Moroccan cuisine

The last time I visited Morocco was over 20 years ago: the Hideous Kinky era, if you will. Then, the hustlers were plentiful, and there was still a sizeable community of lost European hipsters, high on Paul Bowles's novels and kif. It had the air of a place where anything could happen.

Returning two decades later, Morocco has a different feel. It has modernised and glamorised - indeed, one might argue that "brand Morocco" has leapt from ethno-tat to fashion central. "You won't recognise it," said Tony Kitous, owner of Pasha, the new Moroccan restaurant that opens this week in London, as we land in Casablanca on that airfield.

We are in Morocco with Pasha's chef, David Jones, to source fresh produce, new techniques for the Gloucester Road restaurant and to fine-tune a few recipes. Jones, who comes from a farm near Sheffield, is an indie-loving Northern lad without a Moroccan bone in his body. But he has nurtured a talent for the food of the Magreb - one of the most underrated of world cuisines.

There have long been Moroccan restaurants in the UK. Momo in London's Heddon Street mines the fashionable end of the market, and any number are dotted around London's Ladbroke Grove. But there's still some educating to do, and on this occasion, Jones is investigating the seafood. With a vast coastline that spans the Mediterranean to its north and over 1,500 miles of crashing Atlantic on its western seaboard, Morocco has a seafood culture all of its own.

Sometimes, it consists of fish served as it might be in Spain or France: shrimps with garlic from the griddle, cod and hake rolled in flour and fried, and the barbecued sardine - the fish is such a staple in (omega) Morocco that some households even make bread from it. These are all terrific, of course but Jones is more interested in mining the more sophisticated seafood dishes that are passed on through family tradition in Morocco. "You've got to go into peoples' houses to find these recipes," he says. "This is a cuisine that's passed on through families. Perhaps it's because cooking is linked with family hospitality rather than the restaurant business."

Jones introduces Evelyn Ben-Tolila, a friend of Algerian-born Kitous, who is a Casablancan. "She's also a gifted host," said Kitous: high praise in Morocco, where hospitality is considered an important social skill. Jones has been spending time finessing his dishes in Ben-Tolila's own kitchen: a privilege indeed, as there aren't many who would share their family's culinary wisdom so generously.

The next morning, we go to the Casablanca fish market. The ocean here provides a slightly different kettle of poisson from Europe's, featuring dourades, groupers, snappers, red mullet and scorpion fish as well as sea trout, squid, swordfish and tuna. Then there are the inevitable sardines, the soul of the Moroccan sea, whose oily scent followed us throughout a long weekend.

We are drawn instinctively to the herb stall. "These herbs are so fresh," says Jones, who has a consignment of Moroccan herbs and spices sent over every month. "It's better to get them here than buy the ones from India in supermarkets, which are six months old and have lost half their flavour."

We drive to the seaside 20 miles south of Casablanca, where we are presented with tiny octopuses fried and presented like a bowl of sweets, monkfish kebabs with peppers, skate in harissa (see recipe, right) and broad beans sprinkled with cumin, a condiment as routine as salt and pepper.

The next day in Essouira, it's sea urchins and grilled bass. A flotilla of small fishing boats sit in the harbour, while large trawlers steam back home, full to the gills with fish. The market is behind the harbour, where stalls sell fish for lunch. It's a simple path from boat to stomach on the Moroccan coast.

"People tend to think of Moroccan food as being lamb couscous and meat tajines," says Jones. "But along the coast, it has an incredible seafood theme, this is the flavour I'm hoping to bring home."

Pasha, 1 Gloucester Road, London SW7, tel: 020 7589 7969, www.pasha-restaurant.co.uk. Oliver Bennett flew to Morocco with Royal Air Maroc. For bookings tel: 020 7307 5800 or go to www.royalairmaroc.com

David Jones's snapper tagine with ginger broth

Serves 4

2 bream or snapper
11/2litres/21/2pints water
4 large potatoes, sliced thinly
2 red onions, sliced
8 tomatoes, sliced
A knob of ginger
2 cloves garlic
Half a bunch of coriander
A pinch of saffron
Half a lemon confit (you can find it in supermarkets)
First fillet the fish, make 4 fillets, and set the bones aside. Make a fish bouillon: Take the bones and cover with the water, and add the garlic, ginger, coriander, saffron, lemon and season. Bring to the boil and simmer for 30 minutes.

Pour this into a tagine or pot with a lid, with the potatoes, onions and tomatoes and place in an oven heated to 180C/350F/Gas4. After 10 minutes, add the fish. Cook for 15-20 minutes. Don't take the lid off until you serve it.

Roasted skate with harissa crust

Serves 4

500g/1lb dried small Moroccan sweet dry peppers
10 cloves of garlic
20ml/1fl oz olive oil
Salt and pepper
2 skate wings (cut in half)
A dash of olive oil
20ml/1fl oz corn oil
Finely chopped lemon confit
Half a bunch of parsley
First make the harissa: Soak the peppers in hot water then put them through a mincer or processor to blend. Add the garlic and blend again. Put the oil in a pan and reduce the mix slowly for about 25 minutes. Season and refrigerate.

Next, rub the skate with oil, season and pan-fry in the corn oil. Take two spoons of harissa, chopped confit and parsley. Marinate the skate in the mixture and refrigerate. Serve cold with a cucumber, tomato and onion salad.

Sea perch roe with chickpeas

Serves 4

2 shallots, roughly chopped
3tbsp harissa
20ml/1fl oz olive oil
60g/21/2oz chickpeas
1litre/13/4pints water or fish bouillon
220g/71/2oz cod roe
5-10g/1/4oz dried pimento
A pinch of cumin
Add the shallots and harissa to the oil in a pan. Cover with the water. Add the chickpeas, and cook for an hour. Slice the roe and slowly braise for half an hour in the mixture, adding the pimento. Add cumin season to taste.