Moroccan Cooking Class and The Road to Essaouira

Moroccan cuisine has been some of the most enjoyable and healthy food that we've had. Now, we will have a cooking class with a renowned chef to learn how to make some of it ourselves. It is all made on a stove-top, but having the right pot is the key. Bringing home a clay tagine cooker was not going to happen as we had miles to travel before going home, and those tagines weigh a lot.

The class took place in a very high-end high location at Dar Rhizlane Palais, Table D'hôtes & Spa. The equipment, spices, and all ingredients were beautifully laid out at each station. We each had a cooktop and a monitor to watch the chef at work. She had an assistant helping with supplies, while the narration and instructions were all given by yet another professional. I've taken some cooking classes and enjoyed them all. But the setup here surpassed them all.

Tagine cooking is a mainstay of Moroccan cuisine that we loved. We learned how to make a chicken tagine, and the chef demonstrated how to make a large cooked vegetable tagine. Tagines are cooked on the stove top, not in an oven.

To go with the tagines, we made a fresh tomato, onion, and green pepper salad. To decorate the top, we made a tomato rose out of the skin.

Woo hoo! We earned a certificate declaring that we had completed the Moroccan Cooking Class with honors!

We dined in elegance in the beautiful dining room. Our chicken and salad tagine pots had our names on them and we ate our own creations (for better or worse!). In the center of the table was the large tagine of vegetable to share. For dessert, we each had a Milk Pastilla made with layers of phyllo-type cracker, whipped milk and chopped almonds.

This citrus fruit is called "Buddha's Hand." It was growing on the property along with orange, lemon, and grapefruit trees.

Here are just a few photos on the grounds of Dar Rhizlane Palais, Table D'hôtes & Spa. Rose petals appear in most water areas. Staying here would be in the lap of luxury.

The seaside town of Essaouira is our next destination for a couple of nights. We have some interesting stops and conversation during the long bus ride.

About 90 minutes later, we stopped for an OTP (opportunity to pee) and refueling snack stop. At this modern and clean "rest stop," we watched a woman baking bread in an outdoor oven.

Goats have been known to climb argan trees (like below) to eat the argan nuts they love. Farmers began training their goats to climb and then charging a viewing fee. There are even postcards with goats in trees. When I asked our tour leader if we would see goats in trees, he laughed and said that the government put a stop to that. The next OTP stop is at an argan oil company.

The ladies demonstrate the various steps and processes for extracting oil from the argan nuts, then pressing the nuts into argan butter. I had a hard time believing that there aren't machines for all of this. But it was difficult to ask.

After introducing the beauty products, the cooking oil and the argan butter spreads, we had the opportunity to purchase. Since it is touted as a miracle beauty aid (google it), I purchased some.

Our tour leader, Mostafa, filled up the bus ride time with explanations about Moroccan peculiarities. For instance, in the area that we're driving through, people fuel their old beater cars with propane, which they keep in the back seat or trunk.

Sheep and their herders don't see the highway as an obstacle. 

There is usually only one road entrance to a town or village. At each one, there are police who stop every vehicle that they don't recognize and give the driver the third degree. And you'd better have some good answers. If you're recognized, they wave you through. This happens even in the big cities, like Rabat. Luckily, they waved our bus through every time, but the driver definitely slows to stop, just in case.

Camel ride anyone? These guys were waiting for us at an overview of Essaouira. Of course, Papa Mostafa warned us that it is a quick stop for a photo and nothing else. No camel rides allowed!