Gastroanthropology

Marrakech + Flatbread

Moroccan food was something I discovered later in life. When I was working in a restaurant, which notoriously served super rich and super seasoned food - you'd be shocked at how much butter, cream, salt and egg yolks we went through - I got very excited when one of our chefs of Moroccan heritage would cook staff meal. The absence of butter laden sauces and presence of spices for flavor cleansed the palate and refreshed the stomach. Having heard the rumors of the amazing spice souks (markets) I had to go to Morocco.

Constrained by time we chose to spend a full day in Marrakech and a few days in the High Atlas Mountains. In Marrakech we lost ourselves in the never-ending maze of souks. Bright sunny skies and color was everywhere - in the clothes, foods, spices, and rugs.

When I say, "lost ourselves", I'm not joking. At the end of the day we walked ourselves back to our riad (house), only to find ourselves back at the main square we had left over a half hour ago! Marrakech was an intense experience to say the least, and we welcomed our escape to the High Atlas Mountains. But, not before enjoying a hot, delicious, chicken and preserved lemon tagine.

We considered renting a car to drive ourselves to the High Atlas Mountains, but in the end decided not too. After getting lost on foot so many times it was absolutely the right choice.

In the High Atlas Mountains we chose to stay at the Kasbah du Toubkal. It's a great place to stay if you enjoy hiking. The hotel is run by local Berbers, born and raised in the neighboring villages. They will show you the best hikes or take you by donkey. In the evening you can book some time in a private hamman and then enjoy a delicious Moroccan feast. With dinner, which will most certainly be tagine, a delicious flatbread is served. Its cooked outside in the Kasbah courtyard the traditional way - over a fire.

Back in London, where a fire won't burn outside, on account of the sleet and general all-the-time wetness in the air, I've been making flatbread in a pan, on the stove. A grill pan would work just as well. Flatbread is super simple to make and goes well with tagine to help sop up the juices. In Marrakech, we had flatbread with chilled onions and eggplant that had been previously chopped up and melted in a pan with olive oil. Any Moroccan dip would go great with homemade flatbread.

FLATBREAD

• 315 g all-purpose flour
• 6 g active dry yeast
• 6 g salt
• 2 Tbs olive oil
• 1/2 c to 3/4 c warm water

METHOD

Combine flour, yeast, and salt in a bowl. Stir the drys together to mix. Add olive oil and 1/2 c of the warm water. Use your hands and begin to work the dough. If its too dry, add a bit more water. The dough should be sticky at first. Once you knead the dough it should come together into an elastic, glossy dough. Cut into pieces and roll out into desired size - should be about 1/4 inch thick. Lightly brush a pan with olive oil and cook flatbread. The pan needs to be about medium to high heat. Monitor the heat - if the flatbread is on too long you will get more cracker-like flatbread, and a pan that is too hot might make a doughy flatbread - cooked on the outside, but not in the middle. Serve warm with tagine or any Moroccan inspired dip.

Another Moroccan favorite is cous cous. In Morocco, it is often served with roasted vegetables, chicken, or lamb.

Cous cous is quite simple to make and most suggest you just rehydrate with warm water or stock. To make cous cous in a more traditional way, place the dry cous cous in fine mesh container and have it steam over hot, gently boiling chicken stock (vegetable stock is fine too). Fluff, and repeat.

 

My Three Travel Secrets, Part 2

The following post is Part 2 of My Three Travel Secrets.

When you travel you often learn a lot about different cultures and different people. But I've realized that with all this traveling, I'm learning a lot more about myself. I've learned how I handle stressful situations and things that will happen beyond my control, such as canceled flights or lost reservations. I've also learned that I really, really prefer the path less traveled, outdoor expanses, and find the hustle and bustle of cities unpleasant.

If you too prefer something a bit more remote, then you will enjoy my second travel secret.

My second secret: Jotunheimen National Park in Norway (Home of the Giants)

The Jotunheimen, in Southern Norway, are home to the tallest peaks in the country. Filled with glaciers, lakes, waterfalls, and jagged mountains its a haven for rock climbers and mountain hikers. I would of course recommend going in the summer when Norway is blessed with sunshine most of the day and enough snow has melted that everything is green, flowing, and not bitter cold.

It's easy to stumble upon glaciers...

and waterfalls...

and small Norwegian villages nestled among the many lakes...

If visiting the national park, stay at Turtagrø -

The perfect place for an evening of rest after hiking, climbing, or cross-country skiing. The lounge downstairs is full of large couches, books, maps, and a fireplace. Dinner at the Turtagrø was an amazing spread of mountain trout, a thick meaty stew, and roasted root vegetables, all served community style with the other guests. Jotunheimen National Park is close to some of the western fjords in Norway. The Turtagrø has quite a history and is about 300km from Bergen, and 400km from Oslo.

And finally, my third travel secret: Assume everything will go wrong. Assume you will lose your passport. Assume you might need emergency surgery that will end up costing you $35,000. I haven't lost my passport yet (knocked on wood), but I did need emergency surgery in Switzerland. As a foreigner they estimated the cost of my surgery just before they wheeled me into the operating room and made me pay up front. So I charged it on my credit card. Thanking my lucky stars as all my hospital bills were reimbursed in full, because I listened to my mother and got travel MEDICAL insurance. Read the fine print too - just travel insurance probably won't cover medical expenses, and make sure you get comprehensive coverage if you are doing sporting activities.

A few other bits of advice: One: Learn how to drive stick shift. Automatic is a very American thing. Two: I fear motorcycles, but being familiar with motorbikes comes in handy in many cases, especially when visiting islands. Three: Bring earplugs for the plane and train - seems like I'm always sitting next to the screaming baby. 

My Three Travel Secrets, Part 1

I was recently tagged by Lori of The 3 Star Traveler, to share three of my best kept travel secrets. Lori is a fellow blogger who just left Brazil to move back home to the States. I met her through her other blog, Fake Food Free.

I've spent the better part of the past two years traveling. My travel partner, Nate, and I have become pretty good at navigating European roads, airports, and train stations. With my careful planning, travel books, maps, and neurosis coupled with Nate's sense of adventure, fingers crossed that Google Maps on the Blackberry works, and calmness we take Europe by storm.   

My first secret: Western Switzerland Road Trip

Geneva, Switzerland was our first stop when we moved to Europe. We spent six months there and nearly every weekend we rented a car and drove - East to France, North to Germany, South to Italy. If you are an American and used to driving, the distances to so many places from Geneva will seem like a breeze. From all of our roadtrips here is an itinerary of a circular road trip that hits some of Switzerland's best. This roadtrip takes you through the Swiss and French Alps so take note that some roads may be closed during the winter months.

You can fly into Geneva easily from the US. There are direct flights from New York and connections with every major European city. Geneva is part of the French speaking part of Switzerland and right on the western edge of Lake Geneva or Lac Léman. It sits just under the Alps, and glacier skiing is a mere 45 minutes away by car. Geneva is a charming town with cobblestone streets running through the old town and clocks and chocolate in abundant supply.

From Geneva head north-east along the lake towards Montreux. There are multiple towns along the way that are worth a stop. Just past Montreux is Château de Chillon. 

A tour of the castle on the lake is absolutely worth it and look for Lord Byron's name in the dungeon - he etched into one of the pillars when he was held captive there in the 1500s.

From Montreux head north to Bern, stopping at Gruyère along the way. Park at the base of the old town and walk up, checking out the lovely cows, who even have the Swiss bells tied to their necks!

They are responsible for the milk that makes the lovely Gruyère cheese for the best grilled cheese!

Make sure to tour the Old Town.

And, visit the Château de Gruyère for its wonderful views.

Eat lots of cheese and continue on to Bern.

Bern is home to a gorgeous medieval old town and a famous, 800 year-old clock tower.

From Bern head south towards Thun to get to Interlaken. 

At Interlaken head into the Alps taking both forks to Grindelwald and Gimmelwald. Definitely take the train up to Wengen for this amazing view - 

From Gimmelwald take the series of cable cars up to the Schilthorn. From here you can see the Eiger and Jungfrau. This shot was taken last year on a gorgeous April spring day.

After you return back to Interlaken, head east and then south towards the Grimselpass. This is the famous Swiss mountain pass, with amazing views. The Grimselpass is closed during the winter months.

After crossing the pass, head west towards Brig. Just past Brig is Visp. From Visp you can take a train to Zermatt. Visitors can not drive into Zermatt. This is in an effort to protect the air quality, reduce congestion, and provide a better view of the Matterhorn.

Once you have collected your car at Visp, continue west towards Sierre and Sion.

In Sion visit the Château de Tourbillon for a great view of the town's fortified church, the Basilique de Valère.

Continue west towards Martigny. You have now entered the region from where the Swiss mountain rescue dogs - St Bernards - come from. You can take the Great Saint Bernard Pass back towards Lake Geneva, but I suggest continuing west towards the French Alps. You could take the road a bit and backtrack. You will be treated to some quintessential Swiss landscapes...

And, you may also get a chance to see a few of the St Bernards born and bred here. Nate has his heart set on one of these.

After you leave these pups behind, continue west towards Mont Blanc. Ski Chamonix or any of the many surrounding ski areas for glacier skiing.

And, if you get lucky you might just see another puppy.

After you've had your fill of skiing and hiking the alps, treat yourself to a large, hot pot of Swiss fondue!

For a relaxing reward after all this roadtripping head to Lake Annecy. During the warmer months of the year you can swim in the lake.

The town is beautiful and peppered with many fabulous restaurants.

Nate and I often traveled in Switzerland without booking in advance. We figured, worst case we would sleep in the car. This allowed us to take more time in the places we liked and to quickly visit the places that didn't interest us as much. We always found a place to stay, but it also meant not being picky, or driving on to the next town. If you must plan in advance and are taking this roadtrip I would recommend staying a few nights (2-3) in the Interlaken area, one night in Zermatt, one night in the Martigny area, one night in the French/Swiss (Bernese) Alps (more if you are skiing or hiking), one night at Lake Annecy, and one night in Geneva (possibly two if you are there during the summer months). 

This was a pretty long secret so, my second and third secrets to follow...

Dingle Peninsula, Co. Kerry, Ireland

Thanksgiving is maybe one of the most difficult days to spend in a foreign country. Doing an entire Thanksgiving Dinner in two hours after work is a challenge. Going to work the day after the feast is no picnic either. Most American expats in London push the holiday to the Saturday, but we escaped London altogether and went to the Dingle Peninsula in Ireland.

It was actually a perfect trip for a Thanksgiving weekend away from the States. The weather was on our side, cold but sunny during the day, rainy at night when we were holed up in our B&B with our books. The people of Dingle were so genuinely friendly, you couldn't help but feel part of what was around. 

The trip was also a bit of a history lesson for me. In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue, but from Europe he wasn't the first to head west, as in 542 AD Saint Brendan of Ireland had already achieved the quest. Tradition and lore say that St. Brendan of Kerry, along with fourteen other monks, constructed a boat of wood tied together with leather strips. The start of the seven year journey was from this inlet (pictured below), now called Brandon Creek. His mission was to bring the Gospel to the West.

Legend says he traveled from here to the Isle of Sheep (The Hebrides), to the Paradise of Birds (The Faroes), to the Isle of Smiths (Iceland), to the Land of Crystal Pillars (Greenland), and through the Region of Fog (Newfoundland), to the Promised Land (America).

The Dingle Peninsula also had some interesting architecture. We saw many beehive huts made of stone and the Gallarus Oratory, a church built sometime between the 6th and 9th centuries. The huts and Oratory are built with stones, use no mortar, and slant slightly down to let rainwater run off.

It got dark pretty early, so what did we do when it got too dark for trolling around the Irish countryside? Head to the pubs for some Irish music, stout - Guinness and Murphy's, and Irish whiskey.

The Irish love their whisky - our host was shocked that I didn't want Jameson stirred into my breakfast porridge. Whisky before coffee? In Ireland, yes! I also discovered white pudding. White pudding is a sausage made of oats, suet, pork, onion, herbs, and spices. It's sliced and fried up on either side for Irish Breakfast. Irish Breakfasts are similar to English Breakfasts, but with the addition of this white pudding. Much more appealing to me than the black blood pudding.

 

Tuscany Part 2: Foods of Siena

San Gimignano, Siena, Tuscany

Our last stop in the province of Siena was a San Gimignano - a gorgeous, walled medieval town from the 900s, and famous for its towers. 15 of the original 72 towers remain. We arrived after lunch and before dinner so had to make do with a bowl of sausages and tuscan beans, which was tasty, but a few other edibles caught my eye. Like this curing cinghiale, otherwise known as wild boar.

 

This selection of cinghiale prosciutto was almost as impressive as the curing meats in a butcher's shop from the town of Siena. Sorry for the blur - I had to take this incognito.

 

As amazing as all these lovely cured meats are, there lies a special place in my heart for all things sweet. And while I am a moth to a flame for sunshine and warm weather, I love fall because it means Halloween, Thanksgiving Dinner, Christmas cookies, and harvest time for nuts! Celebrating the cooler weather spirit is a famous Christmas cookie from the region of Siena - ricciarelli. 

 

This traditional Christmas cookie (can be enjoyed at anytime of the year, of course) is made up of almond paste, egg whites, sugar, and often orange zest. The dough is made and formed into balls or the more traditional diamond shape. These are left out for a couple days to form a crackly skin, sprinkled with 10x, and then baked. Ricciarelli are very similar to the more well-known amaretti. 

Another sweet treat we discovered in Siena was panforte. It's basically a fruit cake loaded with nuts, candied fruits, and spices. There also exists a chocolate version!

 

A proper panforte is said to have 17 different ingredients, representing each of the 17 contrada that make up Siena. If you want to know a bit more about Siena's contradas check out my previous post.

Its as if the gods knew our trip to Tuscany had come to an end in San Gimignano, as the clouds rolled in and it began to sprinkle.

 

Good thing we managed to have the last of the summer tomatoes the day before...

 

Summer is officially over in my book. A real chill has come to London and this time I think its here to stay. I've even had to pull out my heating blanket for the bed this week. Plum jams on deck, just got my first batch of pears, and already writing my grocery list for Thanksgiving. Fall is definitely here.