Morocco is not too far away from here, and makes a fantastic getaway for the weekend. Last year we went over a couple of times. On our last visit, we ended up in this amazingly cute village facing the Atlantic called Asilah. A lovely traditional Medina with lots of Spanish and Portuguese influences where you can find loads of really beautiful murals because of the international art festival that they have each year in August.
We had a simple dinner on Saturday night in a tiny restaurant, with a very delicious starter! I asked for the recipe, which the owner of the restaurant was happy to share with me. The funny thing was that we had kind of a language barrier, so he invited me into the kitchen. Saida, the cook, demonstrated how it was done, while I took notes and smelled spices to determine what it was! Here’s the recipe:
Salade Boudenjel
Ingrdients:
-5 small aubergines (the really small variety)
-clove of garlic
-teaspoon of paprika
-teaspoon of grounded cumin
-handful of chopped parsley
-pinch of salt
-olive oil
Cut aubergine in small cubes and steam until tender. Put olive oil in frying pan, add garlic, paprika and cumin and fry on a low fire for a minute. Add aubergine and salt, and fry some more on a medium / low fire until there are no more cubes visible. Then add the parsley. Let cool off a bit, garnish with (preferably Moroccan dried) olives and eat with bread.
