the coastal strip along the southern shores of the Mediterranean that make up the modern states of Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya, were the Berbers – a light-haired, fair-skinned people, who are thought to originate in Asia Minor. The Berber diet was based on wheat, lentils, broad beans, goat’s milk and honey. Kesksou (couscous) – the most famous dish of North Africa – was invented by the Berbers.
In the first millennium B.C. the Phoenicians set up trading posts along the coast of North Africa and founded Carthage, near modern day Tunis. Although the Carthaginians planted wheat, olives and vines in the fifth century B.C., it was the Romans who developed agriculture on a grand scale, building aquaducts and canals as far away as Numidia in eastern Algeria. They built such vast estates of wheat fields that Carthage became known as the granary of Rome.
In the sixth century A.D. the Romans were overthrown by the Vandals, followed by the Byzantines. After the death of Mohammed in 631, the Arab Muslims overran North Africa and converted the people to Islam. The Arabs were great agriculturists and re-established Roman irrigation systems that had been destroyed by the Vandals. They built new underground canals in Tunisia and Morocco using techniques they learnt from the Persians.
New vegetables were introduced as well as all kinds of citrus fruit, rice and sugar. In the eighth century, the Arabs swept across the Straights of Gibraltar and invaded Spain, where they remained until they were expelled by the Spanish Inquisition in 1492. Spanish Moors and Jews fled Al-Andalus (the old word for Moorish Spain) and sought refuge in the Magreb, bringing with them a rich culinary heritage after 700 years in Spain. They encouraged the use of olives and olive oil in cooking instead of the Berber smen (a kind of clarified butter). They brought new vegetables and fruits: aubergines, carrots, turnips, quinces, apricots, peaches and cherries, as well as new vegetables from the New World – tomatoes, potatoes and chilli peppers. Exotic spices – cumin, cinnamon, saffron, turmeric and cloves – and warka, a paper-thin pastry similar to filo pastry, were introduced.
In the sixteenth century much of the Magreb (except Morocco) came under Ottoman rule. The Ottoman culinary influence is still apparent today. Tunisian brik and Algerian bourek both derive from the Turkish börek. Sweet pastries such as baklava and ktaif have obvious Turkish origins.
In the nineteenth century Algeria, followed by Tunisia, became a French Protectorate. (The French did not gain control of Morocco until 1912, at the same time that the Italians snatched Libya from the Ottomans.) The French were nicknamed Pied-Noirs (Black Feet) on account of their heavy black boots. Later, Pied-Noirs came to refer to anyone of Italian, Spanish or Portuguese origin – many of whom were Sephardic Jews – who lived in the Magreb. When Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia became independent many Pied-Noirs returned to live in France, bringing their adopted North African cooking with them, which had some influence in introducing the French to new exotic flavours and new ways of cooking.
Moroccan cooking has been called one of the world’s greatest cuisines. Spices, especially saffron, ginger, cinnamon, turmeric, sweet and hot pepper are used to flavour most savoury dishes. Meals usually begin with a colourful array of raw, cooked or puréed salads that rival the mezze of the Middle East. Simple salads of grilled or fried vegetables dressed with olive oil, garlic, preserved lemons, fresh coriander and parsley; little dishes of finely grated radishes; carrots and apples scented with orange flower water; or bowls of lentils or chickpeas dressed with olive oil, lemon juice grated ginger, cumin and garlic round out each meal.
The Fast of Ramadan is usually broken with a nourishing chickpea or lentil soup called harira. Harira has many variations. Harira kerouiya – a kind of gruel flavoured with mint, lemon juice, mastic and caraway seeds – is highly prized for its digestive qualities. Another nourishing soup is bessara, a broad bean soup that is often served in winter as a meal on its own with some khobz (Moroccan bread) on the side.
Kesksou (couscous) is the national dish. The word couscous not only refers to the fine grains of semolina with which it is made, but also to the finished dish. The Berbers originally ate couscous with smen – a pungent aged butter flavoured with herbs – and a bowl of milk. Today couscous is served in a variety of ways. In fact there are probably as many couscous dishes as there are cooks.
All kinds of vegetables – peppers, aubergine, courgettes, artichokes, okra, peas, potatoes, dried beans or chickpeas – are made into maraks or tajines (stews) with onions, garlic, fruits, olives or nuts, and flavoured with fresh coriander and flat-leaf parsley and an exotic mix of spices. Tajines are named after the round earthenware pot with a conical lid in which they are cooked, but take note – most Moroccan tajines include some meat, fish or poultry. Another Moroccan speciality are briouats, deep-fried triangular or cigar-shaped pastries made with warka (paper-thin pastry similar to filo pastry) that may be sweet or savoury. Savoury fillings include spinach or Swiss chard with onions, garlic and cumin, or rice and coarsely ground almonds. Sweet briouats filled with pounded dates or figs, or almond paste, are usually served for festivals, marriages or other special occasions.
Like most North Africans, Moroccans have a sweet tooth. Rich sweets and cakes are not usually served at the end of a meal, but at any time during the day with a glass of mint tea. Traditional pastries include m’hanncha (the serpent), a coiled pastry made with warka that is filled with almond paste flavoured with orange flower water and dusted with icing sugar and cinnamon, and kaab el ghzal (literally, gazelles’s horns) – crescent-shaped pastries filled with dates or almonds. Shebbakia – deep-fried pastries in the shape of rosettes that are dipped in honey and coated in sesame seeds – are usually served during Ramadan. Jabane is Moroccan nougat.
Algerian cooking is less spicy than that of Morocco and Tunisia, although they are fond of dersa – a hot sauce made with garlic, ground caraway seeds or cumin, and sweet and hot pepper, usually served with vegetables or fried eggs. Traditional salads include h’miss (a chopped roast pepper and tomato salad) and badendjel m’charmel (roast aubergine dressed with olive oil, vinegar, garlic and ground caraway seeds). Soups – chorba, djari or harira – are usually rich in vegetables and legumes. Several kinds of pasta are made – including rechta (egg noodles) and trida (little pasta squares), as well as rice, couscous, and berkoukes and m’hamsa, both of which are similar to couscous but with a large grain. Mesfouf is a sweet couscous with raisins or dates.
Algerians are fond of eggs and pancakes especially m’hadjeb, a savoury pancake filled with fried onions, tomatoes, garlic, and hot peppers. Egg dishes include bayd maqli bil dersa (fried eggs with hot sauce) and chakchouka (a delicious vegetable stew that is cooked with eggs that has many variations). Other vegetable dishes of note are khalota, a spicy vegetable stew reminiscent of the Provençal ratatouille and yamma wicha (aubergine simmered with chickpeas, fresh coriander, cinnamon and rice).
Briks or boureks are delicious savoury pastries made with paper-thin sheets of pastry called dioul that are similar to the Moroccan warka. Briks are filled with spinach, Swiss chard, potatoes, egg or cheese along with spices and deep fried.
Meals usually end with fresh or dried fruit, a bowl of fruit salad scented with orange flower water or perhaps a light milk pudding or cream. Traditional pastries such as knidlette (little tarts filled with almond paste), sfendj (ring-shapes doughnuts) and kaak bel qaress (lemon cakes) are usually prepared for religious festivals and special occasions. Bradj (date-filled pastries) are often served with leben (a kind of buttermilk).
The cooking of Tunisia and Libya are influenced by Italian and Ottoman cuisines. All kinds of pasta dishes are made, especially in Libya, with sauces highly seasoned with chilli, cinnamon, fresh coriander and parsley. Rishtit kas kas are homemade egg noodles with
