MIMOUNA-WHAT?

After eight days of not eating chametz (leavened foods forbid-

den during Passover) all that really matters to people at the end of the holiday is stuffing as much pizza/pasta/bread into their mouths as they can and then probably collaps-ing in a carb-induced food coma.

The big holiday finale is a lot more exciting for Moroccan Jews who end Passover with the celebration of the Mimouna. Once Passover has ended Moroccan Jews open up their homes to each other and spend the night going from house to house, also known as “Mimouna hopping”, cel-ebrating and feasting.

In Morocco, the celebration of the Mimouna began on the afternoon of the last day of Passover when Muslim neighbors would “bring flowers, milk, butter, honey, green beans, stalks of wheat and grain, lettuce, etc., to the homes of the Jews.”

According to Gil Marks, flour and starter dough would also be included in this gift, which would be used when preparing post-Passover chametz dishes for the Mimouna celebrations taking place later in the evening.

The central element of this night is the elaborate Mimouna table loaded with a plethora of sweet dishes and symbolic foods. The table would be adorned with a white tablecloth, rep-resenting purity. Various symbolic foods were placed on the Mimouna table, including a pitcher of butter-milk, “a large fish on a bed of let-tuce or, if possible, a live small fish in a bowl of water; a plate (taifur del Mimouna) filled with flour and topped with five or seven pea pods or green beans, dates, and coins; and green stalks of wheat.” These symbolic foods were meant to signify themes of “renewal, fertility, abundance, blessings, and prosperity”

by Kat Romanow

But what does the word Mimouna actually mean? There are a few the-

ories floating around and some people think the word Mimouna is related to the Hebrew word for faith, emuna. That it is a celebration through which people show they still have faith that the redemption of the Jewish people, which is supposed to happen in the month that Passover takes place, will happen one day. Although my favourite explanation is that the word Mimouna comes from the name of a North Afri-can female she-devil or goddess (de-pending on who you ask) who was con-sidered to be Lady Luck and married to the demon Maimon. This celebration is a way to both honor and appease her.The celebration of the Mimouna has

taken on various meanings for the Mo-roccan-Jewish community in Canada. It has come to be a way for people to up-hold a tradition that has been an ongo-ing part of this community for centuries and functions as a way for Moroccan Jews to preserve and display their Mo-roccan heritage in a landscape in which they have been the minority and have gone through a long and often difficult process of carving out their own place. Furthermore, the Mimouna is an impor-tant element in the maintenance of the social network of the community. More recently the Mimouna has also been a way for Ashkenazi Jews to learn about the rituals of the Moroccan Jewish com-munity and for these two very different communities to get to know each other.

Aaron Cohen picked up the chopping knife in his youth as a scout, under the

name “Castor Vaillant” (Brave Beaver), but it is only in his later years, after his wife’s passing, that he started cooking religiously, as a means to bring his entire family together. Born in Meknes and living in Montreal since 1974, Aaron’s love for food and entreprise inspired him to open his own dehydration factory, a kosher wine industry, an olive company and even im-port-export of east-coast sea food.

Aaron’s Mufleta

1 kilo flour (8 cups)2 tbsp active dry yeastWarm water2 or 3 eggsButter (can be replaced with oil)

1. Dissolve the yeast in ¼ cup of warm water. Add the sugar. Let it foam for 15 minutes.2. Add the yeast mixture to the flour and gradually add water until the dough is supple, slightly softer than regular bread dough.3. Put aside and let it rise for 30 mins.4. Soften a generous amount of butter (you’ll have to use it to grease the sur-face where you are working, the dough, and the pan).5. Generously pour butter onto a large working surface.6. Separate the dough into egg-sized balls.7. Flatten and spread each ball with your fingers until the dough is almost transparent.8. Use your fingers to spread butter over the surface of the dough.9. Fold the dough by bringing the four sides inwards to make a square.10. Put aside, and continue with the rest of the balls of dough.11. Warm the pan 12. When pan is hot, reflatted the square of dough.13. Cook until golden on both sides.14. Enjoy drizzled with honey.

With the flour and starter dough that was given to them by their Muslim neighbors, Jewish women

would also prepare mufleta, a thin yeast pancake that is a Mimouna delicacy. These pancakes are served warm, spread with butter and honey.

Julie Kakon’s Orange Confite(Candied Orange Slices)4 large oranges4 cups sugarabout 4 cups water

1. Remove the outermost layer of the orange rind with a microplane or fine grater, and rinse the oranges in cold water.

2. Pierce the rind with a fork, all around.

3. Place the 4 oranges in a pan, and fill with water until oranges are covered.

4. Under medium heat, bring to a boil for 20-25 mins until the peel of the oranges are soft.

5. Take the oranges out and let them cool down. When cooled, cut them into quarters (or eighths).

6. Meanwhile, put sugar in a pan. Add water to cover the sugar. Bring to boil till you have a thick syrup. Monitor for the color (it should not get brown). This should take 30 mins.

7. Place the orange slices in the pan with the syrup. Cook for 30 mins.

8. Serve the oranges with the syrup on top.

“My mother does something else, she’s from Meknes, this is more of a religious city … and she makes what you call nougat, but it’s

called zaban. Now this is a delicious thing, she beats egg whites with sugar until it becomes really chewy and then she will incorporate in that grilled walnuts. And she lays it on a big platter and there will be all little spoons around the table, everybody will take a spoon.” and eat it.”

– Esther, Montreal

Zaban

4 cups icing sugar2 eggs whitesJuice of 1 lemon½ cup of water½ cup of almonds ½ cup of walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and roast the almost and walnuts until they’re golden brown, about 5 to 10 minutes. Separate the nuts in half.

For the Syrup: Place the water and the sugar in a small pot and bring to a

boil over medium heat. Add the lemon juice and let boil until the syrup reaches 242-248 degrees F on a candy ther-mometer (this is the firm ball stage).Let the syrup cool.

1. Whip the egg whites until peaks form.

2. Slowly add the syrup to the egg whites and continue to whip the mixture until you have a soft spoonable nougat. This will take about 10 minutes.

3. Stir in half the nuts. Place in a bowl and decorate with the remaining al-monds and walnuts.

Along with the more traditional Mimouna dishes, some famillies have developed their own traditions for this holiday. One family integrated their father’s tradi-

tion of serving a Tunisian tuna sandwich at their Mimouna. The sandwich consists of Italian style bread that is stuffed with tuna, peppers, squashed carrot salad, tomato and artichoke salad, black olives, hard-boiled eggs, olive oil and some-times a spicy condiment such as harissa.

Tunisian Tuna Sandwich

Italian style paninis Canned tunaRoasted peppersMoroccan carrot salad (see below)Marinated artichokes, cut into quartersTomato slicesMoroccan black olivesHard-boiled eggsOlive oilHarissa

Split open the paninis, making sure that the two halves stay attached.

Spread each half of the panini with harissa and drizzle with olive oil.

Fill each panini with the canned tuna, roasted peppers, Morrocan carrot salad, marinated artichokes, tomato slices, black olives, hard-boiled eggs.

Moroccan Carrot Salad12 medium carrots, peeled, trimmed and sliced1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed¾ tsp. ground cumin¼ tsp. paprika3 pinches cayenne2 pinches ground cinnamon1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice3 tbsp. olive oil2 tbsp. chopped parsleySalt to taste

1. Boil carrots and garlic in a pot of water over medium heat until soft, 6–8 min-utes. Drain; let cool.

2. Transfer to a bowl, add cumin, paprika, cayenne, cinnamon, lemon juice, olive oil, parsley, and salt to taste; toss well.

It is traditional to have a whole fish on a bed of lettuce as part of the Mimouna table but many people choose to serve fish dishes as well. A popular trend in

Montreal is to serve sushi at the Mimouna, much to the surprise of older genera-tion. This speaks to the widespread love of sushi among North American Jews.

Moroccan-style Salmon

1. Rinse 4 servings of salmon and season with salt on both sides.

2. In a big shallow bowl, add the following ingredients:¼ cup oil1 tbsp fresh coriander leaves, finely chopped1 heaping tsp of tomato paste1 small preserved lemon, cut into small pieces½ tsp paprika1/8 tsp crushed chilli peppers3 – 5 crushed garlic clovesa pinch of turmericsalt to taste

3. Cover the pieces of salmon with the sauce and let marinate for a few hours in the fridge. 4. Remove as much sauce as possible from the bowl, and heat in a pan with 1/2 a red & 1/2 a green pepper cut into strips. Cook over medium heat for about 8 minutes. 5. Place the fish into the pan and cook for approximately 10 minutes or until fish is cooked through, lowering the heat after 5 minutes. If the sauce is too reduced, add a little bit of warm water at the end.

Couscous au beurre “Chefa”2 cups of couscous (dry)1 ¼ cups of almonds unpeeled½ cup of butter1 cup sugar½ cup of oilsaltcinammon 1 teaspoon orange water1 tablespoon oil

COUSCOUS

To prepare couscous for use in most dishes:It is recommended to use a couscoussier to achieve the light, fluffy couscous that makes this dish so good – but if this isn’t available, use the directions from the package.

Put dry couscous in a bowl and cover with water. Drain immediately in a strainer and return to bowl. Add a generous spoonful of oil and a pinch of salt. Mix with hands and let rest. Over the next 30 minutes, ‘aerate’ the couscous several times by run-ning it through your hands making sure to eliminate all lumps – make the couscous ‘rain’ back into the bowl. After 30 minutes, add water one more time and mix well. Let it stand a few more minutes to absorb all the water. It is now ready to be steamed.

To steam: Fill the couscoussier 3/4 of the way with water and bring it to boil. Place the top piece on the couscoussier. When it starts steaming, slowly pour the couscous into the couscoussier.* It should take 5-10 minutes to steam.

*if adding raisins, place these in the couscoussier before the couscous.

First rinse and dry almonds. Roast in the oven at low temperature for 20 mins. With the help of a blender, grind 1/3 of the almonds, pound 2/3 and leave the rest for decoration.

Put steamed couscous in a bowl. Add the butter, sugar, grounded almonds, cinnamon and orange water.Arrange in a beautiful serving plate in the form of a pyramid. Ornate the top of the pyramid with pound almonds, and sprinkle the whole almonds all around.

* fruit jams can be added on the bottom of the pyramid: black raisins cooked in sugar under low heat. or dried apricots, or dried prunes.

Couscous is a traditional Berber dish of steamed semolina, or durum wheat. It is a staple food throughout Northern-African cuisine and can be served in both savoury and sweet prepa-rations.

Gilberte’s couscous au légumesServes 6 or more

2 cups couscous (dry)1 small green cabbage, quartered (or ½ a large cabbage)1 butternut squash (or similar), peeled and cut into large chunks1 banana squash (or similar), peeled and cut into large chunks3-4 small to medium sized onions, halvedSeveral large carrots, peeled and cut into large chunks1 ½ cups soaked chickpeas (or 1 can)¾ cup raisins (optional)¾ cup slivered almonds1 pinch saffron*Vegetable oilAbout 2 tbsp sugarSalt and pepper to taste

* Dry out the saffron by wrapping it in aluminum foil and putting it in the oven on low heat. It can then be crushed in the foil and will be easier to distribute throughout the dish. Turmeric can be used to achieve the same colouring (but the taste will be different).

For the vegetables:Cover the bottom of a large pan with oil. Fill the pan with the large pieces of veg-etable. Add sugar, a generous pinch of salt, and most of the saffron. Cover the vegetables completely with water and put the cover on the pan. Bring to a low boil and simmer until vegetables are tender. Taste for seasoning. Add chickpeas and some pepper and continue to simmer un-covered until they are warmed through.

To serve:Mix the remaining saffron and slivered almonds into the couscous. Serve the couscous in a deep dish with the veg-etables around it and the broth from the vegetables poured over.

Gilberte Cohen-Scali was born in Fes, Morocco, and learned Moroccan cooking in little spurts, when her mother would come visit her in Arizona where she

was living with her young family. When her mother passed away, Gilberte realized that if she didn’t do something, all of the recipes from that generation would be lost. She spent 13 years collecting recipes from her community for a Sephardic-Moroccan cookbook that was released in 2012 (La cuisine sépharade marocaine des grands jours et du quotidien). Find the video of Gilberte making her veg-etable couscous and salade cuite on our website (www.rootsandrecipes.com).

About Roots & RecipesFood brings us together; one shared meal prepared with love and slowly savoured can produce countless memories. The Roots & Recipes project aims to collect the family recipes and kitchen stories of first and second generation immigrants in Montreal in an inter-generational web series called, “Dishing Up the Past” along with live events where we will share our own stories, learn recipes from our “col-lective” grandmothers and enjoy food prepared with love.

This multi-media project emerged out of a desire to find new ways of engaging women who may not think they have a story to share, as well as a common desire from the members of Roots & Recipes to collect the kitchen wisdom carried on from generation to generation. We realized food is a neutral starting point to delve into deeper issues of identity, memory and place.

Please contact us if you have a family recipe or food story to share in our video series or on our blog.

Photos : Sophie Bertrand & Chloe CharbonnierLayout : Rebecca LessardCover Drawing: Sara Cohen-Fournier

Roots & Recipes is Sara Cohen-Fournier, Rebecca Lessard, Kat Romanow & Myrite Rotstein