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Shared by Michel Thouati

Preserving a Five-Century Long Link to Andalusia at Passover and Beyond

Preserving a Five-Century Long Link to Andalusia at Passover and Beyond

Family Journey

Andalusia, SpainTétouan, MoroccoGibraltar
Oran, AlgeriaParisArzew, Algeria
Nice, FranceBerkeley, CA
8 recipes
Orange and Olive Salad

Orange and Olive Salad

6 servings15 min active + 1 h inactive

Ingredients

  • 4 navel oranges or any other orange, cut into segments (peel and pith removed) 
  • 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • ½ teaspoon ground cumin
  • ½ teaspoon whole cumin seeds
  • 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
  • 1 pinch ground coriander
  • 1 pinch ground Ceylon cinnamon or any other cinnamon
  • 1 cup salt cured black olives, pitted and roughly chopped 
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • Juice of ½ lemon
  • ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
  • Fresh cilantro sprigs for garnish
Rojitos Fritos de Pessah (Passover Fish Escabeche)

Rojitos Fritos de Pessah (Passover Fish Escabeche)

6-8 servings1 h active + 8 h inactive

Ingredients

For the fish and coating

  • 1 cup matzo cake meal
  • 1 ½ cups raw almonds, finely ground
  • 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
  • ½ tablespoon granulated garlic
  • 1 ¼ teaspoons kosher salt, divided
  • 4 small red snapper fish, filleted (or 12-15 red mullet fish, filleted), sliced diagonally to pieces that are about 1/6" thin and 3"x1.5" in size
  • ½ tablespoon ground green peppercorns
  • 2 eggs
  • ¼ cup olive oil

For the escabeche and garnish

  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 small red onion, finely julienned
  • 2 medium carrots, finely julienned
  • 1 small red pepper, finely julienned
  • 1 small yellow pepper, finely julienned
  • ½ cup white wine vinegar or champagne vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon capers
  • ½ teaspoon whole fennel seeds
  • ½ teaspoon oregano leaves (fresh or dry), finely chopped
  • ½ teaspoon fresh lemon balm or lemon thyme (optional), finely chopped
  • ½ teaspoon fresh thyme leaves, chopped
  • ¼  teaspoon ground allspice
  • ⅛ teaspoon lavender buds, finely ground
  • ⅛ teaspoon ground cardamom
  • 1 tablespoons honey
Carrilleras Asadas en Lancha de Matsa (Braised Beef Cheeks)

Carrilleras Asadas en Lancha de Matsa (Braised Beef Cheeks)

6 servings30 min active + 6 h inactive

Ingredients

  • 2 ½ pounds beef cheeks, cut in 3-4"x1" strips that are about ½" thick
  • 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
  • ½ teaspoon ground green peppercorns
  • ½ teaspoon ground cumin
  • ½ teaspoon ground coriander
  • ¼ teaspoon ground mace
  • ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon granulated garlic
  • 1 large yellow onion, chopped into a medium dice
Asada de Cordero con Alcachofas (Braised Lamb Shoulder With Artichokes)

Asada de Cordero con Alcachofas (Braised Lamb Shoulder With Artichokes)

8 servings1 h active + 7 h inactive

Ingredients

For the lamb

  • 3 teaspoons ground cumin
  • 4 teaspoons salt
  • 2 teaspoons garlic powder
  • 4 tablespoons olive oil
  • 4-6 pounds bone in lamb shoulder
  • 2 large yellow onions, chopped into a medium dice
  • 8 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 teaspoons sugar
  • 1 teaspoon fresh or dry thyme leaves
  • 48-60 ounces young sweet peas (frozen or canned), defrosted if frozen
  • 28 ounces frozen artichoke bottoms, defrosted and cut into quarters crosswise
  • 2 tablespoons honey
  • Juice and zest of one lemon

For serving

  • For the spice mix:
  • 1 tablespoon ground cumin
  • 1 tablespoon garlic powder
  • 1 tablespoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon lemon zest
  • 1 teaspoon Ceylon cinnamon or regular cinnamon

For the chopped olives

  • 40 salt cured black olives, pitted, roughly chopped
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • ⅛ teaspoon dried thyme
  • ⅛ teaspoon dried oregano
  • ⅛ teaspoon dried rosemary

For the confit red onions in vinegar

  • 4 tablespoons olive oil
  • 3 tablespoons light brown/turbinado sugar
  • 2 medium red onions, chopped into a medium dice
  • ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1 large star anise
  • 3 tablespoons sherry vinegar
Lettuce and Fennel Salad

Lettuce and Fennel Salad

6 servings30 min

Ingredients

  • 1 head romaine lettuce, cut in 1" pieces
  • ¼ red onion, finely sliced
  • 2-3 fennel bulbs, finely sliced lengthwise
  • Chopped fennel fronds (optional)
  • 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 2 ½ tablespoons olive oil
  • ½ tablespoon honey
  • ½ lemon, juiced
  • ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 piece matzo shemura
Mint Tea With Pine Nuts, Honey, and Lemon

Mint Tea With Pine Nuts, Honey, and Lemon

8 servings10 min

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons gunpowder tea
  • 1 bunch fresh mint or spearmint
  • Seeds of 4 green cardamom pods
  • 8 teaspoons whole pine nuts
  • 1 cup honey
  • Juice of 1 lemon
Guizadas de Pessah (Passover Almond Macaroons)

Guizadas de Pessah (Passover Almond Macaroons)

8 servings2 h

Ingredients

  • 2 cups whole raw almonds
  • ⅓ cup granulated sugar
  • 3 tablespoons turbinado sugar
  • 2 tablespoons sliced almonds
  • ¼ teaspoon almond extract
  • ¼ teaspoon orange extract
  • Zest of ½ orange
  • Egg whites from 2 large eggs
Non-Dairy Ice Cream Topped With Roasted Beets and Mint

Non-Dairy Ice Cream Topped With Roasted Beets and Mint

6 servings1 h and 15 min

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 3 beets, peeled and sliced into ¼ inch thick slices crosswise
  • ¼ teaspoon ground mace
  • ¼ teaspoon ground Ceylon cinnamon or regular cinnamon
  • 2 tablespoons brown sugar, divided
  • ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 lemon, zested and juiced
  • Juice of 1 lemon (if needed)
  • Leaves from ½ bunch fresh mint
  • 2 pints non-dairy vanilla ice cream
Recipes
1
Orange and Olive Salad

Orange and Olive Salad

6 servings15 min active + 1 h inactive

Ingredients

  • 4 navel oranges or any other orange, cut into segments (peel and pith removed) 
  • 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • ½ teaspoon ground cumin
  • ½ teaspoon whole cumin seeds
  • 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
  • 1 pinch ground coriander
  • 1 pinch ground Ceylon cinnamon or any other cinnamon
  • 1 cup salt cured black olives, pitted and roughly chopped 
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • Juice of ½ lemon
  • ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
  • Fresh cilantro sprigs for garnish
2
Rojitos Fritos de Pessah (Passover Fish Escabeche)

Rojitos Fritos de Pessah (Passover Fish Escabeche)

6-8 servings1 h active + 8 h inactive

Ingredients

For the fish and coating

  • 1 cup matzo cake meal
  • 1 ½ cups raw almonds, finely ground
  • 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
  • ½ tablespoon granulated garlic
  • 1 ¼ teaspoons kosher salt, divided
  • 4 small red snapper fish, filleted (or 12-15 red mullet fish, filleted), sliced diagonally to pieces that are about 1/6" thin and 3"x1.5" in size
  • ½ tablespoon ground green peppercorns
  • 2 eggs
  • ¼ cup olive oil

For the escabeche and garnish

  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 small red onion, finely julienned
  • 2 medium carrots, finely julienned
  • 1 small red pepper, finely julienned
  • 1 small yellow pepper, finely julienned
  • ½ cup white wine vinegar or champagne vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon capers
  • ½ teaspoon whole fennel seeds
  • ½ teaspoon oregano leaves (fresh or dry), finely chopped
  • ½ teaspoon fresh lemon balm or lemon thyme (optional), finely chopped
  • ½ teaspoon fresh thyme leaves, chopped
  • ¼  teaspoon ground allspice
  • ⅛ teaspoon lavender buds, finely ground
  • ⅛ teaspoon ground cardamom
  • 1 tablespoons honey
3
Carrilleras Asadas en Lancha de Matsa (Braised Beef Cheeks)

Carrilleras Asadas en Lancha de Matsa (Braised Beef Cheeks)

6 servings30 min active + 6 h inactive

Ingredients

  • 2 ½ pounds beef cheeks, cut in 3-4"x1" strips that are about ½" thick
  • 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
  • ½ teaspoon ground green peppercorns
  • ½ teaspoon ground cumin
  • ½ teaspoon ground coriander
  • ¼ teaspoon ground mace
  • ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon granulated garlic
  • 1 large yellow onion, chopped into a medium dice
4
Asada de Cordero con Alcachofas (Braised Lamb Shoulder With Artichokes)

Asada de Cordero con Alcachofas (Braised Lamb Shoulder With Artichokes)

8 servings1 h active + 7 h inactive

Ingredients

For the lamb

  • 3 teaspoons ground cumin
  • 4 teaspoons salt
  • 2 teaspoons garlic powder
  • 4 tablespoons olive oil
  • 4-6 pounds bone in lamb shoulder
  • 2 large yellow onions, chopped into a medium dice
  • 8 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 teaspoons sugar
  • 1 teaspoon fresh or dry thyme leaves
  • 48-60 ounces young sweet peas (frozen or canned), defrosted if frozen
  • 28 ounces frozen artichoke bottoms, defrosted and cut into quarters crosswise
  • 2 tablespoons honey
  • Juice and zest of one lemon

For serving

  • For the spice mix:
  • 1 tablespoon ground cumin
  • 1 tablespoon garlic powder
  • 1 tablespoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon lemon zest
  • 1 teaspoon Ceylon cinnamon or regular cinnamon

For the chopped olives

  • 40 salt cured black olives, pitted, roughly chopped
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • ⅛ teaspoon dried thyme
  • ⅛ teaspoon dried oregano
  • ⅛ teaspoon dried rosemary

For the confit red onions in vinegar

  • 4 tablespoons olive oil
  • 3 tablespoons light brown/turbinado sugar
  • 2 medium red onions, chopped into a medium dice
  • ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1 large star anise
  • 3 tablespoons sherry vinegar
5
Lettuce and Fennel Salad

Lettuce and Fennel Salad

6 servings30 min

Ingredients

  • 1 head romaine lettuce, cut in 1" pieces
  • ¼ red onion, finely sliced
  • 2-3 fennel bulbs, finely sliced lengthwise
  • Chopped fennel fronds (optional)
  • 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 2 ½ tablespoons olive oil
  • ½ tablespoon honey
  • ½ lemon, juiced
  • ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 piece matzo shemura
6
Mint Tea With Pine Nuts, Honey, and Lemon

Mint Tea With Pine Nuts, Honey, and Lemon

8 servings10 min

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons gunpowder tea
  • 1 bunch fresh mint or spearmint
  • Seeds of 4 green cardamom pods
  • 8 teaspoons whole pine nuts
  • 1 cup honey
  • Juice of 1 lemon
7
Guizadas de Pessah (Passover Almond Macaroons)

Guizadas de Pessah (Passover Almond Macaroons)

8 servings2 h

Ingredients

  • 2 cups whole raw almonds
  • ⅓ cup granulated sugar
  • 3 tablespoons turbinado sugar
  • 2 tablespoons sliced almonds
  • ¼ teaspoon almond extract
  • ¼ teaspoon orange extract
  • Zest of ½ orange
  • Egg whites from 2 large eggs
8
Non-Dairy Ice Cream Topped With Roasted Beets and Mint

Non-Dairy Ice Cream Topped With Roasted Beets and Mint

6 servings1 h and 15 min

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 3 beets, peeled and sliced into ¼ inch thick slices crosswise
  • ¼ teaspoon ground mace
  • ¼ teaspoon ground Ceylon cinnamon or regular cinnamon
  • 2 tablespoons brown sugar, divided
  • ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 lemon, zested and juiced
  • Juice of 1 lemon (if needed)
  • Leaves from ½ bunch fresh mint
  • 2 pints non-dairy vanilla ice cream

Born in Oran, Algeria and raised on French naval bases around the world, Michel Thouati spent long stretches of his childhood living far away from his extended family. In a navy family, he explains, “You live away most of the year and then you go spend lots of time with them when you can.” For Michel, that meant weeks-long visits, often in the summer, with his family in Nice along France’s coast. 

The family also made the journey to France for Passover when they could, to celebrate with Michel’s maternal grandparents Laure Orovida Benoliel and Robert Josue Benoliel, and countless other relatives. The cooking leading up to the holiday took days with different aunts and uncles preparing dishes they were known for. And, at Seder, “The table was two or three tables, because there were so many dishes,” says Michel. 

“They had so many recipes it was unbelievable,” he adds. The menu changed year to year, featuring generations-old Sephardic recipes. Lamb was always part of the meal, often served  with peas, artichoke hearts, lemon, and honey.

“They had so many recipes it was unbelievable”

Vegetables and fruit were also integral to the meal. To start there might be an orange salad with salt-cured black olives, and a green salad of shaved fennel with garlic and lemon served as an intermezzo just before tea with mint and pine nuts. To accompany the meal, there was always matzo. “In my grandmother's time, we used thick, round matzo… made with orange water,” adds Michel. “Just looking at the table was wonderful.”

The rich and broad recipe repertoire in Michel’s family is unique to a group of Sephardic Jews who have resided in the western Mediterranean for centuries. During the Inquisition, part of Michel’s family, he says, “went to the closest place they could go, which was Tétouan,” a city along Morocco’s northern coast. Over the coming centuries they would jump back and forth between the southern tip of western Europe and the northwestern edge of Africa. 

In the 1700s, they went to Gibraltar, and then to Oran, along Algeria’s coast in the late 1800s and then to France. Often, the moves were driven by antisemitism. In the 20th century, Michel explains, his grandparents left France in 1941 “and barely escaped with their lives by leaving all their possessions behind. Then, in 1961 they left Algeria in the same manner.” Despite the movement, he says, his family “always remained within a Judeo Spanish community that kept the closest linkages,” to the traditions, customs, and recipes that pre-date the Inquisition. 

Recipes in Michel’s family are more than the dishes that appear on the table; they are stories. “My great-grandmother would sometimes give ‘instructions’ or tell cooking stories to my grandmother and great-uncles and -aunts at cooking time, and they would all talk about how the two previous generations used to cook,” Michel says. “So I was hearing cooking gossip from the 1850s or even earlier.”

“My great-grandmother would sometimes give ‘instructions’ or tell cooking stories to my grandmother and great-uncles and -aunts at cooking time, and they would all talk about how the two previous generations used to cook”

Michel started to learn the family recipes when he was 8- or 9-years-old and visiting his grandparents, who he says were like a second set of parents to him. His grandmother Laure showed him techniques for making sofrito, how to prepare the sabbath stew dafina, and couscous. 

His culinary education continued in his early 20s. While Michel was pursuing graduate studies in the U.S., his grandfather Robert passed away. Living on a small budget, Michel hadn’t returned home to France in a long time and “I felt horribly guilty,” he says. “I swore that I would always see my grandmother at least once a year.” During his annual pilgrimage to see her, they would cook together everyday — it was a way for them to spend time together. Without planning it, it was also a way for Michel to absorb the family traditions.

As a parent today, Michel is documenting those recipes for his children. He already has 100 written down and is working on 150 more. “I’m hoping that if I live long enough, I’ll probably end up with 350 or 400 recipes and that they will be really good examples to my children of how my family used to cook,” he says.

At Passover in the Bay Area where he now lives, Michel continues to make the elaborate family table, though scaled down for a family of four. He explains: “My goal is that my sons keep the link open to traditions of the past generations…. I don't want to be the one who will let the family traditions die.”

Michel's mother Danielle, grandfather Robert, great grandmother Luna, and grandmother Ninette in Algeria in 1958.
Michel’s father Maurice in his Naval uniform in Mers El Kebir French naval base in Algeria in the 1950s.