Arabesque - A Taste Of Morocco, Turkey, And Lebanon Part 1

Arabesque_ a taste of Morocco, Turkey, and Lebanon.

by Claudia Roden.

Introduction

Three great cuisines-of Morocco, Turkey, and Lebanon-developed around the Mediterranean where the Occident meets the Orient and where, long ago, medieval jihadi jihadis and crusaders clashed. The three are part of the Mediterranean culinary culture that the West has come to love and also share legacies from the Islamic world, with echoes of ancient Persia and medieval Baghdad, Moorish Spain and the Ottoman Empire.

The three countries have been centers of empire (Lebanon as part of historic Syria) with imperial capitals where high culinary styles developed. Damascus was the first capital of the Islamic Arab Empire during the Umayyad dynasty from the seventh to the eighth century when the empire spread all the way to Spain. Morocco was the center of the Almoravide and Almohad dynasties that ruled over Spain and North Africa from the eleventh to the thirteenth century. And Istanbul was, for more than 400 years, the glittering capital city of the huge Ottoman Empire. Empires have a way of drawing in culinary riches from distant lands, and court kitchens are places of creativity and refinement. Something of the old grandeur and sophistication of their golden ages has pa.s.sed down into the kitchens of today.

The cuisines, especially Moroccan cooking, are known for their aromatic flavorings, for the subtlety of combinations and the harmonious equilibrium. Since early times, the countries were transit areas on the spice routes between the Far East, Central Africa, the Spice Islands, and Europe. (My ancestors were involved in the camel-caravan trade through Aleppo.) Today, practically every main town has its spice shops in the souk souk or bazaar and each country has its own characteristic spices and aromatics. If you traveled with your eyes closed, you could know where you were by the taste of the food. or bazaar and each country has its own characteristic spices and aromatics. If you traveled with your eyes closed, you could know where you were by the taste of the food.

Lately there has been a renaissance of interest in the culinary past. Restaurants in Istanbul are re-creating Ottoman cuisine, Fez recently had a festival dedicated to medieval dishes from a thirteenth-century ma.n.u.script, and Lebanese gastronomes regularly quote medieval Arab recipes. And at the same time, in each of these countries, the rural regional cuisines have become immensely popular.

There have been great social and technological changes that have affected the way people cook and eat. Until not very long ago, most cooked on braziers and Primus stoves and in outside clay ovens, or they sent dishes to the public oven to be cooked. The modern generation has less time to spend in the kitchen and is part of the global world with the same interests in new trends and concerns about healthy eating as we have. They feel they can do things in a different way without losing their age-old traditions, and that the new approaches do not have to kill the old. I love tradition and respect cuisines that have a past and are part of an old civilization-that is what this book is about. But cooking does not stand still, it evolves, and I want to celebrate tradition while reflecting the changes. For me, what matters is what makes the food more delicious and appealing and also easier and more accessible.

In the 1960s, when I began researching the cooking of the Middle East and North Africa, the dishes were entirely strange in Britain and America. Now they are fas.h.i.+onable and some have been adopted as our own. The aim of this book is to offer new, recently discovered recipes, and variations to those already known, with some of the more famous cla.s.sics that I have featured in previous books.

Using the Book

Trust your taste and allow yourself a certain freedom in the preparation of the dishes. This is in the spirit of these cuisines that, although faithful to tradition, have no absolute rules and are rich in variations and poor in precision. You are told to "weigh with the eye" and to taste as you go along. And that is what cooking is about. We are dealing with products of nature and these vary. You can have a small lemon that has more juice and is sharper than a larger one. Garlic cloves vary in size and flavor; there are many varieties and they can be young or old and more or less strong. Much of the vegetables available to us come from different countries and are grown in different soils, under a different sun. They have a different taste and respond differently to cooking. Rice, even of the same variety and the same provenance, varies from one year to another and, depending on whether it is new or old, in the amount of water it absorbs. Once upon a time the recommendation for many recipes (also those using flour) was to add "as much water as it takes" and there was much sense in that.

The flavors of fresh herbs vary as do those of spices, depending on where they come from and the particular harvest. There are different grades and qualities. If spices or dry herbs are old they lose their strength, which is why you may have to use more or less and why you should buy small quant.i.ties at a time. Even rose and orange blossom waters, which come in bottles, can be more or less diluted according to the producer and depending on whether they were the first or last batch in the distillation process. I do not generally give precise quant.i.ties of salt in my recipes, because I believe salting is so much a matter of personal taste and it is the one seasoning that people know how to use and have an "eye" for, even before tasting. It is best to start with less and add more later. It is quite possible to subst.i.tute oil for b.u.t.ter in dishes without spoiling them, and onions and garlic may be used abundantly or omitted entirely if you don't like them.

The book is divided by country, so that you can choose to have dishes of the same country in one meal. But you can also have a mixed menu, which is what I often do. Each country is divided into first, main, and dessert courses to make it easier to plan a menu. Ours is a different society from the ones whose dishes we are adopting, so we can be flexible and we can plan around our own ways of eating and entertaining. For instance, you can feel free to serve appetizers -mezze -mezze or or kemia- kemia-with drinks, as starters, or as side dishes. You can make a casual meal out of two or three, accompanied by bread and perhaps cheese or yogurt and olives, while a large a.s.sortment can be produced for a buffet party. You can make a meal out of a soup accompanied by bread. A pie or an omelette- both of which can be quite substantial-can also serve as a one-course snack. For most of the fish dishes you may use alternative kinds of fish. Lamb is the traditional meat of the three countries, but beef or veal can be used instead; in many recipes, such as stews, meat and poultry are interchangeable. Rice, couscous, and bulgur are staples that make good accompaniments to many dishes.

It is important to use good ingredients-free-range, corn-fed, or organic chickens; plain whole milk yogurt; whole milk cheese; good extra virgin olive oil. A mild-tasting olive oil is best with all the dishes. You will find the ingredients you need in Middle Eastern (Turkish, Lebanese, Persian), North African, Greek, and Asian food stores, and many of the best food stores now also stock most of what you require.

About Aromatics A certain magic surrounds the use of spices and aromatics, which are not only used for their flavor but also for their medicinal, therapeutic, and even sometimes aphrodisiac value. They are variously believed to increase the appet.i.te, help digestion, or calm the nerves; to be good for the heart and circulation; to be ant.i.toxic or s.e.xually stimulating; and even to kill microbes. Attributes may be well founded or romantic; ginger is said to make people loving, rose water to give a rosy outlook, dill and aniseed to have digestive qualities, and garlic to be both health-giving and antiseptic. Herbs are so popular in the three countries that they are sometimes placed in a bunch on the table for people to pick at. The most commonly used are flat-leaf parsley, coriander, and mint.

Gum mastic has nothing at all to do with the waterproof filler called mastic, nor with the glue called "gum Arabic" sold in the building trades. It is an aromatic resin from the lentisc tree or bush, a small evergreen tree that grows on the Greek island of Chios. When tiny incisions are made in the branches in the summer, sticky oval tears of resin appear. It is p.r.o.nounced has nothing at all to do with the waterproof filler called mastic, nor with the glue called "gum Arabic" sold in the building trades. It is an aromatic resin from the lentisc tree or bush, a small evergreen tree that grows on the Greek island of Chios. When tiny incisions are made in the branches in the summer, sticky oval tears of resin appear. It is p.r.o.nounced miskeh miskeh in Lebanon and some London restaurants misleadingly spell it "musk." in Lebanon and some London restaurants misleadingly spell it "musk."

It is sold in tiny, hard, dry, translucent lumps. To use them, you must first pound them and grind them to a fine powder with a pestle and mortar, together with a pinch of sugar, or use a spice grinder. Use very little as otherwise the taste can be quite unpleasant.

Olive oil is native to all three countries. Although other oils such as sunflower and peanut oil are also used in cooking, olive oil has come to be seen as the oil of choice for gourmets. Use mild-tasting, extra virgin oil for all the recipes and refined non-virgin for deep-frying. is native to all three countries. Although other oils such as sunflower and peanut oil are also used in cooking, olive oil has come to be seen as the oil of choice for gourmets. Use mild-tasting, extra virgin oil for all the recipes and refined non-virgin for deep-frying.

Orange blossom water, produced by boiling the blossom of the sour orange tree and condensing the steam in an alembic or still, lends a delicate perfume to syrups, pastries, and puddings. As the flavor is rather powerful, and because the distilled water comes in varying degrees of strength, it is worth adding a little less than the amount stated to begin with, and adding more to taste.

Pomegranate mola.s.ses, also called concentrate and syrup, is made from the juice of sour (not sweet) pomegranates boiled down to a thick syrup. Some varieties are a bit too sweet for my liking. A little added lemon juice or wine vinegar can improve on the sweet-and-sour flavor.

Preserved (or pickled) lemons lend a unique and distinctive flavor to Moroccan dishes. (Some British importers call them "pickled," claiming that "preserved" here denotes a "sweet" preserve.) Pickled in salt, they lose their sharpness. To make them yourself, see pages 3637. lend a unique and distinctive flavor to Moroccan dishes. (Some British importers call them "pickled," claiming that "preserved" here denotes a "sweet" preserve.) Pickled in salt, they lose their sharpness. To make them yourself, see pages 3637.

Rose Water, produced by boiling rose petals and condensing the steam in an alembic or still, is used to perfume syrups, pastries, and puddings. It is weaker than orange blossom water and can be used less sparingly. The two are often used together.

Saffron, highly prized red threads-the pistils of the purple Crocus sativus- Crocus sativus-are much used in Moroccan cooking. There are various grades. The highest have an incomparable flavor. It is better to buy the threads than the powders, but in certain dishes a powder is more useful for giving color. Some commercial powdered saffron is very good and worth buying (it is cheaper than the threads), but some is adulterated or not the real thing.

Sumac, a dark wine-colored spice with an astringent sour flavor, is made from the coa.r.s.ely ground dried berries of the sumac shrub. Turks and Lebanese use it frequently to sprinkle on grills and salads, or on fish. It can be used instead of lemon.

Tahini is a paste made of ground sesame seeds. It is used very much in Lebanon, where it is spelled is a paste made of ground sesame seeds. It is used very much in Lebanon, where it is spelled tahina tahina or or tehineh. tehineh. (We call it (We call it tahini tahini because it was first imported from Cyprus.) Because it separates, with the oil coming to the top and the thick paste remaining at the bottom, it needs to be stirred with a spoon before use. because it was first imported from Cyprus.) Because it separates, with the oil coming to the top and the thick paste remaining at the bottom, it needs to be stirred with a spoon before use.

Preparing Vegetables

To Prepare Artichoke Bottoms: Choose large globe artichokes and cut off the stems at the base. With a pointed knife and cutting around it spirally, trim off all the leaves and any hard bits around the base. Putting the artichoke on its side, cut away the top leaves, then remove the chokes. Rub each prepared artichoke bottom with a squeezed lemon half, and drop it into a bowl of water acidulated with 2 to 3 tablespoons vinegar or lemon juice to keep it from discoloring. Choose large globe artichokes and cut off the stems at the base. With a pointed knife and cutting around it spirally, trim off all the leaves and any hard bits around the base. Putting the artichoke on its side, cut away the top leaves, then remove the chokes. Rub each prepared artichoke bottom with a squeezed lemon half, and drop it into a bowl of water acidulated with 2 to 3 tablespoons vinegar or lemon juice to keep it from discoloring.

Salting Eggplants: It is the custom to salt eggplants to make them sweat and rid them of their bitter juices and to make them absorb less oil when they are fried. These days, eggplants are not bitter, and even if they have been salted, they absorb a lot of oil when they are fried. I now prefer to broil or roast eggplants, in which case salting is not necessary. But if you are frying, it is worth salting them. There are two traditional ways: One is to soak them in salted water for 30 minutes to 1 hour-this also stops them from discoloring if you have to wait for some time before you use them. Another is to sprinkle them with plenty of salt, leave them in a colander to disgorge their juices, then rinse them and pat them dry with absorbent paper towels. It is the custom to salt eggplants to make them sweat and rid them of their bitter juices and to make them absorb less oil when they are fried. These days, eggplants are not bitter, and even if they have been salted, they absorb a lot of oil when they are fried. I now prefer to broil or roast eggplants, in which case salting is not necessary. But if you are frying, it is worth salting them. There are two traditional ways: One is to soak them in salted water for 30 minutes to 1 hour-this also stops them from discoloring if you have to wait for some time before you use them. Another is to sprinkle them with plenty of salt, leave them in a colander to disgorge their juices, then rinse them and pat them dry with absorbent paper towels.

To Roast and Mash Whole Eggplants: p.r.i.c.k the eggplants in a few places with a pointed knife to prevent them from exploding. Turn them over the flame of a gas burner or barbecue, or under a preheated broiler on a sheet of foil on an oven tray, until the skin is charred all over and they feel very soft. Alternatively, place them on a sheet of foil on an oven tray and roast them in the p.r.i.c.k the eggplants in a few places with a pointed knife to prevent them from exploding. Turn them over the flame of a gas burner or barbecue, or under a preheated broiler on a sheet of foil on an oven tray, until the skin is charred all over and they feel very soft. Alternatively, place them on a sheet of foil on an oven tray and roast them in the hottest hottest oven for 45 to 55 minutes, until they are very soft. When cool enough to handle, peel the eggplants (you can do this under cold running water), drop the flesh into a colander or strainer, and chop it with a knife, then mash it with a fork, letting their juices escape. Adding a squeeze of lemon juice helps to keep the puree looking pale and appetizing. oven for 45 to 55 minutes, until they are very soft. When cool enough to handle, peel the eggplants (you can do this under cold running water), drop the flesh into a colander or strainer, and chop it with a knife, then mash it with a fork, letting their juices escape. Adding a squeeze of lemon juice helps to keep the puree looking pale and appetizing.

Garlic: Garlic cloves must be firm, not soft or hollow. If it has begun to sprout inside a clove, cut into the middle of the clove and remove the pale green sprout, which has a bitter taste. To crush the garlic clove, bash it on a board under the flat blade of a large knife, then chop it or sc.r.a.pe it to a mush on the board. Or use a garlic press-I have nothing against them but so many are useless. My own works very well and dates from my school days in Paris. Garlic cloves must be firm, not soft or hollow. If it has begun to sprout inside a clove, cut into the middle of the clove and remove the pale green sprout, which has a bitter taste. To crush the garlic clove, bash it on a board under the flat blade of a large knife, then chop it or sc.r.a.pe it to a mush on the board. Or use a garlic press-I have nothing against them but so many are useless. My own works very well and dates from my school days in Paris.

To Roast and Peel Bell Peppers: Grill them over the flame of a gas burner or barbecue, or put them on a sheet of foil on an oven tray under a preheated broiler. Turn them until their skins are black and blistered. Alternatively, roast them in the hottest oven for 30 minutes, turning them once, until they are soft and their skins blistered and blackened. To loosen the skins further, put them in a strong plastic bag, twist it shut, and leave for 10 to 15 minutes. When cool enough to handle, peel them and remove and discard the stems and seeds. Strain the juice that comes out since it can be added to the dressing. Grill them over the flame of a gas burner or barbecue, or put them on a sheet of foil on an oven tray under a preheated broiler. Turn them until their skins are black and blistered. Alternatively, roast them in the hottest oven for 30 minutes, turning them once, until they are soft and their skins blistered and blackened. To loosen the skins further, put them in a strong plastic bag, twist it shut, and leave for 10 to 15 minutes. When cool enough to handle, peel them and remove and discard the stems and seeds. Strain the juice that comes out since it can be added to the dressing.

To Peel Tomatoes: p.r.i.c.k the skins with a pointed knife, pour boiling water over them, and leave for 1 minute before draining and pulling off the skin. p.r.i.c.k the skins with a pointed knife, pour boiling water over them, and leave for 1 minute before draining and pulling off the skin.

About Fillo Pastry Fillo is used in Turkey and Lebanon. In Lebanon, another pastry called rakakat rakakat, like a very thin, soft, large round pancake, softer and more malleable and also tougher than fillo, is used to make savory pies. I have used fillo instead of rakakat rakakat and instead of the Moroccan paper-thin pancake called and instead of the Moroccan paper-thin pancake called warka warka or or brick brick with perfect results. with perfect results.

Fillo is widely available both fresh and frozen. Commercial brands generally weigh 14 ounces (packages used to be 1 pound) but vary in the size of sheets and their fineness. I have come across the following sizes: 20 inches [.dotmath] 12 inches, 19 inches [.dotmath] 12 inches, 18 inches [.dotmath] 13 inches, 18 inches [.dotmath] 12 inches, 12 inches [.dotmath] 7 inches, and 11 inches [.dotmath] 5 inches, and they will often vary by a fraction of an inch even within the same brand. Sizes are not given on the packaging. Supermarket brands usually contain fresh sheets in the smaller size, while packages containing large-size sheets are usually sold, frozen, in specialty stores. If you are using a frozen brand, it is important to find a reliable one, as some are totally unsatisfactory, with damp sheets sticking together when defrosted and tearing when you try to use them.

Frozen fillo must be allowed to defrost slowly for 2 to 3 hours. Packages should then be opened just before using, and the sheets should be used as quickly as possible since they become dry and brittle when exposed to the air. Keep them in a pile as you work, always brus.h.i.+ng the top one with melted b.u.t.ter so the air has no opportunity to dry them out. If you have to leave them for a few minutes, cover them with plastic wrap. Any leftover pieces can be wrapped in plastic wrap and kept in the refrigerator for later use.

Fillo pies with any filling, except one that is too moist, can be frozen uncooked and put straight from the freezer into the oven without thawing. They will need a little more cooking time.

Moroccan cooking is the most exquisite and refined of North Africa, famous for its couscous, its crispy multilayered pies and delicately flavored tagine tagines, its marriages of meat with fruit, and its extraordinary combinations of spicy, savory, and sweet. In a society based around the family, where the oldest generation of women is still mostly illiterate, cooking is a woman's art and still an oral tradition with its secrets pa.s.sed down from mother to daughter. It is the lore learned in the kitchen, a precious heritage, which a bride brings to her husband's home. It is an all-important activity, central to every aspect of life. In Morocco, any reason, any event, happy or sad, is an occasion for meeting around the table.

Styles of cooking go back hundreds of years. Some are rooted in the rural traditions of the indigenous Berber populations of Morocco, while an important grand style is a legacy from the royal kitchens of the great Moroccan dynasties-the Almoravides, Almohads, Merinids, Saadians, and Alaouites-that has echoes from medieval Baghdad and Muslim Spain. Morocco was invaded by the Arabs in several waves from the seventh until the fourteenth century. More than any other country that adopted Islam, it inherited most directly the high culinary culture of Baghdad in the time of the Abbasid caliphs when that city was the capital of the Islamic Empire, and its court cuisine was influenced by Persian styles. In 711, the Arabs invaded Spain with North African Berber foot soldiers. They conquered the peninsula and remained in the south, which became known as Al Andalus, for almost 800 years. From the eleventh to the thirteenth centuries, the ruling dynasties in Muslim Spain-the Almoravides and the Almohads-were Berber. The capital cities of their vast empire that spread through Spain, Tunisia, Algeria, and into Senegal, were in Morocco, this country becoming a center of excellence and sophistication.

Until the final expulsion of the Moors from Spain in 1492, there was constant cultural exchange between Spain and Morocco. A new eclectic style of cooking developed in the part of Spain that was under Muslim occupation. It was a multicultural civilization with people from various parts of the Muslim and Mediterranean world, including Jews and the indigenous Christians. A Kurdish lute player known as Ziryab, a freed slave from the court of Harun al Ras.h.i.+d in Baghdad who joined the court of Cordoba, is credited in particular for transforming the art of living and cooking in Andalusia. He introduced new music and taught people how to dress and wear makeup. He established rules of etiquette-table manners and table setting, and the order of serving three different courses-and encouraged refinements in the kitchen.

When the Moors were finally thrown out, many found refuge in Morocco, where they settled mostly in Tangier, Tetouan, and Fez. These "Andalusians," as they were called, brought with them the exuberant and convivial lifestyle that had blossomed in Spain. They also started a culinary renaissance. You can see their influence in the country's architecture, you can hear it in the music, and you can taste it in the food.

Other influences on Moroccan cuisine are through the influx of thousands of black slaves from central Africa in the seventeenth century, and also Ottoman influences via refugees from Algeria and Tunisia who migrated while those countries were under Ottoman rule.

Regional Cooking Some years ago I was invited to a festival celebrating the regional cooking of Morocco, held in Fez. Each night, we were offered a taste of at least twenty-five dishes coming from two or three cities, while musicians, singers, and dancers entertained us. It was an enthralling experience. In Moroccan cooking, there are traditions that come from the countryside, the mountains, and the sea-both the Atlantic and the Mediterranean- and there is urban cooking that varies from one city to another. Some dishes are common throughout Morocco, varying only by the spicing and by one or two ingredients, but every city also has its own special dishes and distinctive style, which reflects its geographic position and climate as well as its past. In Tangier and Tetouan in the north, the influences are Andalusian and Mediterranean and there is also, unusually for Morocco, an Ottoman influence, especially in the pastries such as ktaief ktaief (see page 230) and (see page 230) and baklava baklava. In the south, in Marrakesh, Safi, and Essaouira, the influences come from Africa and the Atlantic. The cooking of Fez reflects the mix of its past inhabitants, Arab, Andalusian, Berber, and Jewish (the old Jewish quarter, the Mellah Mellah, situated in the medina medina, backs on to the Royal Palace), as well as the city's position on the camel-caravan spice route. A particularly refined and sophisticated bourgeois cuisine emanates from cities such as Fez, Meknes, and Marrakesh that were once imperial capitals and are now gastronomic rivals with very distinctive styles of cooking.

A Festive Meal in a Traditional Moroccan Home-a Riad Riad You arrive at the traditional Moroccan house from a narrow street in the medina. medina. There is a blank wall, with a tiny window. You enter by a heavily studded wooden door through a dark, narrow corridor carpeted with fragrant rose petals and arrive in a glorious inner There is a blank wall, with a tiny window. You enter by a heavily studded wooden door through a dark, narrow corridor carpeted with fragrant rose petals and arrive in a glorious inner patio patio filled with little fruit trees and scented flowers. The floor and arched walls around it are lined with cobalt blue, turquoise, and yellow mosaics called filled with little fruit trees and scented flowers. The floor and arched walls around it are lined with cobalt blue, turquoise, and yellow mosaics called zelig zeligs. Water trickles from a fountain. Alcoves around the courtyard are ornately decorated. Brilliantly colored hangings line the walls of the living area. Placed against them are low sofas with embroidered cus.h.i.+ons. The meal is served in the patio. patio. The scent of jasmine hangs in the air. A band plays Andalusian music. The tables are large bra.s.s trays on low, folding legs. You sit on cus.h.i.+ons around them. The crockery is cla.s.sic Chinese. Long ago, Moroccans fell in love with Chinese porcelain with blue designs; now they make it themselves. The scent of jasmine hangs in the air. A band plays Andalusian music. The tables are large bra.s.s trays on low, folding legs. You sit on cus.h.i.+ons around them. The crockery is cla.s.sic Chinese. Long ago, Moroccans fell in love with Chinese porcelain with blue designs; now they make it themselves.

You wash your hands in water poured from a jug and then in rose water sprinkled from a silver flagon. Dishes follow one another. A mult.i.tude of appetizers (kemia): pickles; spiced vegetable purees; fried fish in a sauce flavored with c.u.min, chili, and green cilantro; pastry "cigars" filled with chopped meat and with shrimp. Then pigeon pie- baby pigeons stuffed with nutty couscous in a saffron and ginger honey sauce, followed by a tagine tagine of lamb with wild artichokes, broad beans, and preserved lemon, and another with quinces. And next, couscous-mountains of it-crowned with meat cooked to melting tenderness, and with vegetables pressed into the sides of the mountains of grain. Then platters of fruit, followed by mint tea and almondy pastries. You might be worried by how much food is left uneaten. But the next day, family, friends, and neighbors have their feast, and what is left-every bit of it-is eaten by the cooks, staff, and helpers. That, too, is part of the ritual. of lamb with wild artichokes, broad beans, and preserved lemon, and another with quinces. And next, couscous-mountains of it-crowned with meat cooked to melting tenderness, and with vegetables pressed into the sides of the mountains of grain. Then platters of fruit, followed by mint tea and almondy pastries. You might be worried by how much food is left uneaten. But the next day, family, friends, and neighbors have their feast, and what is left-every bit of it-is eaten by the cooks, staff, and helpers. That, too, is part of the ritual.

The Dada Dada s and their Secrets s and their Secrets Men are excluded from all kitchens. The great cooks-family cooks, professional cooks, those who cook for weddings and parties, the guardians of the great culinary traditions-are the dada dadas. They are all women and most of them are black. Who they are is a taboo subject; the hidden face of Morocco. The women are descended from African slaves who were brought from the Sudan, which was once part of the Moroccan empire. In the seventeenth century, the sultan Moulay Ismail recruited 150,000 slaves from the Sudan and the states of the African Sahel. The men became the origin of the Sherifan black guard. The women became domestics in people's homes. Some became concubines, some wives, some were freed and became midwives. In imperial Fez, it was not uncommon for men of great families to choose young dada dadas as their fourth wives so that they would look after their children and cook. Their children were often formally recognized and took on the father's name. A form of bondage went on until not so long ago, and the women remained illiterate. That is why it is still a taboo subject. I heard this from Fatema Hal, anthropologist, food writer, and owner of the restaurant La Mansouria in Paris.

In more recent times dada dadas have joined cooks' corporations, catering for great occasions such as weddings, circ.u.mcisions, and receptions. A man is in overall charge on such occasions, an amine amine, or chief. It is he who discusses the menu with the host, works out quant.i.ties, and hires the giant saucepans and piles of crockery, silver teapots, ornate tea gla.s.ses, and trays.

The women arrive, heads tied in fringed and floral scarves, with their helpers and their pots and pans, and stay several days with the families. They shop, slaughter sheep and pigeons, prepare the warka warka for for bstilla bstilla, set up the big, copper pans on braziers, and prepare all the dishes while the ladies of the house and their relatives busy themselves with the sweet pastries. These dada dadas pa.s.s on the oral traditions of grand cooking to each other. They also pa.s.s, from one kitchen to another, the inside stories and scandals of the top families. Their stories of sorcerers and devils frighten the children who gather to watch the activities around the giant pans and to see the dada dadas throw a grain of incense in the fire to drive away the jnoun jnoun (devil). They are paid little but they are fed and they can take home the offals and leftovers. (devil). They are paid little but they are fed and they can take home the offals and leftovers.

Some dada dadas have become famous itinerant specialists of one dish only or a culinary style. A few lead the battalions of women in the kitchens of the best hotels. Most of the great ones who lived all their lives with families are old now. They are disappearing, and people have had to learn to do without them. Some of their specialties, such as the paper-thin pancakes called warka warka (or (or brick brick) (see page 29), can now be bought loose at the souk souk and vacuum-packed in supermarkets. and vacuum-packed in supermarkets.

Street Food Donkeys carry produce from the country-great bundles of fresh green mint and cilantro, baskets of fat tomatoes, little wild purple artichokes, long fleshy cardoon stalks-into the heart of the medina medina through the narrow, meandering streets and into the through the narrow, meandering streets and into the souk. souk. Powerful aromas emanate from the mounds of red, gold, and brown powders, curious looking roots, bits of bark, shriveled pods, seeds, berries, bulbs, rose buds, and orange blossoms, which are on display in the spice shops. Vendors pack the spices into tightly rolled cones of newspaper and offer them as though they were magic potions. Some of the spice merchants are also magic men. I got to know one who said he was a white magic man who defeated the evil eye and black magic spells. Mostly it meant he dealt with any mischief from co-wives and restored potency to men. Powerful aromas emanate from the mounds of red, gold, and brown powders, curious looking roots, bits of bark, shriveled pods, seeds, berries, bulbs, rose buds, and orange blossoms, which are on display in the spice shops. Vendors pack the spices into tightly rolled cones of newspaper and offer them as though they were magic potions. Some of the spice merchants are also magic men. I got to know one who said he was a white magic man who defeated the evil eye and black magic spells. Mostly it meant he dealt with any mischief from co-wives and restored potency to men.

In every town, in the souk souks, in the old medina medinas-the squares where weekly markets set up-at bus stops on inter-city roads, there are street vendors. From tiny cafes and boutiques as small as a cupboard, from carts or stands, or sometimes from an upturned box with a chair for customers, they offer their specialties: boiled carrot salad with c.u.min, harira harira (soup with meat or chicken, chickpeas, lentils, or other beans), tiny spicy snails, grilled minced meat on skewers, spongy pancakes, fritters in sugar syrup. (soup with meat or chicken, chickpeas, lentils, or other beans), tiny spicy snails, grilled minced meat on skewers, spongy pancakes, fritters in sugar syrup.

Place Djemaa-el-Fna in Marrakesh is the most enthralling gastro-theater. One of my friends has a medical clinic there. I stayed in the family home and hung around the square day and night. During the day, musicians and dancers from the mountains, snake charmers, fire-eaters, letter writers, storytellers, fortune-tellers, have possession of the huge square. As the sun begins to fall, the entire area is taken over by hundreds of cooks. They set up stands and trestle tables, and start charcoal fires. Clients sit on benches around each stand. All night long the vendors serve soups from huge pots, often accompanied by dates. The smoke of fish frying and meat grilling on braziers and the mingled aromas of mint and cilantro, c.u.min and turmeric, fill the air.

Restaurants There have always been small modest establishments where travelers and country folk who bring their products to market can find something to eat-soups simmering in large copper pans, fried fish, mountains of couscous, pancakes oozing with honey and melting b.u.t.ter. But it is only in the last decade or two that grand restaurants that serve traditional local foods have opened. Moroccans are not used to eating out. They are used to entertaining at home. The local hospitality is legendary. Even strangers, poor travelers knocking at a door of a home in the medina medina, will be offered at least soup and a piece of bread.

Tourist hotels used to serve French cuisine, but now they mostly serve international food. Recently, grand restaurants that employ family cooks or dada dadas who can make exquisite refined dishes have opened in old riad riads-palaces that were family homes. It is an extraordinary experience to eat in one of those restaurants with their fabulous decor. The best meal I had on a recent visit to Fez was in one such riad riad built in the eighteenth century, the built in the eighteenth century, the maison d'hote maison d'hote Dar El Ghalia. It has been converted by descendants of the original owners into a restaurant with hotel rooms, but otherwise it has kept the reception area as it was, with inner Dar El Ghalia. It has been converted by descendants of the original owners into a restaurant with hotel rooms, but otherwise it has kept the reception area as it was, with inner patio patio and fountain, mosaics, alcoves with low sofas, and seating around huge bra.s.s trays. For me, it is a bit of heaven. In Morocco hospitality is an art, and this restaurant emulates the traditions of the home. The owners receive you with effusive warmth, offer you mint tea poured from a silver teapot held high into little gla.s.ses, and serve you the local dishes cooked in the traditional way. and fountain, mosaics, alcoves with low sofas, and seating around huge bra.s.s trays. For me, it is a bit of heaven. In Morocco hospitality is an art, and this restaurant emulates the traditions of the home. The owners receive you with effusive warmth, offer you mint tea poured from a silver teapot held high into little gla.s.ses, and serve you the local dishes cooked in the traditional way.

Of Tagine Tagine s s, Qdra s, and Other Long-Cooked Dishes s, and Other Long-Cooked Dishes During a round-table discussion at a festival of culinary arts in 2001 ent.i.tled " Saveurs d'hier et d'aujourd'hui Saveurs d'hier et d'aujourd'hui" ("Flavors of Yesterday and Today"), there were heated arguments between those who did not accept any changes to tradition and those who wanted to be free to invent and to do dishes their way. The latter were Moroccan restaurateurs abroad. Local restaurateurs were concerned with the loss of their beloved traditions and were p.r.i.c.kly about every little detail. The "modernizers" in between advocated making dishes lighter and healthier by using less fat.

One man regretted the pa.s.sing of the time, not long ago, when people would walk down the street and know, by the smells, exactly what their neighbors were cooking, and what stage of readiness the stews had reached. I am not sure if this is because they have cars now and have moved out of the medina medina, or because many cooks now use the cocotte minute cocotte minute or or mijotte mijotte (pressure cooker). Years ago when I was traveling through Morocco, I was told that I had to go to see a woman who had developed a new style of "fast" Moroccan cuisine. I contacted her and she invited me to lunch. On the table was a pressure cooker in which she made her (pressure cooker). Years ago when I was traveling through Morocco, I was told that I had to go to see a woman who had developed a new style of "fast" Moroccan cuisine. I contacted her and she invited me to lunch. On the table was a pressure cooker in which she made her tagine tagines. It was the start of a trend that, a long time later, has taken the country by storm.

The word tagine tagine derives from the shallow, round clay cooking pot with the pointed cone-shaped lid in which stews are traditionally cooked. The word has become so glamorous and prestigious in our western world, and so misused in restaurants in Morocco, that it has come to mean any kind of stew or braise. Cooking in a clay derives from the shallow, round clay cooking pot with the pointed cone-shaped lid in which stews are traditionally cooked. The word has become so glamorous and prestigious in our western world, and so misused in restaurants in Morocco, that it has come to mean any kind of stew or braise. Cooking in a clay tagine tagine, very gently over a brazier (kanoun) of constantly replenished embers, diffuses the heat all around the pot and produces, at the end, a reduced sauce sizzling in its fat. Tagine Tagines are distinguished by their cooking fats and spicing, although the distinctions have become blurred these days. M'qualli M'qualli denotes those cooked in oil where there is saffron and ginger and the sauce is yellow. denotes those cooked in oil where there is saffron and ginger and the sauce is yellow. M'hammer M'hammer refers to those cooked with olive oil or b.u.t.ter, and spiced with c.u.min and paprika, where the sauce is red. refers to those cooked with olive oil or b.u.t.ter, and spiced with c.u.min and paprika, where the sauce is red.

For parties and great occasions it has never been possible to cook in tagine tagines because they don't contain enough. The cooking, then, is done in giant pots. You see them in copper, aluminum, or stainless steel in the souk souks, for sale or to rent. The word qdra qdra, the name of the big pots used for the grand parties in the royal cities, has come to mean the kind of grand dishes with n.o.ble ingredients that are cooked in them on such occasions. The cooking fat is b.u.t.ter (although nowadays many subst.i.tute olive oil), the flavor is that of saffron, sometimes combined with ginger and cinnamon, and they nearly always include chickpeas or almonds. Huge quant.i.ties of chopped onions are reduced to melting softness to produce a rich, creamy sauce. There is often also a touch of honey. The varieties of stews cooked and sold in the streets and in the souk souks, and those cooked in the countryside in ordinary saucepans with oil and turmeric instead of saffron, are called marqa. marqa. They are the poor man's They are the poor man's qdra. qdra.

Until recently, people did not have ovens. Nowadays, most city families have every modern appliance and utensil. They can make life easier for themselves without betraying the memory of the old gastronomy. It is more convenient to cook in saucepans and ca.s.seroles over gas than in a tagine tagine over a dying fire. The result can be as good if you cook slowly with very little water, adding more as it evaporates, and if you reduce the sauce until it is rich and unctuous. In restaurants, stews are cooked in large pans and finished off and brought to the table in beautiful, individual over a dying fire. The result can be as good if you cook slowly with very little water, adding more as it evaporates, and if you reduce the sauce until it is rich and unctuous. In restaurants, stews are cooked in large pans and finished off and brought to the table in beautiful, individual tagine tagines decorated with blue, green, turquoise, and yellow arabesques. People also do more roasting and baking in their ovens.

Moroccan dishes change little even when they are "modernized." As with legends that vary in small details as they travel from place to place and are pa.s.sed from one person to another, the differences in cooking lie in the use of spices, fats, and local seasonal produce, as well as in method. While in many places they brown the meat and soften the onions in oil or b.u.t.ter before adding water, in Fez they never fry first but put all the ingredients in together with the water. Smen Smen, the "matured" clarified b.u.t.ter that was once very common, is now little used. (To outsiders, including myself, and also to many local people these days, it appears to give the food an unpleasant rancid taste.) Some braise their chickens whole, others joint them. Although lamb and mutton are the traditional meats, beef and veal are now also used. There are also differences as to when to put in olives and preserved lemon-ten minutes before the end of cooking, or as a garnish just before serving.

About Couscous Couscous is the national dish of Morocco. The name refers to the grain as well as to the combined dish of broth with meat, chicken, or fish with vegetables over which the grain is traditionally steamed and which is served with the grain. The processed grain is semolina made from durum hard wheat that has been ground then moistened and coated or "rolled" in flour. The resulting granules are cooked by steaming. Other grains-maize, millet, and especially barley-are also used in the same way.

In Morocco, where all foods based on grain are considered sacred, couscous has a quasi-mystical character. It is served on all great occasions, both happy and sad-at weddings and at funerals. It is a celebratory dish served at the end of great feasts to make sure that no one is left hungry. It is usually the musicians and the tolba tolbas-people who come to pray and recite the Koran at weddings, funerals, or during Ramadan, in expectation of a good meal-who get to eat it. It is the family's Friday meal, where any vegetables left over from the week's provisions go in, and also famously the food sent to the mosque by the pious to be distributed to the poor.

Couscous is a.s.sociated with the indigenous Berbers, who call it kesksou kesksou, a name said to be derived from the sound steam makes as it pa.s.ses through the grain. No written reference was made of it until the thirteenth century-a time when the Berber Almohad dynasty ruled Andalusia and all of North Africa-when it featured prominently in Arabic culinary ma.n.u.scripts of the Maghreb (North Africa) and Andalusia. The special type of durum wheat that is used originated in Ethiopia and was supposedly introduced in the region by the Arabs by the tenth century. But it is in the Berber lands, where steaming in a clay colander placed over a boiling pot was an age-old practice, that the special way of rolling the grain and then cooking it over a broth was developed.

Until not very long ago, every family bought its wheat at the market and took it to the local mill to be ground to the degree of fineness they preferred, then brought it home to be processed or "rolled" by hand. This is traditionally done by the following method: A few handfuls of semolina (medium-ground durum wheat) are spread in a wide shallow wooden or clay dish. The semolina is sprinkled with a little cold salted water to moisten it and rolled with the open hand with a circular clockwise movement as it is gradually sprinkled with flour, until the granules are evenly coated with a fine film of flour to form very tiny b.a.l.l.s. These are shaken through two or three sieves with different size holes (the first with larger holes) to sort them by size, and lastly through a very fine sieve to eliminate any excess flour. Larger granules are enlarged with more moistening and rolling in flour and are used as a type of pasta called berkouke berkoukes or mhamma mhammas. Without this coating of flour, the couscous would cook into a stodgy porridge.

Large amounts of couscous were prepared in advance, either to be stored or for special occasions such as a wedding or circ.u.mcision or a return from a pilgrimage to Mecca. Women from the family and neighbors a.s.sembled to work together. It took hours but it was a day of fun and rejoicing as they gossiped and laughed and sang. Before the rolled grain was stored, it was first steamed for about 20 minutes then dried for two days on sheets laid out on rooftops. This ensured it would keep for a long time.

Nowadays, very few women roll their own grain, even in the country areas. The process has been industrialized and the vast majority now buy it ready-processed or in an instant precooked variety, which can be bought in three different grades: fine, medium, and large. Those who insist on having the time-honored homemade couscous for a special event call in professional artisans-Berber women or dada dadas (see page 16)-to the house to make it. Traditional purists find the precooked instant variety unacceptable, even offensive. It does not have the special quality of the real thing made by hand, but I suspect they are also mourning the loss of an old culture and the rituals that accompanied it. Nevertheless, the precooked instant couscous is used in many North African restaurants abroad and by busy North African families in France as well as in Morocco. It can be perfectly good if handled properly.

I visited a couscous processing factory in Sfax during an international conference in 1993, which took us on a fabulous gastronomic tour of Tunisia. We were received with welcoming banners and offered a tasting of dozens of couscous dishes, both savory and sweet. Women in Berber dress gave demonstrations of the old ancestral ways of rolling couscous by hand and steaming it. When the owner of the factory showed us around the plant, I asked him what he advised was the best way to use his product since packages sold abroad gave different instructions. He said that, although steaming is a ritual and part of the culture of North Africa that the people are used to and hold on to, you can just as well add water and heat it through in the oven-even, he added very quietly, in a microwave, which many of the women now do.

The couscous we get in the United States is the precooked, instant variety. Supermarkets sell the medium-size granules that are best for ordinary couscous dishes, while the "fine" variety called "couscous seffa seffa," used for stuffings and sweet couscous (see the dessert section), can be found in specialty Moroccan and a few Middle Eastern stores. With care, it is possible, even with precooked couscous, to prepare it so that it swells and becomes light, fluffy, and airy, each grain soft and separate from its neighbor. Moroccans describe it as "velvety."

There are many regional and seasonal versions of couscous dishes. It can be very simple, with the couscous plus just one vegetable such as fresh green peas, or it can be quite grandiose with stuffed pigeons sitting on a mountain of couscous mixed with almonds and raisins. Every family makes it in their own special way, and it is always different every time they make it. It can, with experience, be the easiest thing to prepare in advance and to serve at a large dinner party. It can be spectacular and there is something about the dish that inspires conviviality. By tradition, couscous is a communal dish. The old traditional way was to eat it with one hand straight from the serving dish. Nowadays, couscous is eaten with a spoon-the meat is supposed to be so tender that you can pull it apart with your fingers and you don't need to cut it with a knife.

The traditional method of cooking couscous is by steaming it over a broth or over water in a couscoussier- couscoussier-a large round pot with a colander on top that holds the couscous. The couscous needs to be steamed three times, and between each steaming it is taken out and moistened with cold water and rubbed so any lumps are removed. In all, the process takes about three-quarters of an hour.

Since almost all the couscous available in America is of the precooked variety, it requires a different treatment. I use a very simple method (see page 112), which cannot fail. However, even with this method of preparing precooked couscous, there is an art in achieving light, airy, separate grains.

Warka or or Brick Brick for for Bstilla Bstilla and and Briwat Briwat Large, ever-so-thin pancakes called warka warka are used to make large round pies called are used to make large round pies called bstilla bstilla (or (or pastilla pastilla) and small ones called briwat. briwat. These are made in the shape of cigars, triangles, cornets, and square parcels with a variety of fillings and are deep-fried. These are made in the shape of cigars, triangles, cornets, and square parcels with a variety of fillings and are deep-fried.

Making warka warka is a highly skilled operation and these days it is left to specialists. A dough is made with hard-wheat (or bread) flour, a pinch of salt, and warm water, and then kneaded for a long time as more water is worked in to obtain a soft, very moist, spongy elasticity. Then the dough is left to rest for an hour, covered with a film of warm water. Lumps the size of an egg are picked up with one hand and dabbed onto the oiled surface of a round tray placed bottom side up over a fire. As the dough touches the tray with repeated dabs, a thin, almost transparent, film of pastry is built up and gradually expanded into a round about 12 inches in diameter. is a highly skilled operation and these days it is left to specialists. A dough is made with hard-wheat (or bread) flour, a pinch of salt, and warm water, and then kneaded for a long time as more water is worked in to obtain a soft, very moist, spongy elasticity. Then the dough is left to rest for an hour, covered with a film of warm water. Lumps the size of an egg are picked up with one hand and dabbed onto the oiled surface of a round tray placed bottom side up over a fire. As the dough touches the tray with repeated dabs, a thin, almost transparent, film of pastry is built up and gradually expanded into a round about 12 inches in diameter.

Nowadays, you can buy the vacuum-packed, round pastry sheets in Moroccan stores as "feuilles de brick." Brick "feuilles de brick." Brick is the Tunisian name of the little fried pies. I buy these sheets from North African stores in Golborne Road, London W10, and they are in all French supermarkets. They freeze very well. Quality varies, and they are never as good as homemade ones. I personally prefer to use fillo instead, because I like baking rather than frying the pies, and the round sheets of is the Tunisian name of the little fried pies. I buy these sheets from North African stores in Golborne Road, London W10, and they are in all French supermarkets. They freeze very well. Quality varies, and they are never as good as homemade ones. I personally prefer to use fillo instead, because I like baking rather than frying the pies, and the round sheets of brick brick are wonderful and crisp when they are deep-fried, but come out unpleasantly tough when baked. are wonderful and crisp when they are deep-fried, but come out unpleasantly tough when baked.

I started using fillo for Moroccan pies long ago but I always felt a little guilty about not using the real thing until a young Moroccan cook who had been sent to Disneyland in the United States to demonstrate Moroccan cooking at an international festival of tourism told me about her team's experience. They had not antic.i.p.ated the extent of the demand for briwat briwat and quickly ran out of pastry. A Lebanese contingent nearby loaned the Moroccan cooks fillo and they continued to make the pies with this pastry, which turned out perfectly satisfactory. and quickly ran out of pastry. A Lebanese contingent nearby loaned the Moroccan cooks fillo and they continued to make the pies with this pastry, which turned out perfectly satisfactory.

About Spices and Aromatics What is most surprising and fascinating to us is the way Moroccans mix savory with sweet, and the way they mix a number of spices to achieve a very delicate, subtle flavor. There are no sweet-and-sour dishes, but sugar or honey can be part of savory dishes such as meat stews and vegetable dishes. Dozens of aromatics are used and some are ubiquitous. c.u.min, which is believed to stimulate the appet.i.te, ginger, paprika, and chili are common in appetizers as well as in fish dishes. Saffron, ginger, and cinnamon are the constant aromatics of sweet tagine tagines. There are spice mixtures for ground meat, kefta kefta (cilantro seed, c.u.min, mace, allspice, paprika, or chili pepper), and mixtures for soup (cinnamon, caraway, c.u.min, ginger, pepper). (cilantro seed, c.u.min, mace, allspice, paprika, or chili pepper), and mixtures for soup (cinnamon, caraway, c.u.min, ginger, pepper). Ras el hanout Ras el hanout (meaning "the head of the shop") is a legendary mixture of twenty-seven spices including the golden beetle that is the aphrodisiac Spanish fly. Spice merchants have their own secret blends and now there are brands made by small local producers that you can buy in Europe. (meaning "the head of the shop") is a legendary mixture of twenty-seven spices including the golden beetle that is the aphrodisiac Spanish fly. Spice merchants have their own secret blends and now there are brands made by small local producers that you can buy in Europe.

The most prestigious and also ubiquitous spice used extensively in soups and tagine tagines is saffron. In Morocco, it is cultivated in the region of Taliouine between Taroudannt and Ouarzazate. Because it is expensive, many Moroccans use a low-grade adulterated powder that gives a yellow color and has hardly any taste or aroma, but using the "threads" or stigmas of the Crocus sativus Crocus sativus, or a very good quality powder, makes the difference to a dish. Turmeric is the poor man's saffron. You can smell it in the aroma of stews and soups sold by street vendors. It is yellow but the flavor is nothing like that of saffron.

When you cook a Moroccan dish, it is most important to achieve a delicate marriage of flavors and, with the sweet tagine tagines especially, a balance between sweet and salty. Dishes with sugar and honey must have enough salt and also plenty of black pepper to mitigate the sweetness. They say you must "weigh with your eye," but of course you must also taste and you must learn to trust your taste. Preserved lemon peel is used as an aromatic, and oils also contribute their flavor. Sophisticated cooks now commonly replace the traditional peanut oil with extra virgin olive oil for cooking as well as for dressings. Argan oil (see page 31), which has a distinctive nutty flavor, is also used as a dressing. Flower waters, made from the blossoms of bitter oranges and roses (see pages 6 and 7), are used to perfume puddings and pastries. People make them at home. In the spring, mountains of the flowers are to be seen for sale in huge, floppy baskets in all the markets.

About Argan Oil Argan oil is obtained from the nut in the yellow fruit of the argan tree, which grows exclusively in southwest Morocco. It has a distinctive nutty flavor and is used as a dressing. It does not keep very well.

Goats famously climb in the trees and jump from one branch to another, munching the argan fruit. The pulp is digested and the stone is expelled. The stones are then collected and cracked to release the nut from which the oil is made. Nowadays the pulp is removed by an industrial process at a women's cooperative, but the nuts are still cracked by the women. The oil is believed locally to have aphrodisiac properties. It is also valued for its medicinal and cosmetic qualities. Women rub it on their faces and necks as a night lotion, and in their hair.