Dinner Party!

On Sunday we invited the neighbours over to share our 'break-fast' meal. Well spent most of Saturday shopping for the affore said meal. Went to central London to our favourite Halal butcher and North-African foodstore. Now you know how he shops are at Christmas well his store was just like that it was PACKED!!! People take a lot of care preparing their evening meal when they fast (which kind of defeats the purpose) but it is lovely time of year for muslims, a time for family etc etc etc. Anyways I wanted to try to make a moroccan sweet which needed Mastic! Which is not readily available at Sainsburys. I love the middle eastern food shops I can get lots of stuff that I just cant at the super market. Special pastry called 'feuille brik' which is used to make kind or samosa type things. Well the list is endless, as was the traffic coming and going. I mean it is only a distance of about 10 miles but took around an hour and a half to get there and an hour back!!!!!!

Sunday got on with the cooking and spent 7 hours in the kitchen. I felt rather deflated as the food didnt look like seven hours of work but they were all fiddly things involving pastry and stuff like that! OOh and I also managed to nicely burn my fingers with hot oil..I am known for my clumsiness and sadly dont get much simpathy from OH now, I think he is waiting for me to do some serious damage one day!!!!!

I thought I would post some piccies of the table before I served my infamous moroccan soup!!!


Okay well this is the 'spread'

Okay Left to right: meaty samosa type things called 'briouat' in morocco. Then sweet 'briouats' which are stuffed with ground almonds, orange blossom water, cinammon and mastic, then fried and dipped in syrup!!! And little mini pizzas for the kids!!

Moroccan eggs..ie boiled and sprinkled with cumin and salt...a must at the break fast meal, the long pastries are made of the pastry I bought at the shop and are stuffed with minced chicken spices and egg. To break our fast it is traditional to start with dates and some kind of milky drink. I make bananas or avocados blended with milk a bit of sugar and rose water..yummy! Ooh there were also figs

I should say that moroccans eat a lot of sweet and savoury things at the same time! It took my a while to adjust but its actually lovely if you can get your head round it!!!

We also had grilled goats cheese on ciabata with caramalised onions..NOT moroccan but I love them anyway..and.................................soup.

P.S the music is by Sameera Said a moroccan working in Egypt. Its a kind of be good to each other anti racism kinda song and is great until she starts in English!

Enjoy