Jewish Foods of the World

The Maghreb

by Daniel Rogov

The four major nations of the Maghreb, the corner of North Africa that houses Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco and Libya, have made two major contributions to the lifestyle of Israelis: first, in the large number of immigrants who brought their culture and lifestyles to Israel and second, to the often complex and delicious cuisines that those immigrants brought with them. So taken for granted have many of these dishes become that many of the second, third and even fourth generation children of those immigrants are now convinced that they evolved in Israel.

Daniel Rogov is the restaurant and wine critic for the daily newspaper Ha'aretz. He is also the senior writer for Wine and Gourmet Magazine and contributes culinary and wine articles to newspapers in Europe and the United States.