Aprons on and burners at the ready

Most teachers will tell you that they spend all year battling the germs that lots of snotty little noses are determined to give you, hardly ever taking a day off, only to hit the holidays and fall apart. This has been an intense school year, and in preparation for the inevitable crumbling that will occur as soon as the last bell rings, I decided that unlike most years where I do something akin to a baseball players slide into last base, I would instead ease off gently and gracefully coast to the finish line. As a result of this my crumbling has occurred a week early and I have had four days of chest infection and three days of migraines. Looking for the silver lining, hopefully this means I will be germ free for the food, sun, pool and wine fun of three weeks in Europe. 

As well as falling apart this week I have been bothered by that tedious task of report writing. This is the fourth time this year that I have had to write reports and to put this laborious task into perspective I have to write six paragraphs for fifteen children. This amounts to around 9000 words. That is about the same as a thesis. By the end of next week I will have written four theses in ten months. Thankfully one of the reasons we took this job in particular is that we would have some influence over how things are done. Next year we have this down to three report cards.

Despite report writing and illness, I did actually manage to get out and do something different this weekend. Deeply hidden in the medina in Fez lies the Café Clock. This English owned café is a maze of rooms and terraces and is a sight for sore eyes (and taste buds) for those needing a break from the typical Moroccan dining experience. With movie nights, sunset concerts, Arabic courses and exhibitions, this place is more than just a café. It reminds me of the best backpacker places I have seen around the world. Not too cool or fake, it is warm and welcoming and a monster camel burger on the multi-levelled roof is a must. Unlike too many Moroccan eating establishments it is quick and efficient with amazing staff.

One of the things I have been keen to do is get a handle on the basics of Moroccan cooking. Clock Café is highly recommended when it comes to their cooking courses. Costing 60 Euros but lasting over five hours and including medina shopping trip and three course meal, this is more a cultural experience than a cooking course. I’m not going to go into the details of the course today, this needs a post of its own, but I did think I’d share the recipe for one of the dishes we made; Zaalouk. Zaalouk is a Moroccan salad made of smoked aubergine. This is not one of the prettiest dishes but it tastes amazing and smoky and is great for the summer days ahead. 

Zaalouk Salad

(Courtesy of Café Clock)

3 aubergines

2 tomatoes peeled and cut into small pieces

1 small hot pepper (optional)

1 head of garlic

1 handful of fresh parsley

1 handful of fresh coriander

1 tsp lemon juice

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground paprika

Pinch of black pepper

Pinch of salt

Wash aubergines and place in the centre of the gas hob (that’s right, no pan, just into the flame). Every minute or so turn the aubergine so that all the skin is lightly burned and the flesh feels similar to a bruised banana (appealing yes?). Remove the skin and cut into small cubes. 

Wash and cut the hot pepper if using and place in a pan with the cut aubergine and all the other ingredients except the herbs and lemon juice. Over a medium heat mash the mixture while all the spices heat through. 

Let the salad cool a little before mixing the herbs through with the lemon juice. If you’re anything like me, add more salt at this time.

Best served with a variety of Moroccan flat breads, failing that it’s good with pita and crusty bread.

Enjoy!!