takeaway boxes or pizza boxes. The man cooks all the time and loves it.
Fresh mint and other herbs growing in the kitchen window pane.
It smells wondeful and is so practical -- when could you NOT use this stuff?
Selection of food trays in the corner as decoration. Many Marimekko and Scandinavian designs.
Even his selection of well used pots and pans look good. I love kitchen spaces which carry a story and clearly show that people enjoy working there.
Super minimal, hi tech, hi gloss kitchen spaces with no visible objects anywhere give me the chills.
Lit globuses (globi?) on top of the fridge for cozy, internation flight travel vibes.
When my friend isn't serving fresh lobster and champange at 2000 feet, he works at the Royal Copenhagen Flagshop Store (Yes I know fellow homos: He's a great cook, he collects Scandinavian design and works part time at the fanciest shop in town with a heavy discount. AND he's currently single = total catch!).
He also loves LEGO and Star Wars.
This baby aka The Imperial Shuttle flown by Darth Vader and the Emperor is $500 and you don't touch it.
Ok, back to Morocco! We should set the mood. A few months ago M.I.A was in Morocco to shoot the best music video of 2012.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=2uYs0gJD-LE#!
Awesome shit. Let's eat!
The cooking tagine from Le Creuset allows the meat sauce to boil, catch the boiling water and then lets it flow down again into the sauce, not letting any precious flavours escape the pan. Brilliant.
The oven hides homemade tuna bricks.
The table is set nicely with Royal Copenhagen, Iitala and vintage glass from antique stores around Copenhagen.
Scandinavians are suckers for candle light. Even though it's really dark during winter times, we prefer to light up our nests with discrete, cozy lighting in sporadic spots around the room -- instead of a harsh, cold ceiling light which kills every mood and every meal. (I'm talking to you, foreigners across the globe with hospital lighting at your dinner table. Shame on you.)
For spicy food you need a red wine, in this case a Torre del Falasco Ripasso 2008. This doesn't give in or fade into the background, but instead keeps fighting your palate for awareness.
Outside on the balcony, vintage Moroccan lamps are lit up with wax candles.
There's also a metal lamp hanging from the ceiling. It's probably from some old steam bath house or hot harem.
First dish: Moroccan flat bread with mint, garlic and parsley.
Incredibly richness in taste. Not particular spicy, rather more like lots of exciting nuances of flavors.
Sidedishes / condiments for spicing up your meal: Sweet dates in Royal Copenhagen mushroom jars.
Arabian pickles.
And the most awesome chili olive oil dip called harissa!
Addictive! It's not too spicy yet full of taste and bite.
Mix pickles, dates, French olives and harissa on top of the mint breads and experience a taste bud attack.
Mood break!
So my sister just came back from Abu Dhabi. Ok, it's not Morocco, but hey a pile of sand is a pile of sand, right?
Imagine yourself in the windy, warm desert with only the sound of the sands slowly moving across the plains. Just you and your trusty camel. And delicious Morrocan food.
Pics by Mette Mana Arhøj / February 2012
Now, forget that camel and these lush desert dunes. You can't afford to go anyway. And you're too busy in your daily life and will never throw that cellphone to the ground, close that Facebook stream and book the next plane to paradise. Which you'll probably regret on your death bed, but that's another story.
Back to winter chilly Copenhagen. Next hot, steaming dish is on the table:
Baked tuna bricks (tuna, coriander, parsley, garlic, potatos, lemon) filo pastry and sesame seed.
Baked sesame porn.
The bricks are spicy with the nice taste of tuna mixed with strange new flavours.
Main course: Moroccan meat balls, beef, cumin, pimento, garlic, lots and lots of parsley, and chopped up tomatoes, garlic and more cumin and pimento for the sauce.
So red and so good!
Bread with sauce. Those balls are getting licked real good, I tell ya.
Spicy sauce on bread.
For dessert: Panna cotta with thick creamy chocolate sauce and pineapple sage on top.
Milk-based desserts are popular in the Moroccan world to calm the tongue and add a sweet, thich contrast at the end of a spicy meal.
Oh that was a nice meal. What a great way to enjoy winter in Copenhagen, which is such a fab time...
Let's just sit here and enjoy these beautiful candles. So cozy and warm. Don't want to be anywhere else. Just me and my mint tea and the rain on the window...
Oh fuck, I want to go.
