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Who doesn’t like eating a nice salad during a balmy summer evening?

That’s why we share three recipes of delicious Moroccan salads. These salads are full of vegetables and have one ingredient in common: Argan oil. But not the cosmetic argan oil that is used for taking care of the skin and hair. In these salads we use culinary argan oil.

What is culinary argan oil?

Culinary Argan Oil is just a little different than cosmetic argan oil. The argan kernels that are processed into culinary argan oil are roasted. This process creates a delicious nutty scent and taste. This makes culinary argan oil such a fine addition to dishes. And then I haven’t even talked about how healthy culinary argan oil is. The oil is full of vitamin E and has a high content of unsaturated omega fatty acids. This ensures regular consumption of argan oil, for example, for a stronger defense mechanism, improved circulation and lower cholesterol levels.

Cold applications

Culinary Argan oil is not suitable for heating. This ensures that odor, taste and good properties of the oil are lost, and we would like to avoid that. The oil can be added to hot dishes, but only when the fire is off. In addition, culinary argan oil is naturally suitable to add to cold or lukewarm dishes, such as beetroot salad, couscous salad and Zaalouk. All dishes that are easy to prepare, but which, thanks to the addition of culinary argan oil, are deliciously rich in taste.

Recipe I: Beetroot salad

The Red beet salad: A typical Moroccan dish that is often eaten as a side dish, for example with potatoes from the oven and a grilled fish. You can eat beet salad naturally all year round, but the best is this salad when the weather is warm. The apple gives this salad a fresh twist, and the pieces of walnut give the salad a nice crunch. Let your taste buds do the work and enjoy.

Ingredients

• 4 precooked beets
• 1 apple
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons argan oil
• 1 teaspoon of ground cumin
• 2 tablespoons parsley, chopped
• Pinch of cinnamon
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Crumbled walnuts
• Arugula

Preparation

1. We start making the dressing. In a dish, mix the lemon juice with the argan oil and add the cumin, the chopped parsley and the pinch of cinnamon. Mix the ingredients with a spoon or fork.
2. Wash the precooked beets and get rid the beets of the skin. Cut the top and bottom of the beet off and cut the beets into cubes the size of a dice. Place it in and bowl or bowl. Place it in and bowl or bowl.
3. Wash the apple and peel it. Also cut the apple cubes to the size of the dice and add them to the red beets.
4. Now add the dressing to the diced beetroot and apple, and mix the ingredients well together. Add salt and pepper to taste.
5. Serve the beetroot salad on a scale. Cover the soil with arugula. Now place the beet mixture on the arugula.
6. Garnish the salad by dividing crumbled walnuts on top.

Recipe II: Couscous salad

You can always eat couscous salad. This salad is perfect as a lunch meal, but is also delicious as a head or side dish in the evening And what is also so useful: couscous salad is quick to make and is nice and colorful and healthy. You can of course stick to this recipe, but you can also certainly vary with the ingredients. Have fun!

Ingredients

• 200 grams of couscous
• 500 ml vegetable broth
• 1 teaspoon of chili powder
• 1 teaspoon of turmeric
• A handful of dried apricots or a handful of raisins (or both)
• 250 grams of tomatoes, such as cherry tomatoes or cream tomatoes
• 1 red or yellow pepper
• 2 spring onions
• Leaves of a few sprigs of fresh mint, finely chopped
• Leaves of a few sprigs of fresh pepper, finely chopped
• 5 tablespoons of pine nuts
• Large splash of argan oil

Preparation

1. Place the couscous in a large bowl and make the vegetable stock. Then add the stock a little at a time to the couscous, while stirring the couscous with a fork. The couscous is now slowly and surely cooked. During this process, add the chili powder and turmeric.
2. Meanwhile, the apricots and / or raisins in hot water for 10 to 15 minutes. Then drain the water.
3. Wash the vegetables. Cut the tomatoes in half and cut the bell pepper into pieces. Cut the spring onions into thin rings and finely chop the fresh herbs.
4. Roast the pine nuts in a dry frying pan until golden brown. Make sure they do not turn black.
5. Mix the couscous, dried fruit and vegetables together in a bowl or bowl.
6. Now to add the seasoning of this dish: argan oil. Spread a large splash of argan oil over the salad.
7. Only when you are going to serve the couscous salad, add the roasted pine nuts.
8. Fancy something different? For example, add pistachio nuts or pomegranate seeds to the couscous salad.

If you don’t get it all, no problem: the salad is also tasty the next day.

Recipe III: Zaalouk

Zaalouk is the Moroccan name for eggplant salad. A herbal salad that is usually eaten as a dip. Of course, eggplant takes center stage in this salad, but the herbs and argan oil are what make this salad so flavorful. Unlike the previous two salads in this blog, all the ingredients in this recipe are heated in a pan. That is why we use a dash of olive oil in addition to argan oil in this dish.

Ingredients

• 2 large aubergines
• 2 tomatoes
• 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• Fresh coriander leaves, finely chopped
• Dash olive oil
• 1 teaspoon pepper powder
• 1 teaspoon of ground cumin
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 to 2 tablespoons of argan oil

Preparation

1. Wash the aubergines and tomatoes. There is no need to peel these vegetables. Remove the top and bottom of the aubergine and cut the aubergine into cubes. Remove the hard part from the tomato and cut the tomato into cubes just like the aubergine.
2. Finely chop the garlic and finely chop the coriander leaves. Keep a few leaves of coriander for garnish.
3. Heat a drizzle of olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add the aubergine, tomato, garlic and coriander and stir the ingredients.
4. Add the pepper powder and ground cumin. Stir the spices well into the vegetables.
5. Add a splash of water to the mixture, cover the pan and let the vegetables simmer until soft. This takes about 20 to 25 minutes. Stir every now and then.
6. Now lower the heat and puree the mixture with a hand blender. Put the pan on a low heat for a while, so that the mixture becomes a bit thicker. Now turn off the heat and place the mixture in a bowl.
7. Add salt and pepper to taste and finish the dip with 1 to 2 tablespoons of argan oil. Garnish the zaalouk with a few leaves of coriander.
8. Serve the zaalouk at room temperature. You can dip in it, but you can also eat zaalouk on a sandwich.

We hope to have inspired you with these recipes, and we are very curious if you will prepare one of these dishes! Will you let us know in the comments?