Moroccon Eggplant Dip w/ Cumin Dusted Sprouted Grain Tortillas & Marrakesh Travel Highlights

by Julie on October 28, 2010

Wow, what a wonderful trip! How lucky am I? I had to pinch myself a few times, Marrakesh was so amazing! I mean meeting Holly of Decor8 and Maryam of My Marrakesh at her gorgeous Peacock Pavilions boutique hotel, my word! It was definitely a week to remember filled with inspiration, from all the friendly students that traveled there for Holly’s course along with the incredible setting, to a fun filled week of activities organized by Angela of Ritchie Ace Camps. Marrakesh is a beautifully stimulating city brimming with culture, mystery, adventure, and of course tasty unique flavours. I found myself savouring and trying desperately to memorize the tastes, textures and fragrance of the many, many incredible dishes I devoured. I was hungry for inspiration and new ideas to share here with you and returned armed with ways to inspire more delicious and unique flavours to make your healthy alkaline journey more desirable. I even managed to find some lovely styling props, surprise surprise! But I left my poor ole sis Yvonne at home….. next time, she’ll be right along side me helping to remember the flavours.

I came home hunting for eggplants to make this yummy eggplant dip called Baba Ghanoush that we ate almost every day somewhere along our journey. I really fell for it and was craving it the moment I returned home thus I was on a mission to make it, so here we have it. You may have tried it before or even picked up the store bought version but I think you’ll enjoy this simple tasty version.

Roasted Eggplant Dip w/ Cumin Dusted Sprouted Grain Tortilla Chips
Yield: Appetizer for 6
For the dip
6 eggplants, 6″ long approx, preferably organic
2 tbsp olive oil + a drizzle
4 cloves garlic, crushed
juice of one lemon
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp cumin
Method
Trim ends and slice eggplants in half length wise and place face down on parchment paper, divided on two baking pans.  Prick eggplant halves with a tooth pick several times to allow steam to escape during cooking.  Roast at 375F for 20-25 mins until inside is soft and tender.  Remove from oven and allow to cool til you can handle them and then scoop flesh out using a large spoon and a fork to steady, scraping the skin well.  Place in food processor with 2 tbsp olive oil, lemon, sea salt, cumin and blend til combined and minced but not pureed, allowing for a bit of texture.  Drizzle with the best olive oil your budget will allow and garnish with parsley for a bit of colour.  Serve alongside toasted tortilla chips

For the Tortilla Chips
1 pkg of 6 sprouted grain tortilla wraps
olive oil
3 tsp sea salt
3/4 tsp cumin
Method
Using a sharp knife or a pizza cutter slice the tortilla into wedges.  Place on baking sheet and brush lightly with olive oil.  In a small bowl, combine salt with cumin and sprinkle on each wedge.  Bake at 375F for 12-15 mins til golden and crisp.  Allow to cool and serve with dip.  To store, place in air tight container for 3-5 days.

On our last night after a special Morrocon feast, Maryam generously presented each of us guests with a gorgeous bottle of her own harvested olive oil, I like to call it “liquid gold”.  I will be using it raw, and very sparingly, for dressings to savour the flavour cuz it’s absolutely divine!  Ohhhhh….. to dream of owning an olive grove!  I drizzled it over the eggplant dip–yum!  It’s soooo yummy one could almost drink it!

Since I managed to find 2 varieties of eggplant I had to try out the gorgeous long, vibrant violet, Chinese ones.  So….. I peeled 2 of them, diced them up, tossed them with 2 cloves of crushed garlic, 3 tbsp of gorgeous olive oil, a sprinkle of sea salt and roasted them on parchment for about 15-20 mins.  Oh my word, they were like candy!  After letting them cool somewhat I tossed them on a bed of greens with some roasted red peppers, chopped olives, a pinch of sea salt, and then drizzled with Maryam’s olive oil,  and ooohh la la la!  This is a great way to get your raw quotient in a meal by combining the cooked veggies with the greens–add nuts too if you wish for extra protein.  Here they are in the bowl below before they were completely devoured.  I might mention that if you are thinking of trying this the yield is very small, only about 1 1/4  cups,  so either double the ingredients above or find a dark corner where you can hide and nibble them on your own!

The many sites of Morocco are all incredibly photo worthy, thus I took way too many photos, making this post ever so difficult while I analyzed hundreds of photos trying to choose my faves to share with you.  I grouped the collages below to simplify my selections. The first one is scenes of Morrocon retail life in the souk or the market place where the trades of the locals are showcased in a variety of shops, stalls and makeshift selling locations such as the brick wall. The souk is just brimming with the hand crafted wares of the local people, readily available to us tourists who can’t get enough of the glorious detail and vivid colours.  From gorgeous rugs, to leather slippers, bags and belts, spices galore and textiles including felt and cotton beads, scarves, kaftans, even silver teapots and trays, we didn’t know what to shop for next!  But you need to know how to shop for good value, bartering is the way here.  It was tricky, yet I felt the desire to support them for their costs with out pushing the bartering business too far.  Perhaps some would say I paid too much but it’s what you are comfortable with.

Scenes of Morrocon Retail Life at the Souk

The next two collages are some lovely close ups of the wares for sale.  I can’t resist the textures and the pattern when you zoom in so this is my close up account of what was for sale at the souk.

Pretty yummy hey?  I managed to bring home a fez–the traditional Moroccon hat with the tassel.  Elliott loved it and has been parading around in.  The spices were endless.  Stall after stall of heaping baskets, pails and bins ready for the taking, bursting with flavour for adding to yummy tagine dishes.

This next collage is a collection of the incredible patterns. I have a fetish for close up texture and pattern and find myself on every photographic journey taking many shots like these and the ones above at the market that tell the story of my trip.  But what happens when I get focused on these kinds of shots is that I forget to take the wider perspective sometimes-oops!  I still have lots but not the same kind of shots that say Holly of Decor8 took.  She featured our trip to Marrakesh in this post here that you might like to check out.  You’ll see the Peacock Pavilions boutique hotel and the lovely room that I stayed in.

These patterns adorned everything including, floor & wall tiles, wooden doors, table tops, carved walls & ceilings, railings, concrete floor patterns, rugs, fabrics, it was absolutely, endlessly, gorgeous!  I think this combination is pretty enough for a poster, don’t you think?  Below are a few collages of some of the snap shots from the beautiful Peacock Pavilions thru my camera lens.

Now this last collage is a few snap shots of the yummy Morrocon cuisine that I enjoyed.  It was easy to find vegan or vegetarian options and Maryam and her staff were soooo accommodating for my entire week.  Honestly, I dined like royalty.  The best part– there was no prep and no clean up!  Tagines are used for cooking most everything, you can see the lovely conical shaped baking dishes.  Vegetables and or proteins are simmered for hours with an array of interesting spice combinations in these dishes.  It isn’t a raw or lightly cooked way of preparing precious vegetables but it was delicious.  I hope to inspire you with my own versions of Morrocon fare with a more alkaline perspective, so watch out!

Phew!  If you made it to the bottom here I commend you!  I hope you enjoyed this photographic journey to Marrakesh and you are as hungry for Baba Ghanoush as I am.  If you have been to Marrakesh before I would love to hear how you liked it.  And, if you make the eggplant dip drop me a line and let me know how you made out or if you were creative with it and jazzed it up.

I’m glad to be back to blogging weekly after the trip cuz I really missed it-am I crazy or what?  I just love this job of inspiring healthy living:)

I hope you have a really great week and a Happy Halloween–beware of all the sugary treats:)

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{ 22 comments }

Maria @ Scandifoodie October 28, 2010 at 11:51 am

Gorgeous photos! And the dip sounds amazing! I’ve never tried sprouted grain tortilla wraps, but will definitely look them up next time I’m shopping 🙂

Julie October 28, 2010 at 11:55 am

Wow sister, you are fast, I just uploaded this entire novel on Marrakesh! Thanx for checking it out! You will probably only find the sprouted grain tortillas at a health food store and also surprisingly Costco carried them for a while too! You can interchange the whole grain kind but read the ingredients for nasties first.

Tiffany ~ The Fancy Farmgirl October 28, 2010 at 11:59 am

Beautiful post julie!! It was so fun meeting you and sharing in this amazing experience together!
Can’t wait to try some of your recipes!
xoxo, Tiffany

Julie October 28, 2010 at 12:02 pm

Tiffany, It was a delight to meet you too- love your site and your blog- I will need to come down sometime- maybe even for a family photo shoot!!
Hugs Julie

Leslie October 28, 2010 at 12:03 pm

Holy smokes! extensive and gorgeous post on Morocco! Thanks for a great recipe -I will try it out soon. I love the collage of all the patterns. It is so fun to see them all together like that. I am anxiously awaiting my olive oil as it got shipped with my few wares. Beautiful work Jules!

Julie October 28, 2010 at 7:04 pm

Awe Thanx Les. It was fun to create, especially the pattern one cuz I love close up textures. And that olive oil, it’s the bomb! It tastes like delicious liquid olives in a bottle-which is really what it is but most olive oils don’t have any flavour at all. I wish I could order a case or two-wonder if Maryam would send it on the slow boat for me! It’s that good! And I know it’s good for my health too!

leigh standley October 28, 2010 at 12:13 pm

wow! great collages! it’s fun to see the different photographic “eyes” we all have. your props are gorgeous! can’t wait to make some baba!!
thanks!

Julie October 28, 2010 at 6:56 pm

Leigh, thanx. It was fun to pour over the photos and choose my faves and I loved doing the pattern collage-so visually pleasing for me-I just might have to have it printed out and mounted some way-any thoughts? Bet you can’t guess where I got the props?? Hee… some shopping spree somewhere, can’t really recall;)

Hilda October 28, 2010 at 1:11 pm

I love your collages Julie, especially the one with the patterns. Baba Ghanoush is one of my favorite things to eat on the fly. I’d love to visit Maryam at PP one of these days, it’s a treat to see everyone’s pictures and have a better overall vision of the place from her tweets and posts.

Julie October 28, 2010 at 6:46 pm

Hey Hilda, how are you? Nice to hear from you. Do you make your own Baba? I’ve had the store version and it’s not nearly as nice so now I am addicted. It’s really so easy to make too! Between all of us on the retreat, I think we shot enough pictures to really show PP to the world. It’s a must see. I’m sure it’ll be hitting the magazine scene soon! Take care.

Natalie October 28, 2010 at 3:01 pm

Julie – I’m drooling! I can’t wait to try this savory recipe and reminisce about our experience in Morocco together. You are a such a doll. I am always looking for new recipes so keep ’em coming! 🙂

Julie October 28, 2010 at 6:51 pm

Natalie, you’re so kind:) The baba tasted so yummy and yes was a reminder of our lovely week. I love how flavours and smells take you away. Thanx for visiting.

Collette October 28, 2010 at 5:45 pm

Loved the photos and I’m a huge fan of baba ghanoush. Good stuff. I have not yet been to Morocco but it’s on my list. So much colour there it’s amazing.

Julie October 28, 2010 at 6:40 pm

Collette, thanx for stopping by, checked out your blog and LOVED it! Yes, Morocco is full of wonderful colour and pattern. Now I want to bring some of it into my home:)

Mowie @ Mowielicious October 29, 2010 at 1:20 am

Gorgeous post Julie! Just saw all the photos and love them. Bookmarking to read later, but thought I just had to comment x

kay* October 29, 2010 at 3:56 pm

oh what a wonderful post – your photography is wonderful! i love the way you captured Marrakesh and Peacock Pavilions. i think i would spend far too much money in those souks!

(found your blog via My Marrakesh)

Dan October 31, 2010 at 11:42 am

Your photo’s of your recent trip to Marrakesh are BREATHTAKINGLY AMAZING Julie! Well, well done! The food looks so dang delicious. Can’t wait to try some of these recipes.

Julie October 31, 2010 at 11:52 am

Awe Thanks Dan, you’re so kind. Glad you dropped by to check them out! Let me know what you whip up and how you enjoyed it!

Renate November 4, 2010 at 4:21 am

Arrived here via Maryam’s link. Your photos of Marrakesh are fabulous, the closeups of the fezzes, herbs, tagines etcetera and the patterns are my favourites. So pretty and full of colour.
I’m going to try your recipes asap – I like the idea of the diced aubergine, sounds delicious!!

Julie November 4, 2010 at 7:41 am

Renate, thanx for stopping in. I couldn’t get enough of all the wonderful things to photograph. Honestly, one could spend days and go thru many SD cards in Marrakesh! Do try the aubergine, the long narrow asian one, it was just divine, alone or on the greens. See you again soon:)

Vicki November 4, 2010 at 11:14 am

Ooooh… wow Julie! Your Moroccan trip sounds like it was an adventure of a lifetime! Love, Love your photos. I have never tried making Baba Ghanoush, it is always a favorite at parties. Thanks for the yummy recipe and sharing a glimpse into your travels. xo

Angie March 8, 2011 at 11:13 am

I finally got a chance to make this recipe. It is so delicious. Thanks. Love all the recipes and stunning photos. Keep ’em coming!

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