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If you truly want to understand the culture of Morocco, a cooking class is one of the best things to do while in the country. After traveling Morocco from North to South, we were excited to finally learn how to cook some of our favorite Moroccan dishes.
Mouthwatering tangines, hearty plates of couscous, rich soups and desserts, the list of good food doesn’t end. It was our last day in Marrakesh and we knew we couldn’t leave the country without attending a class.
Being a massive fan of the website, we decided to hop on Cookly to find ourselves a cooking class to end our time in Marrakesh. As always, their platform was easy to use and gave us a bunch of different choices that would work with our schedule. As some of the cooking classes in Marrakesh don’t have full websites, I liked seeing all our options laid out in one screen which allowed me to choose which one to go with.
We had used Cookly in Thailand and Barcelona and love the curated list of cooking experiences that they have listed on there. We decided to go with the well-rated cooking class offered by Cafe Clock which we heard amazing things about. We booked the experience and promptly received our confirmation emails. If you want to see the other cooking classes offered in Marrakesh, check out the link below.
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We weaved our way around a labyrinth of souks and local markets to finally arrive at Cafe Clock. We met up with the head chef of Cafe Clock, Mohammed who walked us through our menu options. What I love most about Moroccan cuisine is the rich sauces, fragrant spices, and elaborate way of cooking. Every dish that we made that day took loads of time and was made from fresh ingredients.
For our cooking class, we had to choose one starter, one soup, one main, and one dessert. We couldn’t decide what to make for our main dish so Mohammed allowed us to choose two different dishes between the two couples who were attending the class.
Our Menu Options:
Salad:
Zalouk (roasted aubergine with spices)
Soup:
Bissara (split pea or broad bean soup with spices, garlic, and olive oil. We chose this particular soup as Chef Mohammed said it was his mother’s recipe.
Mains:
Tandine bl’khodra (lamb tangine with seasonal vegetables
B’stella b l’hout (Fish bastilla)
Dessert:
Ghriba d l’zsel (honey coconut macaroons)
These little balls of goodness were to die for! Best eaten with the spiced coffee served at Cafe Clock!
After we’ve made our menu picks, we wandered to the nearby local markets and stalls around the restaurant to source some local vegetables and products. I love that the restaurant is able to give back to the surrounding local community by sourcing their ingredients from them.
Everything from a butcher to a small shop to buy vegetables, we wandered around to see what was available and bought only items that were in season. One of the things that the chef said which stood out for me was when he pointed out that one of the most beautiful things about Moroccan cuisine is the freshness of ingredients.
Our morning haul! Fresh produce of seasonal veg for our tagine.
Out of everything that we made, nothing was frozen, packaged, or processed. We headed back to the rooftop terrace of Cafe Clock where we had our little cooking area and began to work. I have to say that out of all the cooking classes that we’ve done, this one really puts you to work, allowing you to handle and prep all the ingredients that you use.
Unlike other classes where all the ingredients are pre-cut and prepped, Chef walked us how to prepare each one, dividing the tasks between us all. For the next hour, we peeled, chopped, marinated, and braised a bunch of different things, allowing us to really experience the hard work that goes into cooking these elaborate meals.
I also loved the intimate setting that we had as we met a lady in our riad the day before who mentioned that she had attended a cooking class with over 15 people. Chef Mohammed gave us clear instructions and told us tales about Moroccan food and its cuisine.
The Cooking Process
One of the things that I learned is that Moroccan food takes time. If you want the flavors and spices to really come out, you need to take the time to cook your dish. Everything from the roasting of the aubergines to slowly cooking the lamb in the tangine for 3 hours was a labor of love.
It reminded me of what real home cooking is like and suddenly made me ever so slightly nostalgic about meals at home eaten with family.
Spices that we had procured from the market not too long ago were combined to marinate the meat and vegetables. Beans were being boiled and the lamb was slowly cooking. The medley of flavors and aromas filled the kitchen, causing us to excitedly chatter as we anticipated our meal.
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After toiling away in the kitchen for a couple of hours, we sat up on the rooftop terrace of Cafe Clock and eagerly awaited our meal. As we had cooked as a group, chef Mohammed plated it up for us family style to enjoy. As soon as the food arrived, the mindless chatter stopped and we all just started eating.
If I say so myself, everything was top notch! The lamb was tender and flavorful, the bastilla was crisp on the outside yet tender on the inside. Out of everything we made, the Zalouk salad was probably our favorite as it had managed to turn such a simple dish (roaster aubergine) to a rich and flavor-filled meal. It was unreal!
Our melt-in-your-mouth tangine with seasonal vegetables
In typical Moroccan fashion, we ate (and ate…and ate), had mint tea, and ate some more! There was honestly enough food to feed another 4 people! Ultimately, I was happy with our cooking class of choice and was happy we got to find one that suited our schedule thanks to Cookly!
Our time attending a cooking class in Marakkesh was incredible. I only wish I had enough space in my backpack to take some spices home with me! We left the place full to the brim armed with a cookbook full of all the yummy recipes that we tried that day.
Fish Bastilla
And while true Moroccan cuisine is usually slow-cooked for hours at a time, Chef Mohammed also gave us tips on how to replicate some dishes using a pressure cooker at home. Once we settle down in a place, I will eagerly bust out my Cafe Clock recipe cookbook and attempt to replicate the mouthwatering flavors that we had that day.
If you want to book this particular class, click the button below to see details, read reviews, and more.
