A recipe excerpt from my cookbook zine, The Belly Carries the Feet
Limited copies still available. Use the recipes to fill your heart and table.
Cooking fills me up. It is because of the way I saw food being made and eaten in my family that I have such a love for the ritual of cooking and eating. Jewish holiday after Jewish holiday I was lucky enough to watch my Mother, Safta (grandmother) and Aunties weave through the kitchen. They created feasts before my eyes and it was through the smells of simmering chicken soup and oily Moroccan fish that I felt (and still feel) nurtured and excited to explore food.
I have just released a reprint for my recipe zine, The Belly Carries the Feet. The pages are made up of recollections and recipes that integrate the two sides of my Jewish heritage. With lots of beautiful photographs of these dishes to set your eyes upon. The book captures food that I have grown up eating with my family during Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year)- which was this week, as well as during other Jewish holidays and on Shabbat. They are nostalgic foods that I hope fill your heart and table at any occasion.
You can purchase a copy of the zine here. All profits are going to Oz Harvest. The reprint will be sent out next week via post. I was lucky enough to work with a few incredible people on the creation of this small cookbook. Long Prawn designed and edited the zine, Becca Crawford took all the beautiful photos of my food and Stephanie Stamatis did the photography art direction.
A small excerpt and recipe from The Belly Carries the Feet zine is below, along with some photography featured in the book. Photography by Becca Crawford with art direction by Stephanie Stamatis.
Limited copies of my cookbook zine, The Belly Carries the Feet: Rosh Hashanah recipes and recollections by Ellie Bouhadana, are still available to purchase.
Moroccan Carrots גזר מרוקאי
A humble dish, yet a dish that creates a deep imprint in so many people’s memories. The subtly sweet, al dente bite of the carrot lends itself so well to the bright tang of the marinade. Close your eyes and imagine a long table with plates and plates of Moroccan salads. Nearby stands wine, the challah proud and shiny, dancing candles hovering in the air, the smell of what's cooking on the stove. Three or four pots, all filled with something different– a sauce, slowly cooking lamb, fresh couscous, vegetables and soup. This is a little peek into our Jewish holiday meals growing up in my family. Back to the carrots– they are piled up high, marinade overflowing. There are five different plates of salads and dips and each of them are placed on the table at least two times in different bowls in different parts of the table. That makes 10+ small plates spread all over the table. It is magnificent and feels like home. Overeating is guaranteed and we will feel good about it.
I learnt this dish from my mum. She learnt it along the way through the many feasts eaten with my dad’s side of the family. Recently we sold plates of the carrots during a lockdown take-away special at Hope St Radio. I still get messages from people asking me about them, wanting to remake these beautiful carrots. They are not difficult to make, but it is important to boil them whole and just until they are al dente– you want to feel a slight firmness when you bite down on them. Additionally, pouring the marinade over the carrots while they are still warm allows the flavour to sink in deeper.
Ingredients
1 kg carrots, peeled and washed
4 cloves garlic, finely sliced
½ a bunch of parsley, finely chopped
½ teaspoon cumin
2 teaspoons honey
½ cup red wine vinegar
¼ teaspoons flakey salt
Cracked black pepper
Sea salt to season the water
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
Method
Place the carrots, whole, into a pot of water, ensuring they are fully submerged and place on high heat. Sprinkle a tablespoon of salt into the water and mix.
Bring the water to a boil and leave the carrots to cook slightly. You are aiming to cook them until they are firm yet with a little softness when bitten, basically al dente. Don’t overcook them, you don’t want soft carrots for this!
Drain them into a sieve and let the carrots cool a little.
In the meantime make the marinade. In a small bowl, combine the garlic, parsley, cumin, honey, vinegar, salt, a small pinch of cracked black pepper and stir together. Slowly pour in the olive oil and whisk together. Taste and make sure it tastes bright. Add in more salt and pepper to season if needed.
Once they are cool enough to handle but still warm, chop the carrots in half and then each half into quarters. If the carrot is quite thick you can even cut those quarters into another set of quarters.
Place the carrots in a big mixing bowl, pour the marinade over and mix everything together well. Cover the bowl and let the carrots rest, soaking in all those juices for at least an hour or two before serving. These will keep for a week or so, covered in the fridge.