3 Moroccan recipes to try this week

Indigenous Lentil Soup
Prep time: 35 mins
Serves: 5
Ingredients
250-300gm red lentil
30g onions, sliced
10gm garlic, chopped
30gm celery, chopped
30gm leek, chopped
30gm carrot, chopped
1tsp cumin powder
2tbsp oil
1l veg stock
Salt and pepper to taste
Method
Heat a medium-sized sauce pan, add oil and sauté the onion, garlic, celery, leeks and carrot, till they become translucent.
Add cumin powder and mix well. Add the lentil and the stock mix and let it cook on low flame till soft. Add salt and pepper and blend well. Strain and serve.

Morrocan Vegetable Couscous
Prep time: 45 mins
Serves: 5
Ingredients
250-300gm couscous
100gm green and yellow zucchini, chopped
100gm mixed bell pepper, chopped
50gm onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
200gm carrot, chopped
200gm leek, chopped
200-250gm tomato pelati (tinned tomatoes, peeled)
150gm butter
2 bay leaves
50gm raisins
Lemon thyme to taste
Salt and pepper to taste
Method
Heat butter in a pot and add bay leaf, garlic and onion and sauté for a while. Add carrots and leeks and let it cook. Add the bell pepper and cook for about 2-3 minutes. Add the zucchini, tomato pelati, salt and pepper. Finally add lemon thyme and the raisins.
In a big vessel, boil water, add salt and the couscous. Add a generous helping of butter and cover and cook for about 10 mins.
Keep warm and serve with vegetables.
Note: For 1 cup dry couscous, use 1.5cups of water.

Date Cake
Prep time: 60 mins
Serves: 10
Date Cake
Ingredients
For cake
250gm dates (deseeded)
300ml water
10gm baking soda
115gm brown sugar
5 eggs
150ml corn oil
140gm flour
For caramel sauce:
500gm sugar
500ml cream
50gm butter
Method
Boil the water and dates. When the dates become soft, add baking soda and keep aside to cool.
Whip the brown sugar and eggs to ribbon stage (the mixture should be pale yellow, almost white in colour. When the whisk is lifted over the mixture, the batter should fall slowly forming a ribbon that will hold its shape for a few minutes).
Add corn oil gradually and then add the flour. Slowly add the date mixture to the batter. Bake in a pan at 180°C for 15-20 mins.
For the sauce, caramelise the sugar and slowly add the cream. Add the butter in the end.
Drizzle the sauce over the cake while serving.