Food for Thought:
Patakhe de Potiron
(Yellow Split Pea and Pumpkin Soup)

When I visited Morocco, I was interested to hear our Arab guide speak enthusiastically about how old the Jewish community in Morocco is. We were told that they were especially valued as jewelers, and thus generally lived near the palace of whoever was ruling at any given time.

Back home again, I did a bit more research and learned that the original Jewish community in Morocco dates to the period of the Roman Empire, thus confirming what our guide had said about its antiquity. However, I learned that there were additional waves, as well, most notably when, in the 1500s, the Spanish cleared Jews out after Spain had freed itself of its Moorish rulers.

Though the Jews in Morocco remained strictly kosher, their cuisine was made complex over the millennia by the adoption of ingredients from both North Africa and the Iberian Peninsula. The fact that this recipe includes pumpkin shows that, however ancient some elements are, it has to post-date Columbus, because pumpkin is from the Americas. In fact, it was Sephardic Jewish merchants in the Mediterranean region, especially Italy, who began selling pumpkins in Europe in the 1500s. Of course, this is less surprising when one considers that Spain controlled the Americas at this time, so people in Spain had access to the new foods before most of the rest of Europe. But pumpkin did spread—and became popular, particularly in Italy. Italian Jews also developed recipes for pumpkin fritters, pumpkin flan, and pumpkin ravioli. Then when the Inquisition hit, pumpkins traveled with the Jews (Sephardic) who headed for Morocco—where even more pumpkin recipes were developed.

Squash and pumpkin are much favored by Sephardic Jews, but pumpkin in particular is served for Rosh Hashanah (New Year). It symbolizes calling out your good deeds for the year. More traditionally, the soup below, which is popular in Morocco for this holiday, would start with whole pumpkin. However, for my version, I've gone with canned pumpkin, because I simply don’t have the patience for peeling, seeding, and cutting up a whole pumpkin. (Same reason I use canned pumpkin for pie. Just don’t need that much extra work. And it doesn’t affect the outcome.)

This is far from being the only dish I've reproduced from my Morocco travels (though technically, I just heard about this in Morocco, rather than eating it there). It's surprisingly easy to make, pretty budget friendly (except for the saffron), but remarkably luxurious tasting. I do think it's worth it to get some saffron for this, as it does make a difference.

Though saffron is the costliest spice in the world, you don't need a lot—and it is sold in affordably small quantities. The high price comes as a result of harvesting it. Saffron consists of the stigmas of a specific species of crocus, and those delicate little stigmas have to be harvested by hand. Plus you have to know which kind of crocus, as not all are safe to consume. There are cheap alternatives (often just dried marigold petals), but they don’t add flavor, just yellow color, so if you don’t want to pick up saffron, just skip it. Enjoy.