It doesn’t take long – a few days sometimes, a week at most – when I begin craving what I had been eating on a recent trip. From in and around Marrakech last week it was a simple finger “salad” of Moroccan Carrots with Cumin that I first begin to desire back in Barcelona.

For dinner the other night I cut the carrots into rounds, blanched them, and then began tinkering with the spices and oil and lemon juice to get that (in my mouth) just-right tang of cumin of the ones I ate at La Maison Arabe with retaining an underlying sweetness like the ones from Amanjena.

The came out well, though the next day, properly chilled, there were even better – and closer to the taste I had been aiming. I ate them for lunch as a lead into to a bowl of (equally chilled) gazpacho. Perfect for the warm summer day but also my mood.

I am making them again in a few days’ time to take to a dinner we’re attending, and will continue to hone the recipe. Then, perhaps, I will post it here.

In the meantime, a lamb tajine with caramelized onions from Terres d’Amanar, in the western flanks of the High Atlas, is the second craving. I’ve drafted out the recipe and am off to the market. It’ll be tomorrow’s lunch.

Squid in Maputo’s Mercado Municipal. April 2009 © Jeff Koehler.

In Maputo’s Mercado Municipal. April 2009 © Jeff Koehler.

Alba breakfasting on a bikini and orange juice in the market. © Jeff Koehler

We returned home yesterday after a few weeks away and the first order of business this morning was to go to the market.

Maia was still sleeping so I took just Alba. We browsed the stalls to get an idea of what looked good and then ate bikinis (essentially toasted ham and cheese sandwiches) in the market’s café for breakfast. While we ate we talked about what sounded good for the next couple of meals. Then taking our time, and chatting with the stall owners, we bought the makings of a good soup for lunch plus, for dinner, a half dozen croquetas de bacalao (salt cod croquettes) made this morning by the old woman who sells salt cod. We bought some acelgas (chard) to sauté with chickpeas to go with the the croquetas, some pears, and a few kilos of clementinas, and then a dozen items to restock the larder – almonds, pine nuts, chorizo, cured jamón, a wedge of aged, nutty Manchego cheese, and the like. I have a weakness for olives and Alba kept me to just three varieties —vivid green ones from Campo Real, small arbequinas from Les Garrigues, and tender, almond shaped black ones from Aragón.

Strolling home in the cold winter sun, we talked about what we bought, but also what we forgot. Those items we missed don’t matter. We’ll be back in the market within a day or two.