cooking with gaul

{imik simik}

Tag: one pot meals

March 12, 2020March 12, 2020

stocking the pantry: a primer

I study culinary history and literature in North Africa and the Arabic speaking world; this blog is a record of what happens when I put my research and passions into play at my own stove. I translate flavors & dishes from across the Middle East and North Africa into accessible recipes for the home cook––with a few large dashes of historical & cultural commentary.

While most of the recipes featured here hail from the Middle East & North Africa or elsewhere in the Mediterranean, I also love to cook anything that happens to be in season. A recipe index lists all recipes alphabetically; you can also browse by category or search for keywords below.

For less cooking and more history & literature, check out my research blog. You can read more about my work and other writing here.

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(more) about the blog
food & foodways in the middle east & north africa: a bibliography
ful, koshari, macarona bechamel
recipe index
resources for thinking about food

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The archives: previous posts

Gramming with Gaul

You may have heard that Bourguiba quote that says the Maghreb begins at an invisible parallel in Libya where people stop eating rice and begin eating couscous. But the historical geography of couscous offers a much more expansive and capacious world than that! We can use food (and culture) to draw borders that divide, but we can also trace lines of connection. . . . As social distancing loomed several month-long weeks ago I shut myself in and made a lot of #couscous. As I cooked I wrote an essay for Arab Lit Quarterly about the long long history of couscous and its expansion from Western North Africa all over the Mediterranean, accompanied by recipes from medieval al-Andalus and modern Libya. Enjoy with a glass of wine if you wish! . . . Alf shukr to all the expert couscous cooks I’ve learned so much from over the years, and of course to @arablitorg for encouragement and patience and @hassan_al_mohtasib for the stunning design. Buy the issue (e-pub, pdf, or paper) via link in bio!

Tater is my mascot. Look at that face! He loves walks and napping on his tuffet.