Kitty Morse

Though I plan on including a lot more pertinent information on this page, I just needed to publicly expose misconceptions and my pet "culinary" peeves. 

The first is:

“Is Israeli couscous really couscous?”

 No! It isn’t! Israeli couscous is a pasta product, similar to Italian Orzo. Unlike couscous, it is not semolina at all, but rather baked wheat. And, while true North African couscous is usually steamed, the bead like pellets of this so-called “Israeli couscous” must be boiled like pasta to become palatable. Visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israeli_couscous for more detailed information.

 Another is: “Can I expedite the process for making preserved lemons?” 

Well, not really, if you want to make preserves. Preserved lemons, as their name implies, must be left to soften for 4 to 6 weeks at room temperature. I am aware of a number of  “quick” recipes—including a “vacuum-packed” method for making this addictive Moroccan condiment. You may gain a few days, or even a few weeks’ time—but the end flavor will be quite different. Patience is a pre-requisite to making REAL preserved lemons. Sorry. Put up a jar now! It is the season for lemons.

Couscoussier vs Couscoussière:

Cooks from France popularized the feminine ending. Any Pied-Noir(e) or North African worth his or her salt uses the masculine, COUSCOUSSIER, or else, calls the pot bellied implement that holds the couscous broth by its Arabic name, keskes.

Aie! Aie! Aie! Besteeya:  Neither French, nor English, nor Arabic,  this bizarre transliteration doesn’t do (grammatical) justice to Morocco’s magnificent chicken “pie”. What’s wrong with calling the dish bestila or bastila, a word that better denotes its real Arabic name? The French know it as pastilla.

Why do so many  people persist in calling TAGINE (TAH-GINE) a TANGINE (when did the “N” sneak in there?)

Enough pet peeves for now! Here a a couple of sites for you to explore:

I was delighted to stumble upon http://www.marocantan.com and http://www.levieuxmaroc.com, sites (in French) about colonial Morocco viewed through vintage photographs. I even got to revisit my old high school, the Lycee de Jeunes Filles in Casablanca.

In my entry at  http://www.kittymorse.com/2008/09/23/bay-area-impressions, I write about the Vietnamese influence on Moroccan cuisine. Indeed,  I often explain in my classes that mung bean noodles (vermicelles de Chine in French) have infiltrated the Moroccan culinary repertoire, especially as a stuffing for chicken or fish. To better comprehend this unusual Asian influence, visit the following blog that focuses on Vietnamese-Moroccans searching for their  roots. http://2morocco.blogspot.com/2008/12/moroccans-from-vietnam-proud-of-their.html

Let me know if you have a "fabulous" find regarding any aspect of Morocco you might want to share.

September 2009:

I have just read the most interesting article in Saudi Aramco World, a beautiful (and free for the asking) magazine about Arab culture: The Saracens (many of them Berbers) invaded France’s Saint Tropez, yes THE Saint Tropez, in the ninth and tenth centuries of our era. Read all about this extraordinary episode at

http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/200905/#

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