Cucumber and Sour Cream Salad:1 English cucumber sliced very thin on mandolin.
1/2 cup sour cream.
2 tbs white wine vinegar or rice wine vinegar.
1 tbs sugar.
1 tbs parsley chopped fine.
1 tbs cilantro chopped fine.
1 tbs mint chopped fine (optional).
2 splashed Tabasco.
Salt and cracked black pepper to taste.
Slice cucumbers thin in mandolin. Place in colander salt and place a weighted plate on top for 1/2 hour to drain. Mix together sour cream, vinegar, sugar, herbs Tabasco . Add to drain cucumbers. Salt and pepper to taste.
This week with the French Friday with Dorie group we went to Morocco with a traditional Bistilla. A sweet and savory chicken filled pie.
When I think of Morocco I think of it as the doorway between Europe and Africa. I see Its palm trees, Argan oil, honey, nuts and raisins...Its beautiful places like Tangier's, Casablanca and Marrakesh...Its rich spices of saffron, mint, cinnamon, ginger, paprika, coriander...Its lovely oranges, olives and lemons.
This dish didn't disappoint. Both savory and sweet, wrapped in the thinnest of pastry. It has an incredible blend of tastes and textures. All of which reminded me of Moroccan cuisine. Aromatic cinnamon, exotic saffron, sweet cilantro, pungent ginger, sweet honey and crunchy almond which I flavored with orange flower water. Not to mention that this is a do ahead dish, great for entertaining. With that being said, how can you go wrong! We enjoyed this with a crisp citrusy white wine and a perfect cucumber salad which went extremely well with the Bistilla.
As with all my Friday post I will not be posting the recipe but it can be found in Dorie's great and user friendly cookbook: Around my French Table.
"Rooted in Africa, watered by Islam and rustled by the winds of Europe." Morocco appears mystical, magical and foreboding all at once. Kinda makes me want to go there!
Enjoy!
I just took mine out of the oven and it smells divine. Yours is gorgeous, and the cucumber salad sounds like it would go perfectly with it. :)
ReplyDeleteAnother fabulous dish Beth. I love Moroccon food, adore it actually. Would love to make this dish.
ReplyDeleteWow, Beth. Another great accompaniment to the FFwD selection. And I love, love, love, love those dishes.
ReplyDeleteI would love to go to Morocco some day. Your Bistilla looks wonderful and the pairing with the Cucumber and Sour Cream Salad sounds perfect. Your photo just makes me want to sit down at your table. Lovely!
ReplyDeleteOh twin. I'm hopeless. I couldn't get to this recipe this week and I so wanted to. Perhaps this weekend? Will it still count? lol. Cukes are perfect to go with as well.
ReplyDeleteGood Morning everyone. Thank you for stopping in and leaving such nice comments. Trevor get your a@#$% in gear.B:)
ReplyDeleteLove the sound of these two dishes together. I'm definitely trying out that salad - yum! :)
ReplyDeleteDid you know the movie Casablanca was actually filmed in Tangiers?
ReplyDeleteAnyway, very much enjoyed your post, as always! Hope you do get to go to Morocco someday--it's magical and mystical as you've described. I loved the exotic designs so much, when we built out house, I made sure there was a touch of Moorish flavor in it. :)
t.t I am envious that you have been there. Such a mysterious sounding place. Thanks for the comment.B:)
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for the cucumber & sour cream salad recipe! As I was eating the pie, I kept wondering what side dish would work with the flavors. Great post!
ReplyDeleteElizabeth! It's 11 in the morning, I'm starving, and these photos made me drool. I could smell that filling and feel the slight give and crunch of the pastry. I'm gonna go search for Moroccan food for lunch. Nice post! And your pairings are always perfect complements.
ReplyDeleteThanks Michele!! It's nice to be acknowleded by a Ten Speed executive. Thanks for coming by. B:)
ReplyDeleteGreat post, I especially like how you write about the Moroccan cuisine!
ReplyDeleteFood has that special quality to transport one to a different place. This dish totally reminded me of trip to Morocco years ago. I love the platter you used! Very appropriate for the theme.
ReplyDeleteThis looks beautiful, and I can almost smell it from your description! I am finding Fridays a hard day to blog, so I need to get next week's recipe made this weekend!
ReplyDelete:)
This sounds, and looks delicious. I read about the recipe on another blog and realized how much my family would love this moroccan style dish.
ReplyDeleteI too loved all the spices and the sweet and spicy together. New flavors for us, but surprised at how well we enjoyed this dish which was unusual for our family.
ReplyDeleteIt's good to be back with FFwD! I've missed everyone! Your b'stilla looks fantastic and I just picked up some cucumbers from the market today so I'll have to give your salad a try! It's so hot here that all I want to eat are cool salads anyway! ~Laura
ReplyDeleteLaura! I'm glad you are all settled in. I wish I was I was enjoying your heat. Enjoy your new adventure! B:)
ReplyDeleteBeth, your dishes always look so grown-up and elegant. :) And that cucumber salad looks very cool - perfect for our hot weather at the moment!
ReplyDeleteI love your description of Morocco..it makes me want to go there too! Your food looks great, Im glad you enjoyed!
ReplyDeleteLooks delicious! I love how descriptive your writing is! :)
ReplyDeleteWell twin, I finally got mine up. I didn't have much to say though 'cause my mouth was too full.
ReplyDeleteTrevor Sis. Boom.
Your take on this dish looks amazing!
ReplyDeleteBeth I'm going to try that cucumber salad. Hmmm looks delish! I so enjoy your blog that I awarded you a Stylish Blogger Award on my blog. Play along as much as you'd like. You rock sista!
ReplyDeleteAllison You are so sweet I'm honoured that you would think of me. Thank you! Eliana!!! How are you? Thanks for stopping by. B:)
ReplyDeleteNice pairing with the b'stilla! I served mine with a salad also, I still have to post it. Ah, I would love tovisit Morocco ... well, it'son my very long list, that's for sure.
ReplyDeleteI didn't have time to make this dish, but I am determined to do it soon. I love your dishes and I want me some!
ReplyDeleteI always wanted to go to Morocco...I guess I am not alone:)
The cucumber salad sounds like a perfect pairing. We had ours with a simple salad.
ReplyDeleteFFwD makes me want to travel, too. I'd have to start in Paris, make a jaunt through Brittany, then go to Spain and Morocco via Basque country.