One of the greatest, underreported (at least to us American, Ashkenazi Jews) stories in recent Jewish history is that of the North African Jews.  By the early 1960’s, most of the Jews living in Morocco, Libya, Syria, Tunisia, Egypt, and Algeria were forced to leave their homes, businesses, wealth and material possessions.  Their host countries had enough of the Jews and forced them out.  My in-laws, both Tunisian, fled to France with their parents and siblings.  Immigrants in a foreign land, their parents worked tirelessly to start their lives over from scratch.

Just as my in-laws were entering their “golden years,” things had taken a turn for the worse in France and they felt it was time to leave.  The security situation for Jews was growing increasingly worse by the day.  Their host country (maybe not the government, but the influx of Muslim immigrants) had enough of the Jews and started to make life in France almost unbarable.

Again, they packed up and left (with their children) and made their way “home”, to Israel.  Lucky for me, because they brought their daughter with them, whom I later married.

This Shabbat, I asked my children what they wanted to eat and they asked for “Couscous Kamun” (for my father-in-law, couscous on Friday night is like eating matzah on Pesach….a must!).  This is another one of those traditional dishes that have been passed down from generation to generation (the recipe below is my own interpretation of it).  The word “kamun” is both Arabic and Hebrew for the spice cumin.  So much of the North African Jews culture comes from having lived for so long in their Arab host countries.  I hear my in-laws using Arabic words in their conversations, kind of like when my grandparents would toss a Yiddish word in while speaking with us.  It’s such a shame that they were forced to leave their childhood memories and homes behind.

This is my interpretation of “Couscous Kamun”.  Traditionally, my mother-in-law uses navy beans and brisket meat, where here, I have substituted chickpeas and meat balls.

 

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp canola oil

1 Heaping tbsp tomato paste

12 Ounces (340g) chickpeas (soaked overnight if using dried)

1 1/4lb ground beef (lean, not lean…doesn’t matter)

2 Tsp salt

3 Tbsp ground cumin (plus a pinch for the meatballs)

3 Cloves of chopped garlic

Kettle of boiling water

In a bowl, add meat, a pinch of salt, a pinch of cumin and a clove of garlic (minced or chopped).  Mix, form into balls.  In a saute pan, heat a tbsp of oil and gently brown the meatballs on each side.  Place on paper towels to drain and set aside.

In a sauce pan, heat 1 tbsp of oil and add the tomato paste.  Once the tomato paste starts to cook, about a minute, add the cumin and salt and cook for about a minute.  Your kitchen will start to smell amazing.

Add the water from the kettle, the chickpeas and the meatballs.  Cover and let simmer for an hour and a half.  Serve over couscous.