Sheep Brains: things to try in Marrakesh

We are in Marrakesh, Morocco. If there’s one must do thing there, is to watch the food vendors set up their collective stalls at dusk in the Jemaa El-Fna square.
The heart of the Old Medina transforms before your eyes, with movement in every direction, both turists and locals. Smoke from the open grills and the smell of meat and spices dominant the senses, but don’t stop there, make your way through the crowd of people, motorbikes and cars and sit down at one of the endless stalls serving up everything from sausages and harira (tomato and lentils) soup, to lamb mechoui, boiled snails and stewed sheep brains.
Now try to imagine the expanse of the Jemaa El Fna night market stretches out before you with its many shopkeepers and cooks beckoning you to their tents to sample their wares. The hard part is choosing which stalls to eat from. The “freshest”, the “best”, “very cheap”. In any case, amongst the snake charmers and the mosques bellowing their call to prayer, you will find the best, and most understated dish: the sheep brain.

Skip the outside stalls and delve deep into the market where the locals sit. Amongst the ubiquitous plastic tables you will find vendors selling cooked sheep brain. It may seem daunting at first, because it retains the majority of its original shape and structure. But once they delve into this dish, most eaters find its buttery and fatty texture quite delicious. Typically it’s cooked with seasonings such as cumin, coriander, turmeric and garlic, then chopped into bits, and accompanied with a sauce. The result is rich, smooth, and aromatic, and it comes with bread to mop up all the flavors in the sauce….

Images from web – google research