Mint Tea and Minarets

A Banquet of Moroccan Memories

Behold, a singular structure soars above the banks of the Oum er-Rbia, The Mother of Spring River, within the 16th century medina of Azemmour. Into her late father's riad, an historic Moorish mansion, Kitty Morse, the author of five books on Moroccan cuisine, warmly coaxes you. Generations of cooks and centuries of celebration in Dar Zitoun sweeten the invitation. “The House of the Olive Tree” has many delicious stories to tell.An hour south of the author's native Casablanca, scour the Azemmour souk for seasonal ingredients and meet the Dar Zitoun's gifted cuisinier Bouchaib to concoct aromatic tagines. In the footfall of her father, the author uncovers the provenance of her culinary passion: The riad was an ancient cooking school. Follow her as she seeks out bibi beldi, free-range turkey, at a farm on the Doukkala plain and is instructed in falconry by Kwacem tribesmen, the only commoners in the kingdom authorized to capture and train the raptors. Frequent a Bedouin camel market, consult with a practitioner of native medicine, and hunt for the source of the Oum er-Rbia in the High Atlas Mountains. Woven throughout, stunning photographs and family recipes embellish the tale just told. Having grown up during the French Protectorate, a unique time in North African history, the author has a pied-noir's rarified perspective. Fresh burdens as executor of her father's estate help build an appetite, while Morocco's Byzantine legal system introduces an amusing cast of other-cultured characters in this window onto the mosaic that characterizes Al Mahgreb Al Aqsa, The Land Where the Sun Sets. Best Book Arab Cuisine/USA/Gourmand World Cookbook AwardsPraise for Mint Tea and Minarets:“. . . But if you don't cook Moroccan at home, are not near a Moroccan restaurant, and are nowhere near Morocco, you can still smell the aromas, feel the air and atmosphere, hear the languages of both Arabic and French, by opening a book: Kitty Morse's Mint Tea and Minarets. Ms. Morse was born in Casablanca and spent her growing-up years there. Her father was English, her mother French. So her perspective straddles both Western and North African customs. Her newest book (she's written many) is an exotic yet personal memoir festooned with spectacular recipes . . . The environments (atriums filled with plants and rooms tiled in bright colors & designs), company (famous mural artists, visiting Englishmen, trickster government employees), and stories (spirits living under a staircase, insistent bugs, a catty beauty ruining a manicure while cooking) all frame the meals with compelling drama (or comedy) making each dish tastier than ever. . .”Alimentum Journal. www.alimentumjournal.com/review-of-mint-tea-minarets« . . . What makes the story particularly delicious, though, are the recipes that punctuate each chapter¬— hearty tagines, orange-blossom-scented desserts¬— all of which allow readers, through their sense of touch and smell, to accompany her along the way. The book reads like a novel, with yellowed family pictures, antique postcards, and arresting photos (taken by Morse's husband) of contemporary Morocco, heightening the sense of adventure . . .” Saveur magazine, April 2013 “With the finesse of a storyteller and the air of a cookery connoisseur, Casablanca-born Kitty Morse has perfectly sculpted her book into an account of her life in Morocco interwoven with a mouthwatering selection of recipes from the heart of Dar Zitoun — the traditional home that her British father restored in nearby Azemmour. Winner of the Gourmand World Cookbook Award for Arab Cuisine in 2013, this colorfully illustrated volume testifies to the culinary magic of heritage and history meeting passion and mystery. Mint Tea and Minarets will take you on a delicious journey that will tantalize your senses and touch you