Last Friday, we invited our good friends over for a last minute casual dinner.  I had just plucked a bushel of the best tomatoes from the garden and couldn’t wait to share them with friends. Enter Luke and Michelle. Our friends who, based on appearance and careers alone, are way cooler than my husband and me–damn them!  Not to mention, they’re talented, fun, great travel companions, and incredibly down to earth–damn them again!

For this non-occasion occasion, I decided to cook one of my favorite dishes for summer entertaining: The Berber Omelet.  Now, don’t let the name throw you.  Eggs are about the only thing this “omelet” has in common with the French breakfast dish. A Berber omelet is basically a tagine full of poached eggs in a garlicky tomato sauce doctored up with other fresh herbs and a Thai chili for some spice.  Nothing is easier with more delectable results – I’m serious. Just serve it with a salad and some crusty bread and you’re done!  On this warm, summer evening it was the perfect laid-back way to enjoy time with our friends. We ate our meal and sipped our wine outside by the fireplace while we chatted about life–the perfect peaceful ending to a busy week.

Berber Omelet à la Valerie

Adapted from Peggy Markel

 

Peggy’s original recipe is quite obviously Moroccan. This is an adaptation using what I had in my pantry and garden. Basically, I ended up using a single chili pepper and a small zucchini I harvested when I collected my tomatoes.  The zucchini added a really nice crunch to the dish and the chili had great spice (though I’m not exactly sure it qualifies as Moroccan).

 

In our class, Peggy taught us to grate the tomatoes using a box grater. This gives the sauce a great consistency.  However, for this version (mostly because I was pretty short on time) I just washed my tomatoes, then tossed them in my Vitamix blender for a quick spin. It turned out just as delicious and was so much easier.  Plus, I didn’t end up with half the tomato and its skin left in my hand.  You can find Peggy’s original recipe here. It’s a total classic. I mean, if Ruth Reichl is a fan, then you should be, too. That said, here is my take on Peggy’s Berber Omelet.

 

 

Serves 4

1 tablespoon olive oil, plus more for garnish

8 large tomatoes, quartered

5 cloves garlic, minced

1 summer squash, diced

1 Thai chili pepper, chopped in rounds

2 tablespoons parsley, plus 1 teaspoon for garnish

2 bay leaves

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 tsp salt

8 eggs (about 2 eggs/person served)

8 basil leaves torn in pieces for the garnish.

Sea salt

 

In your blender or food processor, pulse tomatoes until gritty in texture – be carful not to over blend.  You should have sauce, not soup.  In a large tagine or heavy bottomed saucepan on medium-high heat, add olive oil and let sit until heated. Then add the garlic, pepper, and squash. Cook for 1-2 minutes, until the garlic becomes fragrant but not brown, then add the tomatoes. Add bay leave, parsley, salt and pepper.

 

Cover and simmer all ingredients for about 10 minutes.

 

Crack the eggs in individual bowls and drop them, one by one, into the tomato sauce inside the tagine. Cover and cook until the eggs are cooked but slightly runny inside, another 5 minutes or so.  Add basil, parsley, sea salt, and remove the bay leaves. Drizzle with good quality olive oil and serve out of the tagine tableside.

The Moroccan Tagine is the perfect tool to have in your armory for entertaining.  Moroccan food is fun, tasty, and easy to make–especially when you use a tagine. I mean, who doesn’t love the drama of coming to the table, arms laden with a huge cooking vessel full of tasty and fragrant fare? If that doesn’t set the stage for a fun night of dining, nothing will.

After our class with Peggy Markel, I couldn’t wait to put my preparation into practice and host my first Moroccan dinner party. Each element had to be perfect. Was it a dash of spice, or a teaspoon?  What was the temperature of the stove? How long should I let it sit? How often should I stir? Why did these recipes feel different from how we learned it in class? Frustration mounted, and eventually, I ended up calling Peggy for more detailed instruction. Her reply? Just relax and enjoy the process – there is no wrong way.

And it’s true! Using a tagine is so easy.  Just layer in your ingredients, set it over a medium flame, affix the top, and pour yourself something fine to drink. The food cooks amazingly well without getting dried out, and you can spice it a lot or a little depending on your mood. Basically, this is just an incredibly forgiving way to cook that will give you the most mind-blowingly flavorful and tender stews and sauces you have ever tasted.  “How could it not be breezy? You’re in such a breezy place.” – “Friends”

You can find a fairly inexpensive, good-quality Tagine at Sur la Table. Buy the biggest one you can find. Don’t bother buying a small one because it’s such a good tool for entertaining a crowd and the leftovers are so good. For more information, here is an Q&A I did with Peggy where she talks about her favorite kind of Tagine. Now go enjoy your Moroccan feast!

Peggy Markel has an amazing repertoire of regional culinary expertise. Peggy lives part time in Colorado, then she travels the rest of the year to her cooking schools in Sicily, Tuscany and Morocco.  In addition to her classes, she leads culinary adventures in these regions.  Right now, Peggy is planning a sailboat excursion in the Amalfi Coast – can you thing of anything more fabulous?

I was such a lucky girl to grab a little time with Peggy, hosting her in my Santa Barbara kitchen.  She relayed a lot of comparison to Tuscany and Santa Barbara. What a delight to meet her, cook with her and spend some sunny Santa Barbara days together.  Peggy cooks from her soul and this resonates in a magical way in her creation of food and recipes. She holds high regard for cultural and seasonal fare.    We bonded over our shared love of all things beautiful, fresh and wholesome, had a lovely time cooking and even took a hike (albeit, we did take a wrong turn and had to backtrack a bit – oops, my bad!).

Peggy’s knowledge of cooking is vast  (obviously) and she is an excellent teacher, with an ease and ability to convey key elements of our process. This was my first time cooking Moroccan food and after her visit I can approach this delicious cuisine with confidence and understanding.

Below you will find the menu from the class she taught in my kitchen and a great little Q & A I did with her.

Eat:
Omar Sharif cocktail
Eggplant with cumin: served with warmed pita
Berber Omelette: Eggs in a spicy tomato sauce, cooked over fire
Kefta: Spicy Moroccan meatballs
Chicken Tagine with preserved lemons, olives and fresh coriander
Moroccan cooked salads with parsley, mint, cumin and coriander
Citrus curd with Pistachio and blood oranges.
Drink:
For drinks we started with Peggy’s Omar Sharif cocktail – yum.  Then Rudi Pichler Gruner Veltliner, Smaragd 2006 Vachau with the eggs and meatballs.   Gruner is one of the only wines that goes well with eggs and Rudi Pichler has to be the nicest guy! Austrian whites are so good with a multitude of dishes.   It also paired nicely with the chicken but most of us progressed to a fruity Barbera from Piedmonte.

Q & A with Peggy

Val: Which types of tagines are best and why?
Peggy: I like the traditional terracotta tagines as they cook the food as the
food was intended.  It is by far more authentic tasting. Emile Henry, makes a ceramic, flame proof tagine that I like a lot. It cooks well, but I find liquid doesn’t evaporate or sauces thicken with quite the same gusto as the terracotta, but things don’t stick either!  All Clad makes a cermic topped, stainless bottomed tagine that is amazing for braising.  I like it especially well for a lamb tagine with prunes and cinnamon.

Val: What inspired you to cook Moroccan food?
Peggy: Going to Morocco. I didn’t know much about Moroccan food other than having it a few times in a restaurant. The restaurant experience can be exotic and overwhelming, almost too aromatic. Yet, I must say, intriguing. Going there and tasting it in all sorts of situations gave it context.  I have taste tested tagines from the desert, the mountains, the sea, on the side of the road and in chic homes. It’s the signature common dish of the people…no matter what class. It is class distinguished by the way it is served. But not by what or how it is cooked. The simplest version over the fire of the mejmar in any case, is more delicious. The ingredient choices of the countryside are often more delicious than the city. The simplicity of the dish can offer anyone a chance to cook. The secret is in the hands.

Val: What is your favorite Moroccan dish?
Peggy: I love them all. But nothing beats a good ‘Omellette Berber’. Eggs
cracked and dropped whole in a spicy grated tomato sauce. It’s simple and satisfying and a good thing to wake up to on a sunny morning in Sidi Kaouki.

Val: What is your most favorite ingredient to use form the garden?
Peggy: Could you answer that question? It’s hard! Herbs. I love fresh lettuces and tiny tomatoes of course, but to be able to nip fresh thyme or rosemary when you need it, while it’s still fresh and aromatic is the best.
Anything green for that matter, as I love to finish a dish with something
surprising. Finely chopped this or that, or a chiffonade of shiso, meaning something unusual but complimentary.

Val: Which do you prefer; cocktail or wine with Moroccan food?
Peggy: Ok. I love gin and tonic in climates such as Morocco, Thailand and India, for example. In Marrakech they serve a lot of fruity non-alcoholic drinks that are quite good. I like one of their ginger cocktails, made with a ginger syrup, but I like vodka and lime (a Beldi lemon) as well. The cocktail which I created with a few bartenders called the Omar Sharif is fun. Kettle One Citron, pomegranate liquor, lemon, cinnamon and mint.

Editing and Motion Graphics by Matt Walla.

I am one of those people that have every possible kitchen gadget, tool and utensil imaginable. One of the few things I have never bought is a tagine. Honestly, I was a little intimidated by the process. A tagine is crazy looking Morrocan cooking vessel with a lid that looks like a upside down ice cream cone. I had always thought that at the top of the lid there was a hole for steam, but it’s actually a holder for your spoon! So when Kim said that her friend Peggy Markel who has a cooking school in Morroco was coming to town, I jumped at my chance to finally buy a tagine and learn from a master. Peggy was just featured in Gourmet’s Adventures with Ruth and is an exceptional teacher and now, a good friend too.

Here is Peggy’s recipe for her absolutely delicious chicken tagine with olives and coriander (cilantro). Don’t wait until you have Peggy in your kitchen to make this incredible dish. Peggy conveyed to us in the class that there are no mistakes when combining the ingredients in the tagine, so don’t let that fear keep you from creating this dish. It also lends itself exceptionally to entertaining because you basically put all of the ingredients in and walk away from the stove. Pour some drinks and have some fun while your tagine does the work.

Chicken Tagine with Lemons, Olives and Coriander 

 

1 chicken, separated into drum, thigh, breast, etc.

2 onions, sliced

4 cloves garlic

A bouquet of fresh parsley and cilantro

4 T olive oil

2 t ginger powder

1/2 tsp turmeric

1 tsp ground cinnamon

A pinch of saffron

Salt and pepper to taste

2 preserved lemons

1/2 cup purple olives

 

Separate the chicken into pieces and coat with spices and 2T of olive oil, salt and pepper. Cut the preserved lemons into quarters, and separate the pulp from the peel. Finely slice the peel and reserve for later use. Chop and add the lemon pulp to the chicken. In a tagine or casserole, heat 2T of oil . Add half of the sliced onions. Put the marinated chicken on top. Add the other half of the onions on top of the chicken. Add salt and pepper and the parsley and coriander bouquet garni.

 

Add 3/4 cup of water. Bring to a simmer and let cook for about 30-40 minutes. Check the chicken periodically with a wooden spatula to make sure it’s not sticking. Simmer until the chicken juices run clear and the meat is moist and tender.

 

Add the olives 10 minutes before serving. Garnish with lemon peel at the end. Serve piping hot! Tagines available from www.tagines.com.

Photos by Blue Caleel