The Nourishing Traditions of Morocco

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My mother, Jacqueline Hahn, was born and raised in Marrakech, Morocco, and when I was in high school, wrote a cookbook featuring Moroccan cuisine.¹I remember thinking we were the weird family, with garbanzos soaking overnight on the counter, lemons preserved in labeled glass jars with dates scribbled on them and olives from our tree curing under rocks and salt in our kitchen.

I visited Morocco in 2005 and captured the photographs included in this article. At that time, I’d already been serving as the Weston A. Price Foundation’s San Francisco chapter leader and had visited a number of local farms and farmers markets. Nonetheless, I wasn’t quite prepared for what I saw at the farmers markets in Morocco—for example, an entire cow’s head hanging from a hook available for sale and cows’ hooves with their skin and hair on them!

Needless to say, culinary traditions in Morocco definitely include utilizing the entire animal! I saw live animals available for customers to purchase, slaughter and butcher themselves—like rabbits and sheep—as well as sheep that were being sold as a gutted carcass with their faces and wool intact.

ORGAN MEATS

As the Weston A. Price Foundation states, “Organ meats are the most nutrient-dense part of the animal—from ten to one hundred times richer in vitamins and minerals than muscle meats—and traditional cultures always consumed them, usually in rich dishes that included cream and plenty of butter. Such fare is truly food for the body and soul!”²

My mother, who funded the Nourishing Our Children educational initiative that I established in 2005 as a project of the Weston A. Price Foundation, was well aware of the critical importance of nutrient-dense foods during children’s formative years. She fed me and my siblings lamb’s brains as soon as we were eating solid foods. She simply sautéed them in a skillet because the brains didn’t need any additional fat. They already had the “good kind of fat,” she explained.

I read in the Cook’s Thesaurus that “Even adventurous eaters often draw the line at brains, and it’s just as well, since they’re loaded with cholesterol” (which my mother’s culture didn’t fear). The Thesaurus continues, “Those who do eat them often scramble them with eggs. It’s very important that brains be fresh, so either cook them or freeze them the day you buy them.”³ The Thesaurus also lists sweetbreads as substi­tutes, stating “Brains and sweetbreads can be used interchangeably in most recipes, but brains aren’t as well regarded.” My mother fed us all the organ meats—kidney and liver as well—but she told me that brain was my favorite.

According to my mother, organ meats were highly valued in both Morocco and France, where I was born and spent my first five years. When we emigrated to America, she discovered that organ meats were not embraced by the predominant culture. She could feed us very economi­cally by going to an Iranian grocer and buying organ meats for a fraction of the cost because no one else wanted them.

Organ meats are routinely served in Mo­rocco with onion, garlic and parsley. My mother also shared with me that one of the culinary traditions she learned was to soak kidneys and liver in lemon juice or vinegar in order to purify them. Interestingly, Sally Fallon Morell offers the same instructions in her book Nourishing Traditions.

IF WE EAT ANIMAL BRAINS, WILL WE BE SMART?

It has been reported that children who grow up eating the brains of animals have healthier brains and nervous systems than those who don’t eat them.⁴ This makes intuitive sense because many of the key nutrients needed for brain devel­opment—such as vitamin A, vitamin D, choline, DHA, zinc, tryptophan and cholesterol—are found in organ meats.⁵

IN A MARKET IN ESSAOURIRA

While brain is one of the most nutritionally dense organs found in any animal, unfortunately it is also an organ that can carry a concentrated amount of disease. “Mad cow” disease (bovine spongiform encephalopathy or BSE) refers to a degenerative and fatal condition that occurs in cows, which essentially creates “spongy holes” in an affected cow’s brain.⁶ The conventional hypothesis about BSE is that cattle can become infected by eating feed that contains infected tissue from other cows or other animals.⁷ Within the factory farm feed-and-be-fed-to system, a cow may be fed grain fortified with ground-up chicken, while the chickens in turn are eating feed containing grain fortified with ground-up cow. And so on. If disease enters this system, it could suddenly be everywhere.

[Editors’ note: Not satisfied with the con­ventional explanation, the late Mark Purdey (an organic dairy farmer in the UK) performed geochemical analyses and furnished a different hypothesis about BSE (and other diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s). Purdey sug­gested that the causal agents might be “common toxic denominators”—specifically, metal micro­crystal pollutants such as manganese, barium and strontium—capable of seeding “aberrant growth of rogue metal-protein crystals within brain tissues.”⁸]

Regardless of which hypothesis one finds more persuasive, we recommend that you con­sume the flesh and organ meats of cows eating grass. Eating organ meats from animals that have been on pasture and eating their natural diet exclusively will help ensure both safety and nutrient density.

FINDING INGREDIENTS

When I returned from my trip to Morocco in 2005, I was inspired to teach a Moroccan cooking class to Weston A. Price Foundation chapter members and the larger community in San Francisco. I chose recipes that showcase spices that many of us have come to identify as quintessentially Moroccan. Many of these spices marry particularly well with liver. In addition to obtaining liver from grass-fed animals, I highly recommend that you use all-organic ingredients—including the spices, which ideally should be non-irradiated. If possible, buy locally produced items.

IN A MARKET IN ESSAOURIRA

See more photographs from Morocco!

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SIDEBARS

LIVER BALLS IN TOMATO SAUCE
Recipe by Jacqueline Hahn, edited by Sandrine Perez

Ingredients:

1 onion, peeled and minced
1 tablespoon olive oil or other traditional fat of your choice such as butter
1 1/2 pounds calf liver
2 tablespoons cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup parsley, chopped or minced if you prefer
3 slices traditionally-prepared sourdough bread and enough butter to spread on it
5 tomatoes (or 1 medium can tomato sauce)
2 onions, sautéed in 2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 teaspoon paprika or cayenne
1/2 teaspoon Tabasco hot sauce (optional)

Instructions:

1. In a skillet, sauté the first minced onion in oil or other fat.
2. Wash and cube liver.
3. Add liver to the onion with cumin, salt, pepper and parsley. Cook a few minutes over medium heat.
4. Toast bread, butter it and crumble in a food processor. Place in a bowl and set aside.
5. In the same unwashed food processor, grind all skillet ingredients.
6. Add bread crumbs to thicken liver and shape into small meatballs.
7. Place tomatoes in boiling water for a few minutes. Peel.
8. Discard water and skins and crush tomatoes into a sauce with a fork or in a food processor. Set aside.
9. In the same skillet used before, sauté two more minced onions in oil.
10. Add the tomato sauce, salt, paprika and optional Tabasco.
11. Stir over high heat, until you get a nice thick sauce.
12. Add the liver meatballs. Cook 10 to 15 minutes over low heat, with lid on.
Variation: Prepare tomato sauce in the same way as above, adding sauce to two sautéed minced onions. Add cubed liver (calf or chicken) along with 2 tablespoons cumin, 1 teaspoon paprika or cayenne, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 head minced garlic. Cook covered for 10-15 minutes, then uncover and simmer until sauce thickens.

LIVER WITH OLIVES
Recipe by Jacqueline Hahn, edited by Sandrine Perez

Ingredients:

2 onions, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil or other traditional fat of your choice such as butter
1 1/2 pounds liver (beef, calf or chicken)
1/2 head garlic, peeled and minced
1/2 cup cilantro, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon paprika or cayenne
1/2 teaspoon Tabasco sauce (optional)
1 cup pitted whole or chopped olives (black or green)
3 to 4 quarters of preserved lemons (optional, see recipe below)
Juice of small lemon
1 tablespoon capers

Instructions:

1. In a large deep skillet, sauté chopped onions in oil or other fat.
2. Add liver, washed and cubed, with minced garlic, minced cilantro, spices and optional Tabasco.
3. Cook five minutes with lid on, over medium heat. Uncover.
4. Add olives, preserved lemons, lemon juice and capers. Simmer. Adjust seasonings.

PRESERVED LEMONS

Ingredients:

5 Meyer lemons
2 tablespoons sea salt

Instructions:

1. Trim the very tips from the lemons but don’t expose the flesh. Slice the lemons lengthwise into quarters without slicing completely through, so that you keep the quarters connected at the base.
2. Sprinkle the inside of the lemons with a generous pinch of salt, and then pack them tightly into a 24-ounce (or 750-ml) glass jar. Sprinkle each layer of lemons with additional salt.
3. Press the lemons down tightly in the jar so that they release their juices and combine with the salt into a brine
that submerges the lemons completely. Place a weight over the lemons and seal the jar. Use an airtight container to help prevent mold formation. A weight to keep the lemons submerged and a fermentation seal will help even more. Allow the lemons to ferment at least a month before opening the jar to taste them and ensure the pit is no longer bitter. It may take two months!

MOROCCAN CARROT SALAD
Recipe by Jacqueline Hahn, edited by Sandrine Perez

Ingredients:

1 pound carrots
3 to 5 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon cumin
Juice from 1 large lemon or from preserved lemons (see recipe)
2 tablespoons parsley
2 tablespoons organic, cold-pressed, unfiltered, extra-virgin olive oil
Unrefined sea salt

Instructions:

1. Scrub carrots thoroughly with a vegetable brush and slice them into rounds.
2. Steam the carrots until they’ve softened but still retain some of their firmness.
3. In a blender or food processor, mix the spices with the lemon juice, parsley, olive oil and salt. Pour mixture
on the cooked carrots.
4. Serve cool or warm with couscous, rice or chicken.

CORNISH HENS IN ALMOND-ORANGE SAUCE
Recipe by Jacqueline Hahn, edited by Sandrine Perez

Ingredients:

5 Cornish hens
Unrefined sea salt (such as Eden or Celtic Sea Salt)
Pepper
Turmeric
“Bouquet garni” of mixed dried herbs
Pinch of saffron for each hen (optional)
2 onions, peeled and minced
2 tablespoons organic, cold-pressed, unfiltered, extra-virgin olive oil
Garlic to taste, no more than 1/2 head (optional)
2 oranges (one peeled and juiced, one peeled and quartered)
1-3 tablespoons honey, preferably local (to taste)
2 cups meat juice from roasting the Cornish hens (or whatever quantity you garner)
1/3 to 1/2 cup of Cointreau or orange liqueur (to taste)
1 or more tablespoons organic kuzu root starch, or 3 tablespoons flour*
1 cup crispy almonds**
A few whole almonds and parsley or mint leaves for garnish

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 400° F.
2. Wash the Cornish hens in filtered (not tap) water.***
3. Sprinkle salt, pepper, turmeric, saffron and herbs all over the hens and inside their cavity as well (to taste). Place them in a baking or roasting pan.
4. Roast the hens in the preheated oven until cooked but still tender. I keep them covered, only taking the lid off to brown the skin for the last five to ten minutes. Reserve two cups of the drippings for the sauce.
5. In a skillet, sauté the minced onions and optional garlic in oil. Keep in skillet and set aside.
6. Scrub the skin of an orange in filtered water with a vegetable brush. Squeeze the orange to get its juice and refrigerate the juice.
7. Peel off the skin of the same orange. Boil in filtered water for a few minutes to get rid of its bitterness. Drain water and dry the skin with a dish towel. Allow to cool for a moment.
8. In a food processor, reduce the orange peel to a paste. Add the honey (I recommend adding only 1 tablespoon), the roasting juices from the hens, the orange liqueur and salt and pepper and blend in the food processor. Add food processor contents to the sautéed onions and garlic in the skillet. Leave unheated while you prepare the kuzu.
9. In a small bowl, dissolve 1 tablespoon kuzu root starch (or flour) in 2 tablespoons of the fresh-squeezed orange juice. Stir until the starch is completely dissolved.
10. Heat the skillet contents to a low/medium temperature. Stir in the kuzu root mixture, stirring constantly. Cook the sauce for a few minutes until it thickens. Add additional starch as needed to thicken, keeping the 1:2 ratio of kuzu to orange juice (tablespoons or teaspoons) each time you add to the sauce. If there is extra orange juice at the end of the process, you can add it to the sauce if you don’t think it will change the desired thickness. If you prefer a smooth sauce, blend it with a hand-held blender in the skillet or in a glass blender. (I don’t recommend putting hot food items into the plastic food processor.)
11. Coat the roasted Cornish hens with sauce. Sprinkle ground almonds on top and surround with the peeled and quartered orange. Put back in the oven to warm. Decorate with parsley or mint leaves and serve.

* Kuzu root starch is a versatile, superior thickener that doesn’t separate after cooking like other starches. Kuzu is valued for soothing the stomach and strengthening the intestine.
** To make crispy almonds, soak 4 cups almonds in filtered water with 1 tablespoon sea salt and leave in a warm place for seven hours or overnight. Drain in a colander, spread on a stainless-steel baking pan and place in a warm oven (no more than 150 degrees) for 12 to 24 hours, stirring occasionally until completely dry and crisp. Store in an airtight container.
*** Thomas Cowan, MD advises using non-fluoridated water for all internal consumption. The best water is deep well water or clean spring or mineral water.

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REFERENCES

1. Hahn J. Moroccan Cuisine: Where Food and Culture Meet. Visiting Gourmet, 1983.
2. Gourmet organ meat recipes. Weston A. Price Foundation, March 22, 2009. https://www.westonaprice.org/health-topics/food-features/gourmet-organ-meat-recipes/.
3. “Miscellaneous variety meats: Brains.” The Cook’s Thesaurus. http://www.foodsubs.com/MeatvarMisc.html.
4. Adams M. What’s on your mind for dinner, cow brains? Natural News, January 14, 2007. https://www.naturalnews.com/021418.html.
5. Jockers D. The many health benefits of eating organ meats. DailyHealthPost, March 18, 2014. https://dailyhealthpost.com/the-many-health-benefits-of-eating-organ-meats/.
6. “Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.” https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/creutzfeldt-jakob-disease/symptoms-causes/syc-20371226.
7. They eat what? What are they feeding animals on factory farms? Organic Consumers Association. https://www.organicconsumers.org/news/they-eat-what-what-are-they-feeding-animals-factory-farms.
8. Purdey M. Educating rida: an underground scientific journey into the origins of spongiform disease. Wise Traditions 2002;3(1):11-18. https://www.westonaprice.org/health-topics/educating-rida/.

This article appeared in Wise Traditions in Food, Farming and the Healing Arts, the quarterly journal of the Weston A. Price Foundation, Fall 2020

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