Von Kairo bis Marrakesch

Cooking course in German
From Cairo to Marrakech
North African cuisine
with Lisa Shoemaker

Immerse yourself in the flavors of the Maghreb with us! This is where the influences of Berbers, Ottomans, French and Sub-Saharan Africa meet - and you can taste it: ras-el-hanout, salted lemons, chermoula, harissa and couscous have long since found their way into our kitchens.

We start in Egypt with ful medammmes, a Coptic dish made from broad beans, which we top with delicious homemade dukkah.

Then it's time to cook in groups of two:

• Tunisian mechouia and Moroccan orange salad
• Chermoula - a Moroccan herb and spice marinade in which we marinate fish and zucchinis before cooking everything in the oven until tender.
• Lamb tagine with ras-el-hanout and sweet apricots

Our joint project: vegetable couscous, fresh and aromatic.

The crowning glory is rice pudding with pistachios and cardamom - the perfect way to round off the trip.

Menu:

• Tunisian mechouia and Moroccan orange salad
• Chermoula: Fish with salt lemons and saffron
• Lamb tagine with prunes
• Ful medammis - broad bean puree
• Cousous with vegetables
• Rice pudding with pistachio and cardamom

Lisa Shoemaker

Lisa's culinary coming-of-age was multicultural long before the term even existed. Her mother was to blame - of course - as a lecturer in German as a foreign language who liked to invite her students to her 200 square meter Charlottenburg apartment. Mom provided the drinks, the students cooked and little Lisa was assigned to help in the kitchen. Korean nurses ensured increased TriTop consumption due to the spiciness of their dishes, Lisa made rice balls with canned tuna with the Japanese, and after Mum had experienced the Maghreb alone in her Peugeot 404 and then Turkey the following year, it was mainly students from the southern and eastern Mediterranean regions who had to show off their cooking skills at the Shoemaker home. Chickpeas were boiled until soft, couscous steamed and vine leaves wrapped. Israelis and Palestinians did not primarily discuss politics, but whether the salad typical of the region was Israeli or Palestinian. Lisa never let go of this early oriental influence.

Lisa Shoemaker came second in the ideas competition organized by the state of Berlin as part of its Zero Waste Strategy 2021. The sustainable use of food and energy is very important to Lisa and she enthusiastically passes on her experimentally acquired knowledge in all her cooking courses. And, of course, she cooks with organic food, using seasonal and regional produce wherever possible.