It’s time to talk about food! 

Azdean invites Fès restauranteur Aziz Zgani to explain native Moroccan dishes (and their ingredients!) such as pastilla, special filo pastry, tagine and a beef jerky that is unique to Fès and its dry climate. 

Vegetarian options abound, as menus become more diverse and chefs more well-versed. And Aziz talks about the cultural history of dishes, particularly couscous, a dish for people to gather around.

Coming from Fès, everything is "refined:" traditions, culture, people: this is reflected in the cuisine and its international roots. Aziz shares some background history on Fès as a multi-ethnic sanctuary hundreds of years ago, providing a welcome home to Jews, Spanish, Berbers and Arabs, all of whom contributed to the city's distinct identity.

This may be the biggest surprise: pigeon pastilla?! Yes, it's true, and it's a delicacy! Although most restaurants these days default to chicken, pigeon can still be found and Azdean talks about growing up with it as a familiar, and delicious, meal.

This episode provides a great introduction to Moroccan food, and will help you become familiar with exotic menus and dishes when you arrive. It's the first of an ongoing series of episodes that will profile Morocco's unique cuisine, with the help of Azdean's wife Khadija, who runs a catering business in Houston, serving Moroccan food, to inspire your taste buds and cooking skills!


Resources Mentioned in this episode:

Chicken pastilla

Beef tagine with pears

Moroccan bread

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