Recipes Sandy Crooks, Images Vicki Ravlich-Horan
Sandy Crooks is well known for her creative cafe food, cooking classes (at Clarke Road Kitchen) and, more recently, wonderful tours with Soulful Escapes. Bali is a spot Sandy knows well and has been a huge hit as a tour destination for Soulful Escapes. More exciting countries are on the horizon, including Morocco this September.
Sandy promises over two weeks of great food, shopping, culture and colour! To get you in the mood, she has shared these Moroccan recipes.
Zesty Moroccan Chopped Salad
2 green capsicums, diced small
1 small red onion, finely diced
juice of half lemon
4–5 medium tomatoes, seeded and diced small
½ cucumber, seeded and diced small
2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
2 tbsp fresh coriander, chopped
½ tsp ground cumin
½ tsp fine sea salt
¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
3 tbsp olive oil
Place the diced onion into a bowl and squeeze over the lemon juice. Let it marinate while you dice up the other salad bits. This takes out the sharp bite and lightly pickles the onion.
Once you have diced the tomatoes, cucumber and green c, add these to the bowl with the red onion.
Lastly add the chopped fresh parsley and coriander. Sprinkle over the cumin, salt and pepper. Drizzle in the olive oil and toss. Check the seasoning and lemon juice, adjust to desired taste. Serve.
Moroccan Chickpea Salad
2 cans chickpeas, drained
2 cups grated carrot (approx. 2 carrots depending on the size)
2 cups cooked couscous
50 g rocket
¼ cup shelled pistachio nuts, toasted, then roughly chopped
90 g feta, crumbled
10–12 dates, chopped
3 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
For the Dressing
3 tbsp olive oil
juice of 1 lemon
1 tsp honey
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp paprika
½ tsp ground turmeric
½ tsp ground ginger
½ tsp cinnamon
½ tsp ground coriander
½ tsp salt
½ tsp ground white pepper
½ tsp cayenne pepper
Place all the dressing ingredients in a jar with a screw top lid. Put the lid on and shake well. Taste and add extra salt to balance it out.
Place the chickpeas and grated carrot into a bowl. Fluff the couscous with a fork and add to the chickpeas.
Pour about two-thirds of the dressing into the chickpeas and stir to combine. Set aside for about 30 minutes so the dressing can mellow and blend with the salad ingredients.
As you’re about to serve, scatter the rocket, pistachios, feta, dates and parsley over the top of the salad. Place into your favourite salad bowl and drizzle with extra dressing and some extra chopped parsley. Serve.
Moroccan Beef Stew with Ras el Hanout
1 kg diced stewing beef
salt
¼ cup olive oil, divided
2 onions, diced
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tbsp tomato paste
2 tsp ras el hanout (available at Vetro)
2 cups beef stock
2 tsp honey
1 small bunch fresh coriander, tied with kitchen string into a bundle, plus extra chopped, for serving
2–3 large handfuls baby spinach
Pat beef dry with paper towels and season all over with salt. In a large Le Creuset or ovenproof tagine or heavy bottom saucepan, heat 1 tbsp oil over medium-high heat until simmering. Add half the beef and cook, turning occasionally until well browned on all sides, 8–10 minutes, then transfer to a large plate. Repeat with the remaining beef, again transferring to the plate once done.
Now reduce the heat to medium and add remaining 2 tbsp oil. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and just beginning to brown, 3–5 minutes. Add garlic, tomato paste and ras el hanout and cook, stirring occasionally, until fragrant, 1–2 minutes. Return seared beef to the pot and add stock, 1 tsp salt and honey and stir to combine.
Add the coriander bundle, increase heat to medium-high and bring to a boil, then cover pot, reduce heat to low and simmer, adjusting heat as needed to maintain a gentle simmer, until beef is fork-tender, 2 ½ –3 hours; stir every 30 minutes or so to prevent sauce from sticking to the bottom of the pot. If you find it a bit runny, you can add a little cornflour and water mix to the stew if you want it slightly thicker.
Lastly, take out the coriander bundle, add the baby spinach, adjust the seasoning. Sprinkle with the extra chopped coriander and serve with couscous or rice.
Note: Ras el hanout is a Moroccan spice blend. You can make your own or purchase it from delis, spice shops and some supermarkets.
Morocco with Sandy from Soulful Escapes
Roll on September 2026 for a fun filled trip of culture, mountains, desert fun, riads, great food, plenty of colour, shopping and much, much more. There are two trips going back-to-back:
2 September – 21 September 2026
17 September – 6 October 2026
(option to visit Lisbon, Portugal on the way home)
For more information, email: soulfulescapesnz@gmail.com or pop into Clarke Road Kitchen and have a chat.
