Zouhair Zairi - Moorish Fusion Cuisine: Conquering the New World

By reading this book you will discover the passion that Zouhair Zairi has for his Moroccan roots. There is nothing as noble as carrying on the old traditions of an ethnic culture and blending them with modern ways. You will find that these recipes reflect Zouhairs outgoing personality. He creates modern Moorish cuisine without sacrificing the traditional flavors, while also retaining basic cooking techniques. I have known Zouhair, Zack, for the last twenty years. He is not only a great chef, but he is also a great friend and family man. His dedication to his work is unique, and I was proud to have him by my side in various kitchens.

Christian Chemin

Executive Chef

Matre Cuisinier de France

Member, lAcademie Culinaire de France

Im proud to say that Im a descendant of the early Moors, who were of mixed Arabic and Berber heritage. My ancestors were intellectually curious, religiously tolerant, and highly educated. When the Moors sailed from Morocco in northwest Africa and conquered Spain in 711 AD, they heralded an enlightened age at a time when the rest of Europe remained in the dark. For the next seven hundred years, Al-Andalus, as the Iberian Peninsula was called in Arabic, would flourish. The Moors were extremely advanced in astronomy, mathematics, architecture, and philosophy, and they promoted education for all. Beautiful cities, like Granada, Crdoba, and Seville, boasted waterways, sewer systems, streetlights, and exquisite architectural marvels. The finest example of Moorish architecture, the Alhambra palace in Granada, was built in accordance with advanced geometric principles.

The Moors agricultural skills were put to use in the cultivation of olives, almonds, saffron, grapes, pomegranates, artichokes, and palms. Their cuisine incorporated cinnamon, chilies, and other spices traded from as far as China and from other areas that had been visited or conquered by Arabian forces. Their diet could be described as Mediterranean, containing an abundance of ingredients from their region: fish, shellfish, citrus fruits, aromatic essences, and flowers. The Moorish people created amazing cuisine, which still inspires chefs and diners to this day.

Iberias era of Islamic rule ended in 1492, when Catholics took over Granada and began to eradicate all memories of the existence of Muslims (as well as Jews and other non-Christians). As Ferdinand and Isabella sent Christopher Columbus to expand their power, my Berber ancestors retreated to Morocco, where the population continued to uphold the high standards set by those early Moorish conquerors.

My own family was well educated. I was expected to become an engineer, but Id wanted to come to America since I was a young boy. I fantasized about cowboys and Indians and believed that success of every kind was possible there, if you worked hard. I dreamt of conquering the New World.

Although he had no confidence in me when I was nineteen, my father nevertheless gave me permission to go abroad and try my luck in the United States. I crossed the Atlantic with little money but big dreams.

I fell into the restaurant business almost immediately, and for the many years that followed I learned everything from the ground up. I worked hard, sometimes too hard. I tell people that I graduated from the school of hard knocks. I became skilled in classic French cuisine, but I soon realized that it would take more than that to become a good chef. Ive since learned that it takes unfailing dedication and uncompromising standards to use the best ingredients. It also involves a passion for food that keeps your creative ideas in overdrive, even when youve been standing on your feet for twelve hours a day, seven days straight.

Becoming a chef was my destiny. Looking back, I can now see that fate took me by the ear and granted me a wish I sent to the universe when I was just ten years old. A friend of the family worked in the princes quarters of the kings palace in Rabat, Morocco. One day I was invited to spend an afternoon in my friends company. As a treat, he brought me a piece of cake that had been baked in the royal kitchens. It was the most delicious pastry Ive ever tasted, and I remember thinking, When I grow older, I want to be able to make something this wonderful. I forgot all about that wish until well after Id begun my culinary career.

Living in the United States, I experimented with my own versions of Moroccos Berber cuisine, drawing on fond memories of my mothers and grandmothers cooking and our many trips to the farmers markets. My grandmother was an excellent chef, a natural, you might say. I loved hanging out in her kitchen, grinding almonds for her pastries and rolling the dough for her savory flat breads.

Over time, the delicious dishes I grew up with were fused with influences from the many regions of America where Id lived and worked. Southern, northwestern, western, and island styles of cooking naturally melded with Moorish cuisine in my minds eyethe place from which I begin to create.

My approach is to showcase the ingredients and keep it simple. I have a knack of combining herbs and spices and transforming them into complex, aromatic blends that I sprinkle onto meat, poultry, and fish. I enjoy using traditional ingredients, like rose petals, orange blossom water, and precious argan oil, in new ways. I add rose water to my vinaigrettes, which adds a beautiful fragrance and is soothing to the palate. The colors and textures of food are sexy to me, and Im aware of how food is important for good health. I often remember an old Chinese proverb: When you think of good food, you think of good health. Youll find olive oil in all of my dishes, as its an integral part of a Mediterranean diet and it helps sustain a long life. I also enjoy working with contrasts, like fire and ice, as in my Hamachi Crudo. You bite into the cold, fresh fish and suddenly theres a little kick from a dot of Harissa. My cuisine engages all five senses. We eat first with the eyes, so food must be visually appealing, and presentation itself is an art form.

I believe that a chef is only as good as his or her ingredients. I use organic products and local produce, free-range game, poultry, eggs, and meat. My motto is Fresh, fresh, fresh!