the weekend the olive harvest began
Posted by jeffkoehler in Uncategorized | Comment now »
Posted by jeffkoehler in Uncategorized | Comment now »
I am very pleased to be in the November issue of Condé Nast Traveler, offering some of my top picks for eating in Marrakech. (I would add tangia as #6.) Turn to page 48 in your copy to read it, or click here.
Posted by jeffkoehler in news, on the road, Uncategorized | Comment now »
Posted by jeffkoehler in Uncategorized | Comment now »
I have a new opinion piece up on Zester Daily about the pleasures of discovering Morocco and what drove me on, curve after curve.
You can find the whole piece here. It begins like this:
While it is often easy to oversimplify the unknown, or at least the unfamiliar — a place, a cuisine, not to mention a culture — the real pleasure in travel or eating comes from discovering the unexpected and exploring the complexities and contradictions that we unfailingly encounter. When we scratch beneath the obvious and accessible, those polished but rarely three-dimensional surfaces found in glossy magazines or mid-century travel books, we find the essential elements that profoundly inform on the place. We need to sift a bit through the layers to find its truer essence.
Like any number of countries and their magnificent kitchens — Turkey, Mexico and even Spain spring to mind — Morocco frequently suffers a simplified fate, considered by many to consist of a largely homogeneous landscape and handful of familiar (though generally misunderstood) dishes.
(click here to continue reading)
Posted by jeffkoehler in Uncategorized | Comment now »
There is a review of MOROCCO in the September-October issue of Saudi Aramco World, the intelligent, insightful, and always interesting publication on items from around the Islamic world.
Morocco: A Culinary Journey With Recipes From the Spice-Scented Markets of Marrakech to the Date-Filled Oasis of Zagora. Jeff Koehler. 2012, Chronicle Books, 978-0-81187-738-1, $29.95 hb. What better way to introduce a culture and a people than painting a vivid picture of their culinary art? Jeff Koehler does exactly that, offering a colorful and mouth- watering introduction to the cookery of Morocco while diving into the historical, cultural and social contexts of each recipe he presents. Contrary to the title’s southern Morocco orientation, Koehler thoroughly explores the cuisine—or, as he puts it, “the cuisines”—of the country as he narrates his wanderings from the Spanish-influenced northwest to the Saharan fringes of the deep south, with stops at many suqs and kitchens in between. Highly eclectic and diverse, the nature of Moroccan cooking is well captured in writing and photographs that blend sweet and savory and mix in a variety of spices in recipes such as bistilla or veal-shank tagine with pears, to name just two. This book can be an excellent resource for the curious cook and savvy foodie alike. —Manal Bougazzoul (SO12)
Posted by jeffkoehler in Uncategorized | Comment now »
It might be a cliché that Thailand is a great place to travel with kids, but look at this woman’s sweet, indulging, and gentle smile as my youngest daughter grills her own dinner in a village along the Mekong. That about sums it up.
Posted by jeffkoehler in Uncategorized | Comment now »
Posted by jeffkoehler in Uncategorized | Comment now »
Morocco: A Culinary Journey with Recipes from the Spice-Scented Markets of Marrakech to the Date-Filled Oasis of Zagora
Some international cookbooks stimulate appetites and others induce wanderlust—this survey of Moroccan cuisine does both. Food writer and photographer Jeff Koehler (Rice Pasta Couscous; La Paella) captures the complexity of his subject matter with the exacting detail of a scholar and the color and sensuality of a spice market. A brief historical overview is followed by regional guides that cover the country’s diverse geographic territories, from the Atlantic and Mediterranean coastlines to the Sahara desert. Setting the stage for modern cooks, he covers some suggested pantry items (argan oil; 12 different kinds of dates; the spice blend ras el hanout) and equipment (couscoussier; tagine). The more than 70 recipes reflect the variety of cultural traditions carried over from Arab (stuffed phyllo pastry), Berber (blistered flatbread), and Spanish inhabitants (mussels in tomato sauce). Emblematic dishes like tomato-based harira soup, chicken tagine with preserved lemon and olives, and seven-vegetable couscous are included alongside street eats like snails in broth and a contemporary update on lamb tagine featuring oranges, saffron, and candied orange peel. The sumptuous photographs complete the almost-like-being-there experience. Photos. (June)
Posted by jeffkoehler in Uncategorized | Comment now »
Posted by jeffkoehler in Uncategorized | Comment now »