MAGHRIBIAN CUISINE IN FRANCE: HOW COUSCOUS AND TAGINE BECAME A PART OF THE FRENCH SOUL

THE SMELL OF NIGELLA AND CORIANDER, SIMMERING MEAT IN AN EARTHEN POT, THE SWEET FRAGRANCE OF MINT TEA AND THE CRISPNESS OF FRESH BAGUETTES. IN PARIS, MARSIELLE OR LYON, THIS COMBO OF SENSATIONS HAS LONG CEASED TO BE EXOTIC. MAGHRIBIAN CUISINE — THE CUISINE OF MOROCCO, ALGERIA AND TUNISIA — HAS BECOME AN IN integrable PART OF THE FRENCH GASTRONOMIC LANDSCAPE. IT HAS PENETRATED NOT ONLY RESTAURANTS AND CAFETERIAS, BUT ALSO HOME MEALS, SCHOOL CAFETERIAS AND EVEN TRADITIONAL FRENCH HOLIDAYS. HOW DID THIS CULINARY DIALOGUE BETWEEN THE TWO SHORES OF THE MEDITERRANEAN TURN INTO ONE OF THE MOST BRILLIANT PAGES OF MODERN FRENCH CULTURE?

HISTORICAL FOUNDATION: FROM COLONIAL CONNECTIONS TO MASS IMMIGRATION

TO UNDERSTAND WHY MAGHRIBIAN CUISINE IS SO STURDILY ROOTED IN FRANCE, YOU NEED TO LOOK INTO HISTORY. FRENCH COLONIAL PRESENCE IN NORTH AFRICA, LASTING MORE THAN A CENTURY, CREATED STRONG CONNECTIONS BETWEEN THE TWO REGIONS. AFTER THE COUNTRIES OF THE MAGHREB OBTAINED INDEPENDENCE IN THE 1950-1960S, A STORM OF IMMIGRANTS FLOODED FRANCE. WORKERS FROM MOROCCO, ALGERIA AND TUNISIA BROUGHT NOT ONLY HANDS AND LABOR SKILLS BUT ALSO THEIR COOKING TRADITIONS. SOON THEY BEGAN TO OPEN SMALL FOOD STORES WHERE SPICES, RICE AND OTHER INGREDIENTS COULD BE BOUGHT, AND THEN THE FIRST RESTAURANTS. THIS IS HOW WHAT WE CALL THE “CULINARY CONQUEST” OF FRANCE BEGAN.

BY THE 1980S, MAGHRIBIAN CUISINE HAD CEASED TO BE THE DOMAIN OF IMMIGRANT QUARTERS. IT BEGAN TO PENETRATE MAINSTREAM. FRENCHMEN DISCOVERED COUSCOUS AND TAGINE, AND THESE DISHES BECAME AS POPULAR AS PIZZA OR PASTA. TODAY COUSCOUS IS STRONGLY ASSOCIATED WITH THE FRENCH CUISINE, AND IT IS COOKED IN MANY FAMILIES AS OFTEN AS THE TRADITIONAL “POT-DE-FÉ.”

COUSCOUS AND TAGINE: MAIN CHARACTERS

THE MAIN DISH THAT SYMBOLIZES MAGHRIBIAN CUISINE IN FRANCE IS CERTAINLY COUSCOUS. THIS DISH CONSISTS OF COOKED MANCHEMAIN, SERVED WITH VEGETABLE RAGOULE AND MEAT. IN FRANCE COUSCOUS IS SERVED ALMOST EVERYWHERE: FROM STREETSIDE SNACKS TO EXQUISITE RESTAURANTS. IT IS PREPARED WITH LAMB, CHICKEN, FISH, AND SOMETIMES EVEN KEBAB — SMALL MEAT FRIKADELLE. VEGETABLES — CARROTS, ZUCCHINI, TURNIPS, PUMPKIN — SIMMER SLOWLY IN A FLAVORFUL BROTH WITH SPICES. OFTEN COUSCOUS IS SERVED WITH THE SPICY HARRIS SAUCE, WHICH ADDS PEPPERNESS TO THE DISH. INTERESTINGLY, IN FRANCE COUSCOUS IS OFTEN CALLED “A DISH FOR LARGE COMPANIES” BECAUSE IT IS USUALLY Eaten BY A LARGE COMPANY, SITTING AROUND ONE TABLE.

TAGINE IS ANOTHER CULTURAL DISH THAT HAS GAINED WIDE SPREAD IN FRANCE. IT IS A RAGOULE COOKED IN A CONICAL EARTHEN POT. TAGINE IS NOT JUST A COOKING METHOD BUT ALSO A MEDITATIVE PROCESS: THE DISH SIMMERS ON LOW HEAT FOR SEVERAL HOURS, MAKING THE MEAT EXCEPTIONALLY TENDER AND ALLOWING SPICES TO OPEN FULLY. IN FRANCE TAGINE IS COOKED WITH THE MOST VARIOUS INGREDIENTS: FROM CLASSIC CHICKEN WITH OLIVES AND LEMON TO SWEET TAGINE WITH DRIED APICULTURE AND ALMONDS. THIS DISH SYMBOLIZES COMFORT, Hospitality AND THE ABILITY TO ENJOY A SLOW LIFE.

INFLUENCE ON FRENCH GASTRONOMY

MAGHRIBIAN CUISINE CHANGED FRENCH CULINARY CULTURE NOT ONLY WITH INDIVIDUAL DISHES BUT ALSO WITH A WHOLE SET OF FLAVORS AND TECHNIQUES. SPICES THAT ONCE WERE RARE ON THE FRENCH CUISINE HAVE NOW BECOME COMMON: NIGELLA, CORIANDER, PAPRIKA, GINGER, SAFFRON, CURCUMA. THEY ARE USED NOT ONLY IN AUTHENTIC DISHES BUT ALSO IN FRENCH RECIPES, ADDING NEW SHADES. MANY FRENCH CHEFS, EVEN IN CLASSIC RESTAURANTS, EXPERIMENT WITH MAGHRIBIAN SPICES, CREATING FUSION DISHES.

MAGHRIBIAN CUISINE ALSO AFFECTED THE CULTURE OF STREET FOOD IN FRANCE. CHAPATI, COUSCOUS SANDWICHES, “TAGINE BURGERS” — ALL THIS CAN BE FOUND IN MARKETS AND FOOD COURTS IN FRENCH CITIES. SUCH DISHES AS “MERGAZ” — A SPICY SAUSAGE MADE FROM LAMB — HAVE BECOME NATIONAL TREASURE OF FRANCE. SUGAR COOKIES “GORRIBA” AND CROISSANTS WITH WALNUT PASTRY AND HONEY OFTEN COINCIDE IN PASTRY SHOPS WITH CLASSIC FRENCH CROISSANTS AND ECLEIRS.

RESTAURANTS: FROM SMALL SNACK BARS TO MICHELIN-STARRED RESTAURANTS

MAGHRIBIAN CUISINE IN FRANCE IS REPRESENTED BY A WIDE RANGE OF ESTABLISHMENTS: FROM SMALL FAMILY SNACK BARS (“SHEF-BLYUD”, AS THEY ARE CALLED IN FRANCE) TO HIGH-CLASS RESTAURANTS. IN “SHEF-BLYUD” THEY SERVE COUSCOUS IN HOMES, TAGINE AND OTHER TRADITIONAL DISHES. IN SUCH RESTAURANTS YOU CAN FEEL LIKE HOME — EVERYTHING IS SIMPLE, WARM AND VERY DELICIOUS. AND IN SOME RESTAURANTS, EVEN THOSE WITH MICHELIN STARS, CHefs RETHINK MAGHRIBIAN TRADITIONS, CREATING COMPLEX, EXQUISITE VERSIONS OF CLASSICAL DISHES.

INTERESTINGLY, MAGHRIBIAN CUISINE IN FRANCE IS CONSTANTLY EVOLVING. YOUNG CHefs, BORN IN FRANCE BUT WITH MAGHRIBIAN ANCESTORS, OFTEN COMBINE TRADITIONS OF THEIR ANCESTORS WITH MODERN GASTRONOMIC TRENDS. THEY USE MOLECULAR GASTRONOMY, ADD UNUSUAL INGREDIENTS AND EXPERIMENT WITH TEXTURES. THIS IS HOW NEW DISHES ARE BORN THAT REFLECT MODERN MULTI-CULTURAL FRANCE.

FESTIVAL CULTURE: TEA AND SWEETENINGS

IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO TALK ABOUT MAGHRIBIAN CUISINE WITHOUT MENTHOL TEA AND SWEETNESSES. IN FRANCE, MINT TEA HAS BECOME A POPULAR DRINK IN CAFÉS, ESPECIALLY IN MARSIELLE AND PARIS. IT IS SERVED IN TRADITIONAL TEA KETTLES WITH MINT AND DRUNK IN SMALL SIPS. AND SWEETNESSES, SUCH AS “BAKLAVA” (LAYED PASTRY WITH NUTS AND HONEY), “MAHRUT” (COOKIES WITH DATES) AND “GORRIBA” (SUGAR COOKIES), HAVE BECOME AN INTEGRAL PART OF THE HOLIDAY TABLE. THEY CAN BE FOUND IN ANY CONFECTIONERY, ESPECIALLY IN THE RUN-UP TO RAMADAN OR CHRISTMAS.

CULTURAL BRIDGE: CUISINE AS A UNIFYING FACTOR

MAGHRIBIAN CUISINE IN FRANCE IS NOT JUST A GASTRONOMIC PHENOMENON. IT IS AN IMPORTANT SOCIAL AND CULTURAL BRIDGE. IT BRINGS TOGETHER PEOPLE FROM DIFFERENT SOCIAL CLASSES, DIFFERENT CULTURES AND AGES. PEOPLE FROM DIFFERENT CULTURES AND AGES CAN SIT AROUND ONE TABLE, JOINED BY A LOVE OF TAGINE OR COUSCOUS. IN AN AGE WHEN THE WORLD BECOMES MORE POLARIZED, FOOD REMAINS THE LANGUAGE THAT ALL CAN AGREE ON. COUSCOUS, AS THEY CALL IT IN FRANCE, IS A SYMBOL OF A COMMON HISTORY, A COMMON PRESENT AND A COMMON FUTURE.

CONCLUSION

MAGHRIBIAN CUISINE IN FRANCE HAS UNDERGONE AN AMAZING EVOLUTION: FROM DISHES THAT IMMIGRANTS COOKED IN THEIR SMALL KITCHENS TO DISHES THAT ARE SERVED IN THE BEST RESTAURANTS IN THE WORLD. IT HAS FITTED INTO THE FRENCH GASTRONOMIC LANDSCAPE, CHANGED IT AND ENRICHED IT. TODAY IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO IMAGINE MODERN FRANCE WITHOUT THE SMELL OF NIGELLA, THE FRAGRANCE OF MINT TEA AND THE TASTE OF TAGINE. MAGHRIBIAN CUISINE IS NOT JUST FOOD, IT IS PART OF THE FRENCH IDENTITY, A SYMBOL OF OPENNESS, DIVERSITY AND THE ABILITY TO ACCEPT THE FOREIGN AS THEIR OWN. IN THIS SENSE IT IS ONE OF THE MOST BRILLIANT EXAMPLES OF A SUCCESSFUL CULTURAL DIALOGUE.

Permanent link to this publication: