I Am A Culinary Historian - Exploring Food of Morocco

Los Angeles is a great place to be!  Yesterday we were able to take advantage of just one more opportunity to learn and grow - thanks to the Culinary Historians of Southern California, based in Los Angeles.  Who knew there were Culinary Historians!  We stumbled onto this group a couple of years ago when our "radar" noticed a blip in a local paper that mentioned: lecture...free...Los Angeles...Central Library...food...cooking...Steve Sando...Rancho Gordo Beans...all terms we continually scan for!  That lecture was the first of many we would attend.  The Culinary Historians were founded in 1995 as an affiliate of the Public Library for library patrons who "sought an intellectual as well as gastronomic approach to food, but not at the expense of taking themselves too seriously that they would forget to have fun!"  Through lectures and dining events they learn about food history, trends and social implications of what and how we eat.

When I saw that this month's speaker was Paula Wolfert I was especially intrigued.  I was familiar with Paula, a well-known cookbook author who specializes in the food, culture and history of the Mediterranean and especially the country of Morocco.

In the past I have used her recipes for greens and grains and explored cooking in clay pottery, but I did not know much about the actual cuisine of Morocco.  Not only did we attend the lecture, but we signed up for a "members only" Algerian dinner that same evening held at a local Algerian restaurant in Culver City, Cafe Livre, where Paula would also be a guest.

The lecture was fascinating.  It is so much fun to listen to someone speak on a topic that comes from her heart and with a depth of knowledge that comes from 40 years of traveling and writing thoughout the Mediterranean and results in words so eager to be expressed that you cannot take notes fast enough!  She made me want to sit on the floor with a family of Berbers and share the tagine of food, offering tidbits to others with the three fingers of my right hand and saving the eyeball for the honored guest!

Paula Wolfert being interviewed by Nancy Zaslavsky

The dinner in the evening was great fun.  Not only did we get to eat the Algerian cuisine but each dish was described by the owner/chef, Farid Zadi, who explained its history and preparation.

Chef Zadi explaining his dishes to us.

We had five courses that we with shared with spoons, not fingers.  Salads, hummus, soup, lamb shank,  Merquez sausage, and a tagine of vegetables with chicken, beef and lamb.  What I was most impressed with was the couscous.

Authentic couscous!!

Couscous is a fairly new dish for me. I knew it was from the Mediterranean region and was even often prepared in my beloved Sicily, but it is not a part of my family's culinary history. The only couscous I have prepared and eaten comes from a box of instant couscous from Trader Joe's, prepared and ready in 5 minutes.  Well, the difference between that and Chef Zadi's couscous was the difference between Chef Boyardee canned ravioli and my mother's homemade!  Who knew that couscous so could be so delicious!!  Of course he explained that it is steamed 3 times...from 45 minutes to an hour each time.  Its preparation is not for the faint-hearted.

That evening I could not help thinking about the world.  How amazing that I could eat Moroccan food in Los Angeles, that I could buy couscous at Trader Joe's.  As the world grows smaller, we become more alike and what is at risk is the loss of all that makes us unique.  So I guess it falls to those of us who remember to capture the traditions, the stories, the songs, the recipes; to preserve them so that those who follow us can know the roots and the people on whose shoulders we stand.  So, I rejoice that I am a historian...a keeper of the memories, the recipes, the stories and the traditions of my family.  It is a privilege to be able to look to the past while walking into the future.

Bottom line, we enjoyed our evening, making new friends at our table and getting to interact on a personal level with our guest of honor.

Will I ever attempt to make couscous traditionally?  Chi sa, who knows!. Will I ever go eat Chef Zadi's couscous at Cafe Livre?  Absolutely!