A Moroccan Grandmother's Love Is Rolled Into Her Couscous

Shared by Arielle (Nir) Mamiye and Efrat Navon 
Recipe Roots: Atlas Mountains, Morocco > Casablanca > Jerusalem area, Israel > Ashdod > New York 

When cousins Arielle Mamiye and Efrat Navon’s grandmother Esther Hazan passed away last year, the family gathered in her apartment in the Israeli city of Ashdod to celebrate her and remind one another of her love. “Most importantly we spent the evening talking about each other’s favorite dishes that she would cook for us,” Arielle, who is the culinary manager of the Jewish Food Society, explains.  

Efrat recounted her love of birkouks, a special type of couscous cooked in milk, another professed his love for Esther’s bread khobz, a white bread from Morocco, that Esther would enrich with beef and lamb fat. Esther, who was called savta or grandmother in Hebrew in the family, was also known for her matbucha, a cooked salad of tomato and pepper, chicken stuffed with nuts, and mhamar, a casserole made with eggs, potatoes, carrots, and peas.

Many of Esther’s recipes came with her from a village in the Atlas Mountains in Morocco where she was born, to Casablanca where she moved in the 1940s. Here, her father owned a spice shop in the souk and her husband Massoud worked on a vineyard. Excited by the news of Israel’s independence in 1948, Massoud and Esther planned to move to Israel and arrived by boat in the 1950s, settling into a maabara, or absorption center called Charoovit near Jerusalem before finally relocating to Ashdod, where they raised six children. 

Esther with her youngest daughter and Arielle’s mother, Michal, in her backyard in Ashdod in 1973.

In their Ashdod apartment, there was always room at their dinner table, particularly on Shabbat. Massoud would bring home guests from the synagogue who didn’t have a place to eat Shabbat dinner. “Esther always made room for these guests and extended the food for them,” Arielle explains.

Of all of Esther’s recipes, the two most beloved for Arielle and Efrat are for couscous that Esther would serve with a chicken and vegetable soup and rifat, or crunchy Moroccan anise cookies rolled out with a pasta machine, that are served with tea. 

Arielle says: “I associate this bowl of couscous with my existence in the hospitality world.” It was through her grandmother’s food and her couscous in particular that she came to appreciate the power of expressing love through cooking. “I was able to experience it so much that it really stuck with me,” she adds.  

Esther preparing couscous in her kitchen in 1998.

She experienced it every summer when the family would visit. Arielle’s mother Michal moved to the United States to raise a family, but they remain deeply connected to Israel. When they landed at Ben Gurion Airport, the first order of business was to drive to savta’s home for bowls of her perfect couscous. “We’d arrive to her kitchen and there she is sitting in her couscous corner,” as Arielle calls one corner of her kitchen with a floating counter and a wooden chair. This was where Esther would spend hours before the family’s arrival making couscous from scratch. She would always prepare vegetables to accompany the couscous, ensuring each member of the family got their favorites. For Arielle, that was cabbage and carrots. 

And when Arielle and her family would return to the U.S., savta would prepare large bags of fresh couscous for them to carry home. “We’d come back with bags and bags of her couscous and we’d just freeze it in our house and my mom would serve it to us throughout the year,” Arielle says. 

Esther, Michal, and Arielle at Efrat’s wedding in Nitzanim Beach, Israel in 2001.

Growing up on Kibbutz Manara in northern Israel, Efrat had Esther’s couscous throughout the year as well. When she was about 9 years old, Efrat once attempted to ditch school with a friend to take the bus to Ashdod so her friend could try her grandmother’s couscous. While the plan was thwarted by an adult on the kibbutz, it’s a testament to the family’s love of, and pride in, the couscous. 

When Esther passed away, Arielle feared her couscous recipe was lost with her. She lamented that to Efrat and was surprised when her cousin told her she had asked their grandmother to teach her how to make the couscous when she got married years before. Efrat had wanted to learn her grandmother’s technique and “channel her form of showing love and care for the family,” Arielle explains. 

When Arielle traveled to Israel for her grandmother’s 30th day memorial, it was also to cook the couscous recipe with Efrat. “It was that important to me,” she says. “My savta's legacy is forever stored in her couscous.” The cousins spent a day making the couscous and savta’s rifat, with Efrat’s children helping to roll out the cookies with the pasta machine. Looking back at that day, Arielle says, “It really has come full circle to my grandmother’s great-grandchildren.”

Couscous

Makes: 8 to 10 servings
Time: 1 hour active + 4 hours inactive + soaking

Ingredients
For the soup:
1 cup dried chickpeas
1 ½ pounds chicken drumsticks and thighs, bone-in skin-on
1 ½ pounds pumpkin or butternut squash, deseeded and chopped into large pieces of about 3 x 2 inches
1 green cabbage, sliced into about 8 wedges
2 zucchinis, peeled with stripes and cut crosswise into 3 inch long pieces
2 carrots, peeled and cut crosswise into 3 inch pieces 
3 celery stalks, chopped crosswise into 3 inch pieces 
1 kohlrabi, peeled and chopped into quarters
1 bunch parsley, tied with butcher's twine
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 to 1 ½ tablespoons kosher salt
½ teaspoon ground white pepper

For the couscous:
5 cups (2 pounds) semolina
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 cup + 2 cups room temperature water, divided
½ cup vegetable oil 

Special equipment:
Couscoussier pot
Sieve

Preparation
1. Place the chickpeas in a bowl and cover completely with room temperature water. Set aside to soak overnight, or for at least 8 hours.

2. Strain the chickpeas from the soaking liquid and rinse with water. Place the chickpeas into a pot and cover with about 4 cups of water, or enough to completely submerge the chickpeas. Place the pot over high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium low and continue simmering the chickpeas for about 1 hour to 1 hour and 30 minutes until tender. Strain and set chickpeas aside. Discard the cooking liquid. 

3. Make the soup: Place the chickpeas into the bottom of the lower pot of the couscoussier. Add the chicken, pumpkin, cabbage, zucchinis, carrots, celery, and kohlrabi into the pot. Cover with water until the water reaches 1 inch below the top edge of the pot. Add parsley, turmeric, salt and pepper. Place the pot over high heat and bring to a boil, about 20 to 30 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium low and place a lid on the pot. Continue cooking the soup with a gentle simmer.

4. Make the couscous: Place the semolina and kosher salt into an extra large mixing bowl. Mix with your fingers to combine. Set 1 cup of water and a seperate cup with ½ cup of oil to the side of the mixing bowl. Place your fingertips into the cup of water and sprinkle water droplets over the semolina and salt mixture, repeat again and sprinkle another round of water into the bowl. Start stirring the mixture with your hand, pressing down and moving the palm in a circular motion. Continue adding droplets of water, a few splashes at a time, and stirring with your hand until the water is well incorporated into the semolina mixture. It is better to add less water at a time to prevent any large clumps. At this point small to medium granules should form in the bowl. Using the same technique as the water, add the oil into the mixture a few droplets at a time, and stirring the mixture with the palm of your hand. After all the oil is incorporated there should be many medium sized granules. Place the sieve over another extra large bowl. Pour half of the semolina mixture into the sieve. Shake the sieve to sift out the semolina mixture into tiny granules. Use your palms to gently press the semolina mixture through the sieve in a circular motion until all the semolina has been sifted through. There may be some large clumps that will not pass the sieve, discard these lumps. Add the remaining semolina mixture into the sieve and repeat the sifting process, until all the mixture is passed through. 

5. Steam the couscous: Increase the heat of the soup to medium and make sure it is actively simmering. Remove the lid from the soup pot and add the steamer extension over the pot. Transfer the sifted semolina mixture into the steamer, poke about 6 holes through the semolina mixture with the back of a spoon to allow steam to enter. Place a lid over the couscoussier and steam the couscous for 45 minutes. Transfer the steamed couscous into an extra large mixing bowl and immediately pour 2 cups of room temperature water over the mixture. Use a fork to stir the mixture and set aside for 30 minutes. Stir the couscous with a fork every 10 minutes while it rests, about 2 times. This step ensures that the couscous will be tender at the end of the cooking process. Transfer the couscous back into the steamer and cover with a lid, no need to poke holes through the couscous this time. Cover with the lid and steam for another 20 minutes. Transfer the couscous into an extra large mixing bowl. Set aside. Remove soup from the heat, discard parsley, and set the pot aside. At this point the soup is ready after about 2 hours and 30 minutes of cooking. Let the couscous cool completely, for about 1 ½ hours, stirring with a fork occasionally, about 4 times. Once the couscous is completely cool, sift it through the sieve into an extra large bowl until all of the mixture is passed through and forms tiny couscous granules.

6. About 20 minutes before serving, place the soup over medium to low heat and simmer to reheat. About 10 minutes before serving, transfer the couscous into the steamer and steam until warm, about 5 to 10 minutes. 

7. To serve, place a mound of couscous into a serving or individual bowl. Add vegetables and chicken from the soup on top of the couscous. Pour a few ladles of the soup over the bowl and serve hot. 

Cook’s Notes: 

• It is optional to sear the chicken before adding into the soup. For Step #3, before adding the chickpeas into the pot, add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and place the pot over medium high heat. Sprinkle about 1 tablespoon of salt over all the drumsticks and place them into the hot pot. Sear the chicken on both sides until golden brown, about 5 minutes each side. Add the chickpeas into the pot and follow with the rest of the ingredients and steps.

• Couscous can be placed in an airtight container or bag and stored in the freezer for up to 3 month. To reheat, defrost the couscous in the refrigerator overnight. To serve, steam the couscous for about 5 to 10 minutes until warm. 

Rifat (Moroccan Tea Biscuits)

Esther traditionally prepared rifat with a pasta machine. The rifat can also be prepared by hand using a rolling pin.

Makes: 10 to 15 servings
Total Time: 1 hour and 30 minutes

Ingredients
1 cup vegetable oil
1 ½  cups orange juice
1 ½  cups granulated sugar
3 eggs
6 ½ cups all purpose flour
1 ½ tablespoons baking powder
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
2 tablespoons anise seeds

Special Equipment:
Pasta machine
Fluted pastry wheel
Pastry hole maker

Preparation
1.  Make the dough: Place the vegetable oil, orange juice, sugar, and eggs into a medium sized mixing bowl. Mix until combined well. Set aside. Sift the flour and baking powder into a seperate large mixing bowl. Add the anise and sesame seeds and stir to combine. Make a large well in the center of the bowl. Gently pour the wet ingredients into the well. Use a fork to slowly stir in the edges of the well to mix the liquid ingredients with the dry ingredients. Continue stirring until the mixture forms a dough. Knead the dough in the bowl for about 2 to 4 minutes until the dough is completely smooth and the ingredients are well incorporated. The dough should be sticky. Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel and set aside at room temperature for about 30 minutes.

2. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line four large baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside. 

3. Shape the dough: Attach a pasta machine to a counter or add a pasta extension to stand mixer. Transfer the dough onto a floured surface and divide it into 6 even pieces. Take one piece of dough and set the remaining 5 pieces aside. Use your fingers to flatten the dough into a rectangle about 2 inches thick. Starting at the thickest setting of the pasta machine (most likely #1), feed the dough through the machine starting with the short edge of the rectangle and gently catch the flattened dough on the other end with your hand. Reduce the pasta machine to the next narrowest setting (most likely #2) , and again feed the short side of the dough through the machine again. The dough should be about ⅛ inch thick. Place the rolled out dough onto a floured surface. Using a fluted pastry wheel or a sharp knife, cut the dough into smaller rectangles of about 3 x 2 ½  inches. Peel off any excess dough and reserve. Once the biscuits are shaped, use a pastry hole maker or a fork to poke several holes into each biscuit. Gently transfer the shaped biscuits onto the parchment lined baking trays. If needed, use a knife to help peel the biscuits off of the floured surface. Repeat the dough shaping, cutting and poking process with the remaining 5 pieces of dough. Once all the biscuits are placed on baking trays, transfer them into the oven and bake for about 20 to 25 minutes until golden brown. If needed, bake the biscuits in batches of 2 baking trays at a time. You can shape all the excess dough into one unified piece and make more biscuits using this dough.

4. Set the rifat aside to cool for about 10 minutes.

5.  Serve rifat with a side of moroccan tea.

Cook’s Note: 

• For Step #4, if using a rolling pin, roll out each of the 6 pieces of dough into a ⅛ inch thick rectangle. Using a fluted pastry wheel, cut each rectangular piece of dough into smaller rectangles the size of about 3 x 2 ½  inches. Poke holes into the rectangles with a pastry hole maker. Transfer to parchment paper lined baking sheet and bake for about 20 to 25 minutes until golden brown.

• Rifat can be stored in an airtight container for up to 10 days.

Photos by Penny De Los Santos