The Food oF Morocco by Paula WolFerT ‘To touch the past with one’s hands is realised only in dreams, and in Morocco the dream-feeling envelops one at every step.’ Edith Wharton

Edith Wharton wrote those words more than ninety years ago. And fifty years ago, when I first set foot in Morocco, there could not have been a better description of what I felt. I came as a nineteen-year-old beatnik. I had read the amazing novels and stories of Paul Bowles set in Morocco – lingered over his fine renditions of labyrinthine medinas and inscrutable utterances, not to mention his frightening dramatisations of the mysteries and adventures that may befall the stranger round every corner. I had come to an exotic land in search of ‘The Other’. I was, I thought, prepared for almost anything.

I soon discovered that it was I who was actually ‘the other’. And as I explored, made my way through the narrow streets of the medina of Tangier, it was not the kind of adventures described by Bowles that befell me, but something else I was not prepared for: the seductions of Moroccan cuisine. These seductions did not creep up on me slowly, but hit me square in the face almost at once. The sharp scent of cumin on the air. Passing by a community oven and catching the scent of anise and freshly baking bread. The street smells of grilling skewered meats. Whiffs of pungently spiced fried fresh sardines. The unique aroma of chickpea flour being slowly baked with olive oil and eggs to make a glistening flan in a wood fired oven. And at dusk, during the month of Ramadan, the surprise of watching as a voluptuous thick soup fragrantly seasoned with sweet spices was portioned out to people standing in line in the Grand Socco, the central marketplace, after the cannon in the Port of Tangier had been fired to mark the end of that day’s fast.

Soon, at the homes of Moroccan friends, I tasted the more refined dishes: a pyramid of light, airy couscous topped with caramelised onions, raisins and almonds; a bastila – pastry stuffed with dark pigeon meat, eggs, spices and ground almonds and fried crisp; chickens prepared half a dozen different ways with preserved lemons and olives. The cuisine that was revealed changed my life. I became obsessed with learning everything I could about it. And the more deeply I explored, the more intensely I came to feel that this was the cuisine for me.

The Food of Morocco is a distillation of everything I know about Moroccan cuisine, everything I have learnt about it during my fifty-year love affair with that country and its food. I have spent my professional life exploring the cuisines of the Mediterranean, and my fieldwork has taken me from Spain to Turkey, from France to Tunisia, and to almost every country and island in between. But always I have found myself coming back to Morocco, haunted by the tastes and aromas of the inimitable food that enveloped me through my early sojourns in Tangier.

Kefta

Kefta is the savoury spiced minced meat (lamb or beef) of Morocco, served in meatball form or used as stuffing. In traditional Moroccan homes I’ve seen it chopped by hand with a heavy steel knife, then kneaded with the spices into a smooth paste.

In Tangier my butcher usually added some minced lamb’s-tail fat to enhance the texture. At home in the US I use lean beef or lamb, then blend in a small amount of crème fraîche or grated fresh beef suet to create the right ‘mouthfeel’. Some Moroccan cooks add a beaten egg.

KeFTa Tagine WiTh herbs, sPices and leMon

In some Moroccan homes where fiery dishes are appreciated, a whole dried red chilli is added to the sauce. Serve this with toasted Moroccan Country Bread. Serves 4 or 5

KeFTa

450g lean minced lamb or beef3 tbl crème fraîche or grated fresh beef suet2 tsp sweet paprika1 tsp ground cumin, preferably Moroccan1 tsp ground coriander¾ tsp ground Ceylon cinnamon¼ tsp grated nutmeg¼ tsp cayenne pepperSalt and freshly ground black pepper2 tbl roughly chopped flat-leaf parsley leaves2 tbl roughly chopped coriander leaves

sauce

1 medium red onion, grated ¼ tsp ground ginger 30g unsalted butter 2–3 pinches of cayenne pepper4 tbl saffron water Pinch of ground turmeric 1 tsp sweet paprika 60g chopped coriander leaves½ tsp ground cumin 2 tbl fresh lemon juice

Moroccans have dozens of recipes that use kefta, including a wonderful summer tagine in which kefta balls are poached lightly in a flavourful tomato sauce, then topped with poached eggs. In winter kefta balls are smothered and simmered in a herb sauce. And all year round you’ll find them placed over a bed of simmered slices of potatoes and garnished with green olives, or over spring onions and garnished with sultanas. Kefta is also great-tasting when simply skewered and grilled, accompanied by a grouping of traditional salads. And it is stuffed into vegetables, as well as the triangular fried pastries called briwats.

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1. To make the kefta, combine all the ingredients in a food processor and blend until pasty. Form into 24 olive-size balls. Chill.

2. To make the sauce, set a 28 or 30cm tagine or cazuela on a heat diffuser over a medium-low heat. Add the grated onion, butter, saffron water, paprika, cumin, ginger, cayenne, turmeric, ½ teaspoon salt, 45g of the coriander and 120ml hot water. Slowly increase the heat and bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low, cover and simmer gently for 10 minutes to blend the flavours.

3. Add the kefta and poach, covered, for 30 minutes, turning them over halfway through cooking.

4. Add the lemon juice and correct the seasoning with salt and pepper. Transfer the hot tagine to a wooden surface or a folded towel on a serving plate (to prevent cracking). Garnish with the remaining coriander and serve directly from the tagine pot, with warm slices of toasted Moroccan bread for mopping up the sauce.

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