5 Delicious Moroccan Recipes To Help You Lose Weight With Taste

1. Spicy Olive Salad

Ingredients

Extra virgin olive oil, 1/2 cup
Garlic, 5-6 cloves
Tomato paste, one 6 oz. can
Plum tomatoes, 6-8 petite diced
Lemon, 1/2 unpeeled
Hot chili powder, 2 tsp.
Szeged hot paprika, 1 TB
Swad chili pepper (this Indian brand is very hot), 1/2 tsp.
Cilantro, 1/2 bunch/cup, chopped
Mediterranean green pitted olives, two-and-a-half 19.5 oz. cans (drained)

Instructions

Slice the half lemon thinly, and quarter the slices. Set aside. Add extra virgin olive oil to the sauce pan, then saute the garlic in it. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, and seasonings, and stir 'til well-blended. Add the lemon slices, and cook the mixture until the lemon slices are soft. Add the drained olives and finally the chopped cilantro, and remove from the heat.

Enjoy these olives warm with brown rice or pasta or cold as a salad.

2. Moroccan Style Green Beans

Photo Credit: Vegetating with Leslie

Ingredients

Green beans, 1 lb.
Extra Virgin Olive Oil, 1/4 cup
Plum tomatoes, 4 petite diced
Tomato Paste, 4 TB
Garlic, 3-4 cloves minced
Turmeric, 1-1/2 tsp.
Cumin, 1-1/2 tsp.
Salt, 1-1/2 tsp.
Hot paprika, 1 tsp.
Lemon, juice of 1/2

Instructions

Saute the minced garlic in extra virgin olive oil. Add the petite diced tomatoes, the tomato paste, and seasonings, and stir until well-blended. Simmer until the tomatoes soften. Add the green beans, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes. Add the lemon juice, cover again and simmer for a little while longer until green beans are soft and the mixture is well-flavored.

3. Moroccan Eggplant

Photo Credit: Vegetating with Leslie

Ingredients

Eggplant, 3 large
Salt, 1 TB
Garlic, 3-4 cloves, minced
Mediterranean pickles, 1-2, rough chopped
Red onion, 1/4 sliced
Cilantro, 1/2 bunch, chopped
Moroccan Eggplant Sauce, 1 cup (see ingredients below)

SAUCE

Tomato paste, 6 oz. can
Lemon, juice of 1 lemon
Water, to 1-1/2 cups
Sea salt, 1/2 tsp.
Cumin, 1 tsp.
Szeged hot paprika, 1 tsp.

Instructions

Quarter the eggplants lengthwise then cut across into 1/8" slices. Salt, and refrigerate in a covered bowl overnight. The next day, drain the eggplant thoroughly and squeeze dry. Deep fry 3 minutes at 375 degrees with small batches. Remove to a towel to drain. Layer cooled eggplant with chopped veggies and sauce and fold together.

This salad is a great favorite!

4. Moroccan Sweet Potato Salad

If you're sick of the ubiquitous sweet potatoes with marshmallows at your Thanksgiving dinner, this is the recipe for you! In addition to eating it as a salad, you can enjoy it as part of a colorful sandwich.

Photo Credit: Vegetating with Leslie

Ingredients

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
6 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
2 plum tomatoes
1-1/2 tsp. crushed garlic
1-1/2 TB chopped fresh ginger root
1/4 Spanish onion, petite diced
1/2 TB crushed red pepper
1/2 TB salt

Instructions

Saute the garlic in extra virgin olive oil in a wide-bottom sauce pan. Add the other ingredients except the sweet potatoes, and saute briefly. Add the sweet potatoes, stir, cover and steam, stirring occasionally. Be careful not to burn on the bottom! When barely tender throughout, remove from heat.

5. Moroccan Sweet Pepper Salad

Photo Credit: About Food

Ingredients

6-8 red, yellow or orange bell peppers
2 – 3 cloves garlic, hand minced
1/4 cup white vinegar
2 TB extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. Szeged hot paprika
1/3 bunch cilantro

Instructions

Wash the peppers, and place on a baking sheet. Brown the peppers under the broiler, turning several times so the skin burns or browns all the way around. Remove from the oven, cool, and peel. Cut away the white pulpy material, but leave the seeds (they make a nice garnish and are full of nutrition). Cut the peppers into strips and the strips into shorter pieces. Place the cut peppers into a bowl with their juices and seeds, and add the remaining ingredients to taste. Stir gently. Enjoy!

Photo Credit: Depositphotos