Moroccan Swordfish with Mint-Yogurt Sauce with Corn on the Cob with Smoked Butter and Cous-Cous

Oh, Morocco. I must admit, it's the most fun part of my heritage. Although I am a smorgasbord of ethnicities, the Moroccan side is the one that I most enjoy identifying with. It's exotic, exciting, different, and fun. People perk up when I say I am Moroccan in a way that just doesn't happen with German, Polish, Lithuanian, or any of my many other sides. But when I say I'm Moroccan, that my mother was even born there making me first-generation on that side, they find it amazing. And I had to admit that I find it pretty cool, too. So why not explore some more Moroccan cooking?

Most people identify Moroccan food as Middle Eastern food heavy on hummus, babaghanouj, pita bread, etc. And toss in some cous-cous of course. But there is so much more to it. A coastal country, Morocco has a lot of fish. A Middle Eastern country, Moroccan cooking includes lamb, exotic spices, and lots of fresh vegetables that look rather different than many that cross our plates here. But most importantly, Moroccan food is exciting. It's unique, exotic. It's African, Mediterranean, and Middle Eastern all rolled into one. So jump on in, grab a belly dancer, and try it and realize that this Swordfish, exotic or not, is certainly delicious.

Moroccan Swordfish with Mint-Yogurt Sauce
Good ol' Cooking Light came through on this one once again. The recipe is simple and to the point, creating a spice rub for the Swordfish which is cooked on the stove and then mixing up a sauce to go along with it. I skipped the capers when preparing the fish since I am not such a big fan. Not familiar with capers? They look almost like a smaller pea, spherical and green, and tend to be rather salty. They are frequently served with lox. Capers are a heavily Middle Eastern food, but sadly not one in which I partake very eagerly. Throw them on if you are a fan or feeling adventurous, but also rest assured that keeping them out won't hurt the recipe.

I started the Swordfish cooking and then whipped up the sauce. It only takes a few minutes, but if you make it earlier make sure to refrigerate it. The refreshing mint flavor works best chilled. Serve the fish with the sauce available on the side so that everyone can take as little or as much as they choose!

Finally, I served this fish over cous-cous. What else could you possibly choose with a Moroccan recipe? I tend to like the more basic cous-cous options without going straight plain, such as pine nuts. Choose whichever variety you like, however! The cous-cous will soak up the sauce and flavoring of the fish if served underneath it so keep that in mind when choosing.

Corn on the Cob with Smoked Butter
To round out this meal I chose to make corn on the cob as the vegetable. A simple, fast dish I felt that while it might not traditionally be prepared with Moroccan food the flavors would complement each other here.

The recipe calls for boiling or grilling your corn, which are great options, but honestly I find microwaving the corn equally as tasty and much easier. Shuck your corn, disposing of the husks and the silky fibers. Break off the end if it is sticking out so you have just the basic cob. Wrap each cob in wax paper, twisting the ends so it looks like a hard candy wrapper. Microwave on high at 2.5 minutes per cob. (You can put them all in at once, but multiply the time. I was making 4 cobs so I microwaved them for 10 minutes.)

While the corn is microwaving prepare the sauce as intructed by the Cooking Light recipe. Looking to make it even healthier? I chose to use fake butter instead, although then I reasoned I could make slightly more to ensure that I had enough for 4 cobs. You could not tell the difference, I promise! It was a light, tasty sauce that provided just enough flavoring to entice you to gobble down the corn as quickly as possible. Make sure to make enough so that everyone can have two cobs - it will be too hard to stop at less!

Now you just have to learn to belly dance.