Kili asked:

> I've never been to a Moroccan restaurant. I'm curious about the food,
> though. Is it spicy, curried?

It's similar to curry in that the food tends to be fragrant with spices,
though rarely chile-spicy. Here's a pseudo-Moroccan recipe to give you an
idea of what it's like; I posted this here several years ago. I clipped the
original recipe out of a magazine sometime in the 1970s:

Macaroni with Spicy Lamb Ragout

Serves 6

1 tablespoon butter or vegetable oil
1 cup diced, peeled onion
1/2 teaspoon minced, peeled garlic
1 pound lean ground lamb or beef (I almost always use ground chuck)
1 15-oz can (2 cups) tomato sauce
1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 cup plain low-fat yogurt
1 pound macaroni or ziti
2 tablespoons butter or margarine

1. In a large skillet, melt the 1 tablespoon of butter over moderate
heat. Add the onion and cook 5 minutes, stirring often, until onion is soft
and yellow. Add garlic and meat, increase heat to moderately high and cook 5
minutes, breaking up meat with a spoon, until it loses most of its red
color. Start pasta water.

2. To meat mixture, add tomato sauce, oregano, cinnamon, salt, and
pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to moderately low and simmer 15
minutes, stirring often to prevent sauce from sticking.

3. While sauce is cooking, boil pasta for required time.

4. Add parsley to sauce and turn heat off, but leave pan on burner for a
moment. After about a minute, remove the pan from the heat. Beat the yogurt
smooth, add to the sauce, and stir to blend.

5. Drain pasta and put into large bowl. Toss with the remaining butter or
margarine.

Divide pasta among heated soup plates or dinner plates. Spoon sauce over
pasta and serve. Good with toasted French bread and a salad of escarole,
cucumbers, beets, and black olives.


Bob