The Ziz valley and Berber Pizza…..
Admin on May 03 2009 at 8:36 pm | Filed under: Food, Moroccan Food, Travel
The road between Midelt and Merzouga is a wonderful drive through a breathtaking landscape. Close to Er-Rachidia, you can see the turquoise blue waters of the Barrage Hassan Adakhil against the dark brown outcrops of the mountains.
You wind your way through the Ziz Gorges, passing derelict Ksours and people going about their lives.
Once you head down from the desert plateau from Er-Rachidia you catch a glimpse of the amazing sight of the palmeraie that carves its way through the valley. My photos do it no justice whatsoever.
You can quite literally stop every few kilometres and marvel at this oasis that is the lifeline of the valley!! Of course every time you stop for longer than a few seconds stop you get bombarded by the local children shouting “bon bon” (sweets). They quite seem to appear out of nowhere, clambering up the gorge and it is very hard not to give in to their pleas….I know…I know..!!!!!!
We stopped for lunch in the town of Erfoud. Now Erfoud up until a few years ago used to be the centre of tourism in the region and the gateway to the dunes, before they finished the tar road all the way to Merzouga at the foot of the dunes.
I again had the Kalia, but somewhat different this time, made with mutton, tomato sauce and the egg cracked in the middle just before the end of the cooking. Again it was delicious!
My husband had the Medfouna, a dish more commonly known as Berber Pizza! It is a fantastic dish, quite unlike anything we had eaten in Morocco before. Basically it is similar to a calzone.
Dough, filled with mutton, onions, parsley, coriander and onions baked in a wood fired oven. It was simple yet delicious!
As much as I would like to, I cannot imagine I will get around to making this in the near future, so if anyone is keen to try it out I found two recipe links if you like, this one on the BBC site by the Hairy Bikers. Their version is made with fillet steak. The other is a vegetarian version.
From Erfoud, you pass through the small town of Rissani with its sand-colour walls…..
and magnificent gates…..
and then after a few more kilometres of tempting little places to stop…
the customary sign that you would find expect to find in this part of the world….
look out as there will be quite a few of these ahead!!!!
That Berber pizza looks fascinating, as does that incredible oasis! And there is no way I would be able to pass that roadside shop with the bright cloths without stopping
Thought about you over the weekend as I had a late lunch at a fabulous Moroccan restaurant in London, Momo. Felt as if I’d been on a little mini-break!