Moorish culinary influences

[chefzadi]

In Cucina Paradiso the heavenly food of Sicily by Clifford Wright he discusses cucina arabo-sicula. Is there a similar sort of folklore about Arabic or Moorish influences in Spanish or Portuguese cooking?

Are there any books on the subject? Tommaso d'Alba, a Sicilian writer wrote La Cucina Siciliana di Derivazione Araba. Are there any books or articles about the Moorish influences in Spain or Portugal?

I consider Oran, Algeria to be very Spanish influenced. The Spaniards came in in various stages of history and of course many Moors and Moriscos settled there. We have Spanish loan words in our derja (dialect). Sometimes it gets a bit confusing because an Arab loan word into Spanish came back to Algeria in it's Spanish form and became part of the local derja rather than the original Arabic word. Oranian Rai music has Andalusian influences.

Edited May 15, 2005 by chefzadi (log)

[pedro]

Indeed there are Arabic influences in Spanish cooking. From the escabeche to a whole type of desserts, they're present in our cooking, not to mention the products and agriculture techniques introduced by the Moors.

There's a book which deals specifically with the influences of Jewish and Arab cooking in Spanish cooking: http://www.derecoquinaria.com/fichagrande.asp?ID=2367

And books like M. Martínez Llopis's Historia de la gastronomía española have a chapter to cover the Arabic-Andalusian cooking.

[chefzadi]

Thank you for the information Pedro.

These are some of the sources I'm referring to for a series of professional workshops and seminars I am composing and will be conducting on African, Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cuisines. I post them here for general interest.

An Anonymous Andalusian Cookbook of the 13th Century

Alot of these preparations or very simliar ones still exist in Algeria. I had many of my own versions or versions I had learned from other Algerians documented in my book on Algerian cookery before I even saw this book.

Moorish culinary heritage in Iberia.

Moorish heritage

Communal sharing from the same dish.

Use of saffron, cumin, and coriander

Spiced stews made from chickpeas, lentils, and from fresh or dried broad beans.

Savory or sweet porridges, made from different grain flours

Dishes made with breadcrumbs or slices of bread.

Spiced fritters and desserts

meatballs, shish kebabs (pinchos morunos, espetada), and quince paste are current Iberian foods also mentioned in Arab cookbooks.

Other popular foods and dishes. Flatbreads, either baked (pão estentido) or fried (pão de sertã, torta), stuffed eggs, stuffed eggplants, vermicelli stew, spiced

Dar Anahita Presents

A Fragrant 13th Century Spice Box of Andalusia

(I can't believe someone actually did this)

I want to add that the Moors were not Moroccan Arabs as some very casually say. The dynasties were led by Amazigh (Berbers) and composed of Arabs and Black Africans from what is now Algeria and Morocco.

[halalsushi]

Thanks for posting information on this. It's great to see the influence of the the Islamic world on different peoples around the world.

[chefzadi]

I want to gently add that the culinary contribution of the Moors had a great deal to with trade and commerce.

[chromedome]

I've recently bought A Drizzle of Honey by Gitlitz and Davidson. Although it's primarily focused on the cooking of the "converso" community (Sephardic Jews converted to Catholicism) in the 15th/16th centuries, there is a lot of background information on the Moorish influence. You may find some useful tidbits there, and as a multi-award winner it shouldn't be hard to find.

[chefzadi]

I've recently bought A Drizzle of Honey by Gitlitz and Davidson.  Although it's primarily focused on the cooking of the "converso" community (Sephardic Jews converted to Catholicism) in the 15th/16th centuries, there is a lot of background information on the Moorish influence.  You may find some useful tidbits there, and as a multi-award winner it shouldn't be hard to find.

←

Thank you for the information. Sephardic Jews settled largely in Tlemcen, Algeria along with the Moors/Moriscos of course after being expelled from Spain. It would be interesting to see the cuisine of the 'converso'.

FYI there is an interesting article written by an egullet member here.

regarding the Moorish/Morisco connection brought by the Spanish to Mexican cooking. It explains why I've met many Mexicans named Omar or Fatima.

[pedro]

It would be interesting to see the cuisine of the 'converso'.

In many parts of the country, olive oil hasn't been used until recently (in historical terms) since the use of pork fat (manteca) to cook was a proof of being a true Christian.

[chefzadi]

The modifications that they introduced, such as adding pork to the list of meats, baking raised breads instead of flat breads and distilling wine and molasses instead of flower petals, did not change the basic structure of the cuisine. By the late Middle Ages, this Christian version of the cuisine of al-Andalus was famous as the finest in Europe. In 1611, Francisco Martínez Montiño, the head cook of King Philip III, recorded it in the 500 densely packed pages of his Arte de Cocina, Pasteleria, Vizcocheria, y Conserveria (Art of Cooking, Cake Making, Biscuit Making and Conserving).

I wonder if this book has been translated into English or French (my Spanish is not very good at all).

In Spain, the growing prestige of French cookery over the 18th and 19th centuries meant that cooks and diners abandoned much of their earlier cuisine and adopted French techniques and French dishes.

Is this true? Of course the statement is very broad.

I have an academic interest in this, I am a French chef instructor.

[vserna]

I want to gently add that the culinary contribution of the Moors had a great deal to with trade and commerce.

←

Actually, in Spain the influence had nothing to do with trade, but with centuries of Muslim domination of the country - from 711 to the 1212 Navas de Tolosa battle won by the kings of Castile, Aragón and Navarre against the Moorish chieftain Mohammed al-Nasir. Yet the Moors stayed in Spain for almost three more centuries - until 1492. So it was seven centuries together, and the influence was deep and lasting. Andalusian cuisine, despite its powerful Christian roots (use of pork and pork products) is deeply infused with Arab and Berber influences from al-Andalus. (The Berbers were much more numerous, yes - but the leadership was Arabian and dictated much of the cuisine made in the different royal courts.) This is quite visible today in Córdoba in such dishes as lamb with honey. The use of almonds and/or honey in sweets is basically North African in origin, and the escabeche (from the Arabic 'sakbay', pickled meat stew) is a basic dish and also a basic cooking technique throughout Spain. And no, in Andalusia the arrival of French techniques did not dent the Moorish heritage.

[ldubois2]

Years of Spanish classes, two years of living in Barcelona, and the Spaniard who followed me home taught the Moorish impact on the language.

Isn't it true that most or all words beginning with "al" are of Moorish origin. In food albondigas (meatballs), almuerzo (lunch). Places like the Alhambra....

Is it true that Ojala is a contraction of a phase containing Allah?

[chefzadi]

(The Berbers were much more numerous, yes - but the leadership was Arabian and dictated much of the cuisine made in the different royal courts.)

The Almoravids and The Almohads were both Berber dynasties.

The confusion comes because they were 'Arabized' through language and religion. And of course ethnic Arabs played roles in the dynasties. The Magrheb is a complex mix of various cultures. This is still an on and off hot topic in certain regions of North Africa.

I am speaking very broadly here for obvious reasons. I don't want to get into too much non-food related historical topics, religion or politics.

Back on topic to the Moorish culinary influences. They are exactly that Moorish (Maghrebi) and not simply Arabic. Aside from the lack of pork in the cuisine there's nothing particularly Islamic about it. The so-called Arabs of North Africa are a mixture of Berber, Arab and sometimes Black African, distinct from Levantine Arabs.

I don't necessarily disagree with what you say. Just clumsily and briefly pointing a few things.

And no, in Andalusia the arrival of French techniques did not dent the Moorish heritage.

Good to hear!

My research project has expanded in so many directions. Professionally and personally it's more exciting than I ever expected it to be. I was born in France to Algerian parents (Kabylie Berber and Arab mixed ancestry) and when I was training in France it was pounded into my head that French food was the finest which I never believed.

[Pan]

[...]regarding the Moorish/Morisco connection brought by the Spanish to Mexican cooking. It explains why I've met many Mexicans named Omar or Fatima. 

←

Omar I'll give you, but Fatima is also a place of Christian pilgrimage in Portugal. Back to food, though.