By Gordon Rayner, Chief Reporter

Six witnesses have now cast doubt on the alibi of Robert Murat, a suspect over the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, after a British barrister came forward to say he saw Mr Murat near the McCanns' holiday flat on the night she went missing. Madeleine McCann: Follow the investigation Mr Murat, 34, has always maintained that he spent the night of May 3, 2007 at home with his mother in the Algarve resort of Praia da Luz, but all six witnesses directly contradict his version of events. Murat has denied any involvement in Madeleine's disappearance Madeleine's mother, Kate McCann, is said to believe that there are "questions that need to be answered" concerning Mr Murat's movements in the hours around Madeleine's disappearance. Mr Murat, a British expatriate, was the first person to be named as an "arguido" or official suspect in the case. He vehemently denies any involvement in the disappearance of Madeleine shortly before her fourth birthday. His mother Jenny, 71, has told Portuguese police that her son was with her all night. But it has emerged that the British barrister who gave a statement to officers told them he saw Mr Murat on a street corner opposite the McCanns' Ocean Club apartment 30 minutes after Madeleine was reported missing. The barrister shared a drink with Mr Murat the following evening, together with Jayne Jensen, a British holidaymaker. He described Mr Murat's behaviour as "odd", saying he went to change his clothes because it had been a long day, even though the barrister was sure Mr Murat had changed his clothes earlier. Mrs Jensen, a 54-year-old businesswoman, has told police she saw Mr Murat smoking a cigarette on the street corner at the time he was seen by the barrister. advertisement Charlotte Pennington, a nanny working at the Ocean Club resort, also claims to have seen Mr Murat in the hours after Madeleine vanished. The other three witnesses who say they saw him that night are all members of the McCanns' holiday group, who are understood to have told police that Mr Murat introduced himself to them on the night of May 3. According to Fiona Payne, Rachael Oldfield and Russell O'Brien, Mr Murat said: "I am Robert. Can I help in the search?" Mrs Jensen contacted police in Portugal within hours of Madeleine's disappearance, but it was not until six weeks ago that police officers from Leicestershire took a formal statement from her, which has now been passed on to Portuguese police. Last month, Jenny Murat said anyone who claimed to have seen her son on the night of May 3 was a liar. Mrs McCann and her husband Gerry, of Rothley, Leics, also remain official suspects in the case. They deny any involvement in their daughter's disappearance.

Information appearing on telegraph.co.uk is the copyright of Telegraph Media Group Limited and must not be reproduced in any medium without licence. For the full copyright statement see Copyright

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2008/01/01/wmaddy101.xml

Monday, December 31, 2007

Four year old Madeleine was last seen at the family's holiday villa in May.

The couple are said to fear she's been forgotten, as posters of her are taken down in the resort of Praia da Luz.

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/breaking-news/world/europe/article3295970.ece

Keeping a French tradition

Email Picture

Christophe Ena / Associated Press

LOST CAUSE: A tobacco seller at a November demonstration in Paris against the extension of France’s public smoking ban.

PARIS -- Someone once noted that a sure sign of the passing of a cultural phenomenon is not its disappearance but its preservation, or sanctification, in a museum. And so it is now with smoking in France.

After I moved to Paris three years ago from Manhattan, where Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg doesn't even let you eat artery-clogging cookies, never mind have a Marlboro, I couldn't believe it when I read that only 24% of the French smoke, a figure roughly the same as in the U.S. How was it possible?

Smokin'

click to enlarge

"Breathless"

click to enlarge

I decided that French smokers must be spread over a broader demographic than their American counterparts. Or else they all live in my new neighborhood.

Now, as the bell tolls for that Gitane being sucked, and energetically exhaled, by the person in the banquette alongside me, I have been trying to imagine Paris, the city of such legendary smokers as Jean-Paul Sartre, Jean-Paul Belmondo and Jean-Paul, my butcher, without its ubiquitous clouds of smoke.

The dawning of the new, improved smoke-free France is scheduled for Tuesday, when the last phase of a smoking ban goes into effect in all indoor public spaces, including bars, dance clubs and cafes.

Still, I was skeptical that the French would fall in line. So I turned to Le Musee du Fumeur.

In a city where eccentric little museums are thick on the ground, the Museum of Smoking somehow manages to be the only one in the funky but rapidly gentrifying 11th Arrondissement. Unless you count that collection of stuff about Edith Piaf in some old lady's apartment.

I turned to this tiny storefront halfway between the Bastille and Pere Lachaise Cemetery (between liberty and death, as it were) for a bit of perspective on this momentous event. What I discovered was a personal vision rooted in scholarship, trying to position smoking as a noble, even sacred, activity.

With its ocher walls suggesting centuries of lingering tar, its Maya logo an homage to the divinity of smoking, its gift shop filled with bongs and self-help guides to quitting, and those no-smoking signs with a cigarette and a red line through it all over the place, le Musee du Fumeur is pretty schizoid.

Trading on the very French idea that anything they've done as a nation for so long must be worth serious attention, the museum's curators embrace smoking as a worthy activity in all forms (except cigarettes, which they see as the "fast food" of smoking).

"People, when they come here, are able to see that tobacco use was noble, across the continents, that it was linked to a history and a culture, not just a public health disaster, that tobacco use can be seen in a civilized way, that we can smoke less and better," curator Tigrane Hadengue says. "Yes, smoke less and better!"

This makes absolutely no sense to me, but he and his co-curator, Michka Seeliger-Chatelain, are so perfectly cast it's hard not to be mesmerized. In her 60s with wisps of gray hair falling from her chignon, she has devoted much time to the study of the healing powers of many plants, including tobacco.

Tall, tanned and aristocratic in bearing, Hadengue, 37, professes himself most interested in a good cigar, accompanied by a good Bordeaux. In fact, he began as a collector of wine artifacts and then moved on to the paraphernalia of smoking.

Et voila, he soon had a museum filled with sepia-toned etchings of American Indians with pipes and cool photographs of famous smokers such as writer George Sand, whose tobacco habit became a symbol of emancipation for a generation of women.

Hadengue is worried that France, with its dedication to the beauties of theoretical purity, will root out smoking from the culture with every bit as much vehemence as it has long defended it. Already, cigarettes have been censoriously airbrushed out of photos of such celebrated French intellectuals as Andre Malraux, who appears cigarette-less on a postage stamp. Then there's existential thinker Sartre, featured in a documentary in the new national library moving his hand to and from his mouth with nothing between his fingers.

"Smoking is an integral part of intellectual and philosophical culture in France," Hadengue says. "After the smoking ban, what will happen to the cafe philo, the philosophical cafes where people get together and debate for hours?"

Yes, that is the formula reinforced by every beloved French movie and earnest novel of my youth. But surely such a cliche is a thing of the past; nobody has time to linger forever over a Cognac and cigarette in a cafe.

Then I moved to Paris. And stopped working.

After a few months, I learned that all the cliches are true. Everyone leaves Paris in August; the rest of the year, few match the work hours of their counterparts on the other side of the Atlantic; French families don't spend Sundays shopping but rather linger over a long lunch -- and a smoke.

I began to wonder whether taking up smoking was a necessary part of the development of my Inner French Woman, which has been at battle with my Inner New York Woman since I relocated. (Really, they hate each other.) I could learn to cook, tie the scarf and read obscure Moroccan novels; I could have cheekbone implants and even blow a bit of air out of a curled lip to express disapproval. But without a cigarette, I just couldn't imagine how to fake the proper French female self-possession.

One evening after I'd been to a dinner party, my 11-year-old daughter recoiled when I entered her room. "Mom, were you smoking tonight?" she asked, holding her nose. "You stink."

I hadn't been. But I had been at the home of the most effortlessly soignee Frenchwoman I know, who holds a cigarette between her slim flingers as if she were an iconic Horst image come to life. That evening she wore a close-cut velvet suit the color of a Cotes de Nuit, dark stockings and very high heels.

There were about a dozen people around the table in her dining room with its heavy drapes and glass display cabinets filled with 18th century china and, no kidding, an acrylic-encased business card of George Washington's favorite Frenchman, the Marquis de Lafayette. (Madame's husband is a distant relative.)

Wearing a clumsy French accent as embarrassing as my career-girl black suit, I was an American at a table of sleek, bookish French people. After many courses involving wine older than my teenage son, everyone lighted up.

As I closed my eyes and breathed slowly, I tried to commune with an earlier self -- the post-collegiate reporter living alone in swampy South Florida with my only companions the cigarettes from a box of Marlboros. They gave me dreams of Paris, the fantasies of a lonely girl, of books and cafes, broad boulevards and etched crystal, a Gauloise lighted and handed to me by a young man. . . .

But then, years of constructive programming got the better of me. And of course the science saying don't do it got the better of me. Even the French aren't immune. According to multiple surveys, obviously not taken at multiple-course dinner parties on the Left Bank, the vast majority support this no-exceptions ban.

Filmmakers, typically in the avant garde, are already with the program. The opening sequence of a recent film, "Paris Je T'aime," the latest-edition lonely-girl fantasy about the City of Light, shows an elegant woman who meets an equally elegant fellow after she collapses on a Montmartre street. Why'd she faint? She'd just given up smoking. After comforting her in his car, the nice fellow offers to ferry our heroine to her next appointment.

It is with her tabacologue, the doctor who is helping her quit.

geraldine.baum@latimes.com

Special correspondent Rebecca Ruquist contributed to this report.
from http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-smoking30dec30,0,1247841.story?coll=la-home-world

RABAT • Morocco's anti-terrorist tribunal has jailed 15 Islamists for between one and four years in three separate cases on conviction of terrorist activity or connections, the MAP news agency reported yesterday.

The special court in Sale near Rabat sentenced seven people late on Thursday to between one and two years in prison after the prosecution accused them of links to May 2003 attacks in Casablanca, which killed 45 people including 12 suicide bombers.

Another group of seven were jailed for four years each, after being found guilty of receiving paramilitary training with Algeria's extremist Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC), which was in January renamed the Al Qaeda Branch of the Islamic Maghreb.

Darfur rebel leader to remain in France

PARIS • The French government has renewed the residence permit of Sudanese rebel leader Abdel Wahed Mohamed Al Nur for three months on the understanding that he will take part in peace talks, the foreign ministry said.

Nur, a founder of the Darfur insurgent Sudan Liberation Movement, has been living in France for the past year. It was expected that his residence permit would not be renewed unless he joined peace talks.

By Elizabeth Guider

Dec 13, 2007

Links referenced within this article COMPLETE DUBAI FEST COVERAGE http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/features/film/e3i76626e51c49f8a0a367cbceb1dadd29e

2 lg Onions, peeled & sliced             1 ts Cumin
     1 kg Lean lamb, leg or shoulder          1 ts Ground coriander
          -cut into 4cm cubes.                1 ts Ground ginger
     4    Pears, peeled cored & cut           1 ts Cinnamon
          -into 4cm chunks                    1 ts Black pepper
   1/2 c  Sultanas                                 Water, to cover the meat
   1/2 c  Silvered almonds                         Salt, to tast
     1 tb Olive oil

 Intro.
 Tagines are Moroccan slow-cooked meat, fruit & vegetable dishes which are
 almost invariably made with mutton. Using lamb cuts down the cooking
 time, but if you can find good hogget (older than lamb, younger than
 mutton, commonly labelled "baking legs" and sold cheaply) that will do
 very well.

 1.      In a large saucepan gently fry the onion in the olive oil until
         soft, add the meat to the pan and cook until it changes color,
         then add the spices. Add water to just cover the meat and salt to
         taste.
         Cover and simmer gently until the meat is tender, about 1 1/2 - 2
         hours. (Displace the lid a little after an hour if there appears
         to be too much liquid.)

 2.      Add the pears to the meat together with the sultanas & almonds.
         Cook for a further 5 minutes or until the pears are soft.

from
http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~mjw/recipes/ethnic/morocco-tangine.html
         Serve with rice.

This is not for the faint of heart, just for those seeking the pleasures of life. Spicy and hot, and you will cook it over and over. If nothing else, we owe Morocco a thank you for this one.

Servings: 6

Ingredients:

chicken,3.5,pound,cut in 6 pieces

butter,3.5,T

vegetable oil,.25,c

onion,1,large,cut into wedges

plum tomatoes,.5,pound,quartered

parsley,1,c,fresh, chopped

ginger,1.5,t,ground

black pepper,1.5,t,ground

turmeric,1,t,ground

jalapeno chili,1,whole

cinnamon stick,.5,

cayenne pepper,.25,t

saffron threads,1/8,t,crushed

turnips,5,small,peeled,quartered

carrots,4,large,peeled,quartered lengthwise and crosswise

acorn squash,1,large,peeled,seeded.cut into 2 inch pieces

zucchini,3,,small cut quartered lengthwise then crosswise

garbanzo beans,16,ounce,canned

water,2.25,c

salt,1.5,t

couscous,3,c,about 18 ounces

chicken broth,4,c,canned

Note:Buy couscous from a Middle Eastern store, or you maybe health stores.

Instructions:

Combine chicken and broth in a large Dutch oven. Simmer until chicken is cooked through,turning occasionally, about 20 minutes. Using tongs remove chicken from cooking liquid: reserve cooking liquid.. skin and bone chicken; cut into bite size pieces. melt 2 tablespoons of butter with the oil in large heavy Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion,saute until tender,about 10 minute. add tomatoes and next 8 ingredients and stir 30 seconds. Mix in reserved cooking liquid, turnips, carrots, squash, zucchini and garbanzo beans with liquid. Cover and simmer until the vegetables are almost tender about 15 minutes. Uncover and cook until vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes. Add chicken pieces to sauce and cook until heated through, about 3 minutes. Discard jalapeno. Meanwhile bring 2 1/4c. water and 1- 1/2 T butter and salt to boiling. Stir in couscous. Remove from heat, cover and let stand 10 minutes; fluff with fork. Arrange couscous in center of serving platter. Drizzle couscous with 3/4 c sauce. Spoon chicken and vegetables atop couscous. Serve, passing remaining sauce separately.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 3 cups vegetable broth
• 2 carrots, peeled and julienned
• 2 turnips, peeled and julienned
• 1 sweet potato, julienned
• 1 zucchini, julienned
• 1 red bell pepper, julienned
• 1 (15 ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained
• 1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1 pinch saffron
• 1 pinch curry powder
• 2 cups uncooked couscous

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat; saute onion until golden. Pour in vegetable broth and bring to a boil. Stir in carrots, turnips and sweet potato. Reduce heat to medium and simmer 15 minutes.
2. Reduce heat to low and add zucchini and red bell pepper. Simmer for 20 minutes.
3. Stir in garbanzo beans, tomato sauce, cinnamon, turmeric, saffron and curry powder. Simmer until heated through.
4. Meanwhile, bring 2 1/2 cups water to a boil. Stir in couscous, cover and remove from heat. Let stand 5 to 7 minutes. Fluff with a fork and serve with vegetables on top.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups vegetable broth
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/3 cup chopped dates
• 1/3 cup chopped dried apricots
• 1/3 cup golden raisins
• 2 cups dry couscous
• 3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup slivered almonds, toasted

---

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup dried chickpeas, soaked and peeled
4 cups couscous (1 1/2 pounds)
4 lamb shanks
1 stick butter
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
Salt and 1 tablespoon black pepper
Pinch of saffron
1/2 teaspoon tumeric
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
2 cinnamon sticks
3 onions, quartered
6 each cilantro and parsley sprigs, tied together
6 ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded and quartered
1 pound carrots, cut into 2inch pieces
1 pound small white turnips, quartered
1 quince, peeled, cored and cubed
1/2 pound butternut squash, peeled and cubed
1 pound zucchini, quartered
1 fresh hot chili pepper
1 cup raisins
Ghee* Smen** (aged butter) or butter

PREPARATION:
In a saucepan cover chickpeas with water and cook, covered, until tender. Drain, cool and remove skins. In bottom of a couscousi, Pre heat 5 tablespoons of butter and oil over until hot, add lamb, salt and spices, onions, herb sprigs and tomatoes and simmer, covered, stirring occasionally for 10 minutes. Add 3 quarts water and chickpeas and simmer, covered, 1 1/2 hours. Cut meat into chunks, discarding bones. Add carrots, turnips and quince to lamb broth and simmer 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a separate saucepan cover squash with broth from lamb stew and simmer until tender.

To lamb broth add zucchini, chili pepper, and raisins. Top with colander containing couscous, cover and steam 20 minutes. Dot couscous with remaining butter during last 5 minutes of steaming.

To serve, spoon couscous onto serving dish and toss with Ghee*, Smen** or butter. Spread out to form a large well in center. With a slotted spoon
transfer meat and vegetables into well. Add drained squash. Strain broth, correct seasoning and moisten couscous and vegetables with broth.

Yield: 8 to 10 servings

*Ghee (See under Condiments) **Smen (Aged butter)
this is from
http://www.thegutsygourmet.net/couscous_fez.html

Serves 4 Hot Lamb Beef herbs Spices Main Course Barbecue Gluten Wheat Dairy free Eggless Morocco North African Africa

Ingredients

Marinade

100g/4oz Onion, finely chopped

2 tbsp freshly chopped Parsley

120ml/4fl.oz. Olive Oil

1 teasp Salt

Black Pepper

1 Garlic Clove, crushed

1 teasp Ground Coriander

½ teasp Cumin Seeds

Other ingredients

450g/1lb Lean Beef or Lamb, cut into 2.5cm/1 inch cubes

225g/8oz Solid Beef Suet, cut into 12mm/ ½ inch cubes

Instructions

1. Place the marinade ingredients in a shall dish, mix well then and the meat and suet mixing to coat. Cover and allow to marinate for 2-6 hours.

2. Thread the beef and suet alternately onto skewers.

3. Cook over hot coals for 15-20 minutes, turning from time to time and basting occasionally with the marinade. Alternatively, cook under a hot grill as above. Serve hot.

www.recipes4us.co.uk

Serves 6 Hot Vegetarian Vegan Pulses Vegetable Vegetables Soups Starter Gluten Wheat Dairy free Morocco North African African

Ingredients

1 tbsp Olive Oil

2 Onions, chopped

2 Garlic Cloves, crushed

1 teasp freshly grated Ginger

1.5L/50fl.oz. Water

200g/7oz Red Lentils

1 x 400g/14oz tin Chickpeas, drained

1 x 400g/14oz tin Cannellini Beans

1 x 400g/14oz tin Chopped Tomatoes

50g/2oz Carrots, chopped

50g/2oz Celery, chopped

1 teasp Garam Masala (check ingredients)

1 teasp Ground Cardamom (check ingredients)

1/2 teasp Ground Cayenne Pepper (check ingredients)

1/2 teasp Ground Cumin (check ingredients)

Instructions

1. Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan, add the onions, garlic, and ginger and sauté gently for 5 minutes.

2. Add the remaining ingredients, bring to a boil for a few minutes then reduce the heat and simmer for 1-1/2 hours until the lentils are soft.

3. Allow to cool a little then transfer half the soup to a food processor or liquidiser and process until smooth.

4. Return the pureed soup to the remaining mixture in the pan, mix well and simmer until heated through. Serve hot.

www.recipes4us.co.uk

Makes 20 Hot Lamb Herbs Spices Hors d'oeuvre Appetiser Starter Buffet Party Food Gluten Wheat Dairy Free Eggless Morocco North African Africa

Ingredients

For the Meatballs

100g/4oz Minced Lamb

1 large Spring Onion, chopped

2 teasp Ras el hanout

2 tbsp freshly chopped Coriander

2 tbsp Sesame Seeds

Salt and Black Pepper

Cornflour

Other Ingredients

2 tbsp Vegetable Oil

20 Small Lettuce Leaves

10 mint leaves

10 Coriander leaves

Chilli Dipping Sauce to serve

Instructions

1. In a large mixing bowl, mix together all the meatball ingredients (apart from the cornflour) until well blended. Using damp hands, roll into 20 balls.

2. Sprinkle the cornflour onto a work surface and roll the balls in it to lightly coat on all sides.

3. Heat the oil in a frying pan until hot then fry the meatballs a few at a time over a medium heat for 4-5 minutes until well browned.

4. Remove with a slotted spoon to drain on paper towels. Allow cool a little.

5. Arrange the lettuce leaves on a serving platter then place a warm meatball on each lettuce leaf and top with a mint or coriander leaf and spear a cocktail stick through the centre to secure. Serve with the chili sauce to dip.

www.recipes4us.co.uk

Serves 4 Cold Vegetable Vegetables Soups Starter Gluten Wheat Dairy Free Morocco North African Africa

Ingredients

1.1L/40fl.oz. Fresh Chicken Stock

75g/3oz Onions, chopped

1/2 teasp Ground Caraway Seed

1 level teasp Cumin Seed

3 Garlic Cloves, chopped

1 tbsp Lemon Juice

1 tbsp Lime Juice

450g/1lb Carrots, peeled and chopped

Freshly chopped Coriander to garnish

Instructions

1. Place all the ingredients in a large saucepan, bring to the boil then reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes until tender.

2. Allow to cool then drain, reserving the liquid and transfer the pulp to a food processor or liquidiser. Process until very smooth.

3. Add the reserved liquid to the puree, mix well and chill.

4. To serve - transfer to soup bowls or plates and garnish with chopped coriander. Serve cold.

www.recipes4us.co.uk

Traditionally used by nomads as portable ovens over charcoal braziers, a tagine is made from glazed earthenware with a conical lid. The base is both a cooking and serving dish. It is very heavy to withstand constant use, and to hold the heat longer. The cone shaped cover acts like an oven and the entire lid is totally sealed to retain heat and moisture, which not only prevents it from drying out during the long cooking process, but also allows the slow infusion of flavors throughout the dish. The lid has an extended knob at the top which is designed to remain cooler and thereby act as a handle.

The low, indirect heat produces a rich, aromatic flavour as the food slowly simmers for several hours. Most tagines purchased nowadays can be used either in the oven or on top of the stove. The food is cooked in and served from the tagine, but remember to protect your table from heat from the base, when it comes off the stove or out of the oven.

Of course, tagines can be cooked in more conventional cookware such as casseroles, however, to add an aura of authenticity you can serve the cooked stew from a decorated tagine which is a beautiful serving dish in itself.

Tagines - The Recipes

Basically, tagines are a sort of stew, which are usually a mixture of vegetables, poultry or lamb*, often with the addition of fruit. They have a thick rich spicy sauce which is thickened due to the long cooking process and are generally served with bread, couscous or rice.

Originally, they would be cooked for many hours, however with modern cookers, a good result can be achieved in as little as 1-1/2 hours for poultry and meats and a lot less for vegetables, but bear in mind, the longer you cook them, the more developed the flavours.

The fruits are usually added in dried form and contribute a subtle sweetness to the overall flavor. Often tagines contain preserved or salted lemons, which give the dish a unique flavour which cannot be duplicated by using fresh lemons.

www.recipes4us.co.uk

y Linda Carpenter
Alpenhorn Bed & Breakfast, Big Bear Lake, California

Makes 24 individual mini-cups

24 small wonton wrappers
1 can (13.75 oz.) artichoke hearts, drained
1 can (3.8 oz.) sliced ripe pitted olives
1/4 c. chopped red bell pepper
1/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 c. shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 c. mayonnaise
1 clove garlic, pressed

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Press wonton wrappers into lightly sprayed mini-muffin pan. Chop drained artichokes and red peppers. Combine chopped vegetables, olives, cheeses, garlic and mayonnaise. Fill prepared muffin cups with artichoke mixture using small scoop (1 scoop per muffin cup).

Bake 12-14 minutes. Let cool in pan 2 minutes. Carefully remove and serve warm.

www.recipes4us.co.uk

Serves 6-8 people as an appetizer

2 lb. baby back pork spareribs

Marinade:

2 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 Tbsp. honey
2 Tbsp. hoisin sauce
1 Tbsp. white vinegar
1 Tbsp. dry sherry
1 tsp. salt
2 cloves garlic, minced
pinch of 5 spice powder

scallions shredded

Have the butcher cut the one slab of ribs into two, lengthwise, from top to bottom down the center. This will produce small Chinese-style spareribs.

Combine the marinade ingredients and pour over the ribs and let marinate for at least 3 hours, preferably overnight, turning the ribs at least once or twice.

Place the ribs on an outside grill after the coals have burned down. Barbecue about 20 to 30 minutes, NOT over direct fire as the ribs will burn easily.

To serve place ribs on a chopping board and, with a cleaver, separate the strip into individual ribs.

Decorate with shreds of scallions and serve.

©Sally Bernstein, 2006

Serves 6-8 people as an appetizer

2 14.5 oz. cans artichokes, rinsed, well drained and cut up
½ cup mayonnaise
½ cup parmesan cheese

Mix 3 ingredients. Place in a one quart casserole. Sprinkle with paprika.

Heat until warm and serve with crackers.

©Sally Bernstein, 2006

Makes 4 dozen

2 cloves garlic, pureed
2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 8 oz. cans artichoke hearts, drained & mashed
2 eggs, slightly beaten
½ cup grated parmesan cheese
½ cup seasoned bread crumbs

Sauté garlic in oil, add artichokes and eggs. Cook 5 minutes, stirring. Remove from heat, add cheese and crumbs. Roll into balls – 1 tsp. each. Roll in additional crumbs. Bake in 350º oven 20-30 minutes (at most).

Serve hot!

©Sally Bernstein, 2006

Introduction

Morocco's reigning monarch, King Hassan II, likens his country to a desert palm: "rooted in Africa, watered by Islam and rustled by the winds of Europe." A poetic description for a place which can appear mystical, magical and foreboding all at once.

Situated on the northwest coast of Africa, Morocco is one of three countries which make up the maghreb ("furthest west"), the other two being Algeria and Tunisia. The Atlantic Ocean is to the west, while the calm waters of the Mediterranean are due north and the harsher sands of the Sahara are to the south. Snaking through the center of the country are a series of mountain ranges, beginning with the Rif mountains in the north and continuing with the Middle Atlas, High Atlas and Anti-Atlas ranges, which nearly split the country in half along a vertical axis. It is these mountainous areas which are heavily populated by the Berbers, the indigenous people of Morocco who still comprise 80% of the population. The Berbers are not ethnically Arabs, but they are Islamic.

The Phoenicians, merchants from North Africa, were the first to establish a series of trading ports along the coast of Morocco nearly three thousand years ago. Along with the increased trade, the Phoenicians brought with them new skills for the Berbers such as masonry, weaving and iron and metalwork. A period of Roman rule followed, leading to the Arab conquest in the 7th century which brought Islam to the people of Morocco. The Arabs ultimately left but the message and traditions of Islam held firm with the fiercely independent Moroccans. The city of Fez, the country's first royal capital, was founded in 799 AD and quickly became the center of cultural, economic and political life. A succession of tribal dynasties proceeded to rule Morocco, culminating with the Alaouites, Arab sultans who seized power in 1668 and hold it to this day.

Despite a reigning monarchy, the Europeans vied for control of Morocco throughout the 1800s, with the French finally prevailing as signaled by the Treaty of Fez in 1912. This document declared Morocco to be both a French and Spanish protectorate, influences which remain strong in the country. The second world war muddied the waters of leadership anew, with the Moroccans finally regaining their independence in 1956. The ruling sultan took to calling himself King Mohammed V in keeping with a new constitutional monarchy. His son, King Hassan II, assumed the throne in 1961.

Today, this rich country of nearly 25 million people is heavily involved in agriculture, although tourism and mining contribute significantly to the economy as well. Spanish, Jewish and Arab influences combine with the native Berbers to create the cultural stew which is the spice of Morocco. To really get to know this country one must look past images of smoky Casablanca (the famous movie wasn't even filmed here!) and exotic, Euro-styled Tangier, although both of these cities are well worth a visit. True Morocco can be found by exploring the medina ("old town") of Fez and the souks ("market") of Marrakech. The unique cuisine of this North African country is yet another way to savor the flavor of Morocco.

The Moroccan Kitchen

The foods of Morocco take great advantage of the natural bounty of a country where eating is both a practical and social ritual. The cooks in the kitchens of the four royal cities (Fez, Meknes, Marrakech and Rabat) helped to refine Moroccan cuisine and create the basis for what we know as Moroccan cuisine today. The midday meal is the main meal, except during the holy month of Ramadan, and abundant servings are the norm. The meal usually begins with a series of hot and cold salads which are followed by a tagine, or stew. The heartiest plate, often a lamb or chicken dish, is next, followed by a heaping plate of couscous topped with meats and vegetables. A soothing cup of sweet mint tea is the grace note to this repast. It is not uncommon for Moroccans to eat using the first three fingers of a hand, and to use bread as a "utensil."

The strong Arab influence found in two of the royal cities, Fez and Marrakech, contributed greatly to Moroccan cuisine, as did the Andalusian sensibilities of Tetuan and the Jewish traditions from the coastal city of Essaouira. Aspects of all of these cultures can be found in four of the best-loved Moroccan dishes: couscous, plumped semolina grains which are served with a variety of toppings; bisteeya, a delectable three-layer pie which is both savory and sweet and wrapped in the thinnest of pastry; mechoui, tender roasted lamb; and djej emshmel, succulent roasted chicken cooked with olives and lemon.

While spices have been imported to Morocco for thousands of years, many commonly-used raw ingredients are home-grown: mint and olives from Meknes, oranges and lemons from sunny Fez, prickly pear from Casablanca and shad from the Sebou river. Also cultivated in Morocco are pomegranates, almonds, dates, walnuts, chestnuts, honey, barley, cherries and melon. Seafood is abundant along the Atlantic coast while lamb and poultry are raised on higher ground.

The Moroccans are quick to point out that the best meals are found not in the restaurants but in the homes. In this land of good and abundant food, the emphasis is clearly on preparing your own. It is worth mentioning that women do virtually all of the cooking in this very traditional country.

Key Ingredients

Moroccan cuisine is rich in spices, only natural when you consider the ages-old spice trade from Arabia to North Africa. Spices here are used to enhance, not mask, the flavor of food. The following spices are among the most commonly used.

cinnamon
found in bisteeya, couscous and many desserts

cumin
ground cumin is among the most flavorful spices used and is common in meats, lamb and chicken

turmeric
always found in harira soup, a rich, hearty soup which is the evening meal during Ramadan

ginger
found in many tagines (stews)

cayenne
popular in the dishes of southern Morocco

paprika
usually in tomato dishes and vegetable tagines

anise seed
found in breads and cookies

sesame seed
used in breads, desserts and as a garnish for savory dishes saffron

black pepper

Spices found with less frequency in Moroccan cuisine include allspice, caraway, cloves, coriander seeds and licorice. Ras el hanout is a mixture of many spices (often 20 to 30) which is used to flavor dishes as well.

Herbs also play an important role in Moroccan food, chief among them the following:

parsley
a liberal sprinkling is used in tagines

green coriander
the leaves, not the seeds, are often used in tagines to give them a unique flavor

marjoram, grey verbena and mint
often used in teas

fragrant waters
orange flower water and rosewater are used in cakes, sweets, tagines and salads

basil

The Moroccan table also makes good use of the following ingredients:

onions
Spanish onions are popular

garlic
often used in honey dishes to balance the flavor

lemons
especially pickled lemons

eggs
a very popular element; curdled eggs are used in bisteeya, while vegetables and chicken are often coated with eggs

honey
used in glazed dishes, desserts, poultry stuffings and tagines

couscous
the grain as well as the dish is ubiquitous

chick-peas
used in hummus, couscous dishes and tagines

bread
heavier Arab bread and the lighter pita bread are both edible and functional when eating with the fingers

olives

buttermilk

Moroccan Favorites

You are probably quite likely to find the following items at a Moroccan diffa, or banquet. If so, consider yourself lucky, for you'll be eating some of the most delicious food around. If invitations are in short supply, you can always prepare them yourself at home.

Salads
A fresh, cool salad is often served at the start of a meal. Among the most commonly served are a tomato and green pepper salad (similar to the Spanish gazpacho), a mixed herb salad, eggplant salad or a salad redolent with oranges, which the Moroccans grow in large quantity.

Bisteeya
This traditional savory pastry is made in three layers: a layer of shredded chicken is topped with eggs which are curdled in a lemony onion sauce and further topped with a dusting of sweetened almonds. The whole is enclosed in tissue-thin pastry called warka and topped by a layer of cinnamon and sugar. It is believed that this fine pastry (similar to the pastry used for Chinese spring rolls) came from the Persians, who likely learned to prepare it from the Chinese.

Couscous
These are fine semolina grains which are plumped by steaming them over a simmering stew. The grains are then piled on a large platter, with the stew heaped on top. This is a classic Berber dish which has seen many interpretations. Traditionally, couscous is served for Friday lunch or for special occasions. It is never a main dish, rather it is served as the last dish at the end of a meal. A "couscous of seven vegetables" is common in Fez, where seven is considered a lucky number. The seven "lucky" vegetables are onions, pumpkin, zucchini, turnips, chili peppers, carrots and tomatoes.

Fish
Both fresh and salt water fish grace the Moroccan table. While it is commonly prepared as a stew, it is sometimes fried and often stuffed. A popular fish tagine, which is prepared with potatoes, tomatoes and green peppers, shows a strong Andalusian influence. The Moroccans believe that in a tagine, the sauce is everything!

Poultry
Some of the tastiest dishes in Moroccan cookery involve chicken, which can be steamed, broiled or fried and is often accompanied with vegetables. Chicken with lemon and olives is the classic preparation, while a chicken tagine cooked with butter, onions, pepper, saffron, chick-peas, almonds and lemon is also popular. Chickens are also prepared stuffed with raisins, almonds, rice or eggs, but when you consider the experimental nature of Moroccan cooks, perhaps it's all of the above!

Meat
Lamb is king on the Moroccan table, especially roasted lamb, which is as tender and flavorful as you will find. It can also be braised, browned, steamed or served on skewers, the latter commonly known as shish kebab. Kefta is lamb or beef which has been generously spiced, then rolled into the shape of a sausage, placed on a skewer and broiled; when it is rolled into meatballs, it is used in tagines. Lamb tagines are prepared with a cornucopia of vegetables and some even use fruit.

Desserts
Sweets aren't always served at the end of a Moroccan meal, but when they are, it might well be one of the following: "gazelle's horns" are a croissant-like pastry which is stuffed with almond paste and topped with sugar, while honey cakes are pretzel-shaped pieces of dough which are deep-fried, dipped into a piping-hot pot of honey and then sprinkled with sesame seeds.

Tea
Moroccan tea may be the main reason why desserts are an uncommon treat after a meal: this tea IS dessert! Green tea is steeped and then laced with sugar and fresh spearmint. The resulting brew is a minty, syrupy-sweet taste which isn't for everyone.

A Night With The Pasha

While a pasha refers to the governor of a city or province in Morocco, in San Francisco it best describes Jalal Takesh, the amiable owner of Pasha restaurant, a traditional and elegant Moroccan eatery in the heart of the city. A group of friends accompanied me on a recent visit to Pasha, and to say the mood was festive is an understatement. A belly dancer (pregnant, no less!) appeared before we had even ordered our meal and proceeded to enchant us with her rhythmic swaying and athletic grace. Her prop, a live snake, wasn't quite as charming, but maybe that's because the snake was mere feet from our table. In short order, half the restaurant was up on the stage, gyrating with the dancer and having a ball. My hungry gang of six finally ordered "A Royal Feast" and anxiously awaited the real performance.

Our meal began with a series of small plates, among them hummus, a pleasing chick-pea puree seasoned with sesame paste, falafel (fried patties of crushed beans) and a tabbouleh salad flavored with parsley and cracked wheat. Standouts among these plates were the bisteeya, a wonderful rendition of the classic savory/sweet pie and piyaz, Mediterranean white beans in a slightly tangy marinade. The bulk of our feast was made up of heartier dishes, six in all, including lamb with honey, almonds and raisins as well as chicken with honey, onions, raisins and sesame seeds and a sublime hare with paprika, tomatoes and onions. The traditional chicken with pickled lemon and olives was also served, as was a couscous topped with a medley of vegetables which were seasoned with a cumin cayenne sauce. By the time glasses of mint tea arrived, we were ready for bed, sated as can be.

Dining Moroccan-style is a feast for the senses, and at Pasha, the food is well worth your while, especially if you're in a party mood. Pasha, 1516 Broadway, San Francisco (415) 885-4477. Dinner only; "A Royal Feast" is $26 per person, minimum two persons.

Recipes

The following recipes have been provided by the cultural section of the Moroccan Embassy in Washington, D.C. Enjoy!

Bisteeya
serves 12

Note: this dish is made of fine layers of almost transparent pastry called warka, akin to the pastry used for Chinese spring rolls.

2 chickens (about 4 1/2 lbs. of meat)
6 C. chopped parsley
3 lbs. onions
8 eggs
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp. saffron (crushed saffron flowers)
12 oz. almonds (and oil to fry them)
1 C. sugar
salt and pepper to taste

Wash the chickens and put whole in a thick-bottomed saucepan with the salt, chopped parsley, grated onions, pepper, saffron, cinnamon and sugar. Add a small amount of water, and add more if there is no liquid left before the chickens are cooked. Cook over medium heat, stirring from time to time.

Take out the chickens when cooked, removing any stuffing which may have gotten inside. Allow the stuffing to cook longer, stirring constantly until all the water has evaporated. Add the eight beaten eggs and stir constantly, then remove from heat. Cut up the chicken meat. Skin the almonds and fry them in oil until they begin to color, then turn into a strainer. Crush the almonds coarsely in a mortar or through a vegetable sieve, using the widest grid. Mix with a little sugar. Add three tablespoons of the oil used to fry the almonds to the stuffing, putting the remainder of the oil aside.

To complete the bisteeya you can use a round, tin-lined copper utensil ("tbsil dyal bisteeya") with a diameter of about 19 inches. Oil the bottom and sides of this or a baking dish. Cover the dish with a first layer of twelve sheets of pastry, shiny side down, overlapping them and sticking them with beaten egg yolks. Make sure that the outer sheets hang over the edge of the dish. Cover with a second layer to strengthen, then a layer of stuffing,, another layer of pastry (but without going over the edges of the dish), then the pieces of chicken. Sprinkle with the crushed almonds. Fold back towards the center the pastry which overlaps the edge of the dish, sticking them together with beaten egg yolks. Place two more layers of pastry, shiny surface up, overlapping them again and with the edges hanging over the edge of the dish. Tuck these edges under the bottom of the bisteeya as if making a bed. Brush surface and edges with egg yolks and oil remaining from the almonds. You now have a flat pie about two inches thick.

Cook the bisteeya in a moderate oven for about 20 minutes or until golden brown. Turn out onto a baking sheet, and about 15 to 20 minutes before serving, brush with oil again, put back in the oven and brown the other side. To serve, turn the bisteeya out onto a large plate, sprinkle the top liberally with powdered sugar and finish off with fine criss-crossing lines of powdered cinnamon.

Harira Soup
serves 4

Note: this hearty Moroccan soup, of Berber origin, is typically served as the evening meal during the holy month of Ramadan. It is an excellent cold-weather soup.

1 C. chick peas/garbanzo beans
1 C. lentils
1 C. dried peeled fava beans
1 1/2 C. white flour
1/2 C. oil
1/2 C. rice
1/2 C. vermicelli
2 T. tomato paste
1 lb. plum tomatoes, peeled
1 medium to large onion
1 bunch fresh cilantro
1 small bunch parsley
2 sticks celery
4 quarts water (continue to add water as it evaporates)
1/2 t. black pepper
1/2 t. cumin
1/2 t. yellow root ("kharqoum"), often used in Indian cuisine
1 T. salt
2 cloves garlic

Chop all the ingredients finely and place them in a large pot (note that the chick peas need to be soaked overnight to ensure their cooking well with the other ingredients). Save the vermicelli and the flour for the last stage. Let the soup boil for 40 minutes. When the chick peas are cooked, add the vermicelli. Mix the flour in a bowl with warm water until it is liquefied and there are no lumps. Add some lemon juice and pour the mixture into the pot very slowly while stirring with a large wooden spoon. The result should be a thick soup; add more flour if it is too watery. Add a raw egg to the soup if desired.

Mechoui
serves 8-10

Note: this roasted lamb dish is usually served for special occasions or on religious holidays.

7-8 lbs. lamb (shoulder and rib portion is best)
1 T. paprika
1 t. cumin
4 ozs. melted butter
salt to taste

Rinse the meat. Mix together the paprika, cumin, butter and salt and spread over the lamb. Loosen some of the skin just under the shoulder and put a little of the mixture inside. Cook in a moderately hot oven with the fleshy part of the meat facing down. Add a glass of water and baste with the resulting juices from time to time so that the meat does not become dry. After two hours, turn the meat over and cook the other side until golden brown. Continue cooking for another thirty minutes, then remove once you have checked that the meat is tender enough to be torn off with the fingers. Arrange on a dish without the gravy. Eat while piping hot, seasoned with cumin and salt.

Mint Tea
serves 4-8

Note: this tea is typically served in small, slender glasses.

green tea
sugar cubes
fresh mint sprigs
water

Rinse a large teapot with two quarts of hot water. Place two or three teaspoons of green tea in the pot and pour a little boiling water over it; remove the water afterwards. Add lump sugar to taste (usually 20 cubes for a large teapot) and fill the teapot halfway with boiling water. Add fresh mint sprigs and let steep for several minutes. Serve the tea in the glasses.

All photos courtesy of the Moroccan Embassy in Washington, D.C.

http://archive.gulfnews.com/articles/07/12/15/10174965.html

12/15/2007 01:18 AM | By Scott Shuey, Chief Business Reporter

Dubai: It could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

A Moroccan delegation, comprising government officials and industry leaders, visited Dubai last week looking for ways to build trade relations.

The country, known more for tourism and Casablanca than technology, is actively looking to expand its image as an information and communication technology (ICT) hub.

Jamal Benhamou, director and CEO of the Federation of Information Technologies, Telecommunications and Offshoring (Apebi), said that while the country may not yet be known for ICT, it plans to use the recent infrastructure upgrades and its position as a trade hub to change. Benhamou said his organisation's objective is to support innovation and development in Morocco's IT sector and increase the number of companies doing business there.

"To be successful, we had to build up step by step, so we built up our original position in North Africa," he said. Then the country had to make sure that an environment existed where international investors could benefit. Now that the country has that, he says, he's trying to spread the word in Dubai.

More than 42,000 people are currently employed in Morocco's ICT sector in 1,500 firms, Apebi claims. The Moroccan ICT sector grew 9.6 per cent to $638.69 million between 2001 and 2006, and the government expects the sector to reach $9 billion by 2012.

It isn't just foreign direct investment (FDI) that Morocco is looking for. Moroccan companies are also eyeing the Gulf region.

"There are so many countries that you can reach so easily from Dubai," said Chemsedine Ould Sidi-Baba, executive manager of Cadtech, a Moroccan company looking to expand into fleet management and tracking services. "Instead of going to other countries, you open an office in Dubai and from there you can reach the entire regional market."

Jyoti Lalchandani, the regional managing director for IDC, which provides analysis for the ICT industry, said there are a number of reasons that make Morocco competitive in the wider regional market, where it competes with countries such as Egypt.

"Morocco definitely understands that it competes with Egypt in terms of some of the localisation and customisation work, or 'Arabisation' as we call it," he said. But the country offers a more mature market, and aims to make it easier for companies to set up shop there, he said.

By Nick Britten

A witness in the Madeleine McCann case has broken her silence to protest the innocence of the missing four-year-old's parents and recount the haunting night she disappeared. More on the disappearance of Madeleine McCann Madeleine will be home for Christmas, says PI Find Madeleine campaign Bridget O'Donnell and her partner, Jeremy Wilkins, befriended Kate and Gerry McCann during their week-long holiday in Portugal and have now given the most insightful account yet of their agony after the "catastrophic" disappearance of the little girl. Telegraph TV: The private investigator hired by the McCanns said Madeleine could be home by Christmas Miss O'Donnell, who worked as a producer on BBC's Crimewatch programme, said that she has "always believed that Gerry and Kate McCann are innocent". In an interview with the Guardian, she rubbished police theories that Madeleine was killed inside her parent's holiday apartment in Praia da Luz by revealing that on the night of May 3 Mr McCann was as chatty, "calm and relaxed" as ever, until the discovery that his daughter was missing from her bed. She also criticised Portuguese detectives for failing to take a statement from her and her partner, and said police officers did not even recognise a photograph of Madeleine the day after the incident. Speaking about the night Madeleine went missing, Miss O'Donnell said: "Our baby would not sleep and at about 8.30pm, Jes (Mr Wilkins) took him out for a walk in the buggy to settle him. "Gerry was on his way back from checking on his children and the two men stopped to have a chat. "They talked about daughters, fathers, families. Gerry was relaxed and friendly. advertisement "They discussed the babysitting dilemmas at the resort and Gerry said that he and Kate would have stayed in too, if they had not been on holiday in a group. "Jes returned to our apartment just before 9.30pm. We ate, drank wine, watched a DVD and then went to bed. "On the ground floor, a completely catastrophic event was taking place. On the fourth floor of the next block, we were completely oblivious." Confirmation of the conversation between Mr Wilkins and Mr McCann is crucial because police believe at that time Madeleine was already dead and Mr McCann was hiding her body. It also corroborates the timeline of events given to the police by the McCanns and their friends. Miss O'Donnell described how the tragic event led to an immediate, physical transformation in the McCanns after the loss of their daughter. She said during the holiday they got to know them and their group, who they called "the Doctors". "One man was the joker," she said. "He had a loud Glaswegian accent. He was Gerry McCann. He played tennis with Jes. Gerry was outgoing, a wisecracker, but considerate and kind." She added: "Kate was calm, still, quietly beautiful; Gerry was confident, proud, silly, strong." She next saw the McCanns two days after Madeleine's disappearance. She said: "The physical transformation of these two human beings was sickening. "Kate's back and shoulders, her hands, her mouth had reshaped themselves in to the angular manifestation of a silent scream. Gerry was upright, his lips now drawn into a thin, impenetrable line." She revealed that she had debated with the McCanns the childcare arrangements at the Ocean Club resort and recalled admiring them "for not being paranoid parents" by leaving their children alone as they ate at a tapas restaurant every night. She added that privately she was glad she had not been given the McCanns' apartment because, being on a corner by the road "people could see in" and "they were exposed". She said the first she knew about Madeleine's disappearance was when one of the McCanns' friends began banging on their apartment door at 1am. "Jes got up to answer. I stayed listening in the dark. I knew it was bad; it could only be bad. I heard male mumbling, then Jes's voice. "You're joking?" he said. It wasn't the words, it was the tone that made me flinch. "He came back in to the room. 'Gerry's daughter's been abducted,' he said. "I jumped up and went to check our children. They were there. We sat down. "We got up again. Weirdly, I did the washing-up. We wondered what to do. "Jes had asked if they needed help searching and was told there was nothing he could do; she had been missing for three hours. "Jes felt he should go anyway, but I wanted him to stay with us. I was a coward, afraid to be alone with the children - and afraid to be alone with my thoughts." The following morning, she said, there was no news. "People were crying in the restaurant. Mark Warner had handed out letters informing them what had happened in the night, and we all wondered what to do. "Mid-sentence, we would drift in to the middle distance. Tears would brim up and recede." Miss O'Donnell said that while the parents were out looking for Madeleine, she saw no police until one turned up with a "slightly sweaty" translator, who turned out to be Robert Murat, the only other official suspect in the case. She said police failed to ask Mr Wilkins for a statement and when the officer pointed to a picture of Madeleine and asked if it was her daughter, "my heart sank for the McCanns".

Information appearing on telegraph.co.uk is the copyright of Telegraph Media Group Limited and must not be reproduced in any medium without licence. For the full copyright statement see Copyright