Morocco, With A Touch Of France

Omar Fekhar has cooked for a legend, but he prefers the red-hot pace of a busy restaurant kitchen.

Fekhar, the chef at the Marrakesh Moroccan Restaurant in Spokane, spent a short portion of his career as ‘60s sex kitten Brigitte Bardot’s private cook in Paris.

“It was fun when she had parties, but most of the time there wasn’t enough to do. It could be boring,” he said.

Bardot, now a fervent champion for animal rights, just loved lobster thermidor, by the way. But mostly, Fekhar cooked vegetarian dishes for her.

So how did the Casablanca-born, Paris-educated waiter-turned-chef end up in Spokane?

After cooking in New York and then San Francisco, Fekhar was introduced to Marrakesh owner Ben Alaoui, who had restaurants in Seattle and Portland.

“He’s very creative and consistent,” Alaoui said. “This is a man who owned his own restaurant in Paris. I was lucky to get him. He has an excellent knowledge of not only Moroccan, but also French, Italian and Greek cuisine.”

Fekhar enjoys introducing American diners to the unique flavors of Moroccan cooking.

“When people see the bright yellow color of some of our dishes, they think we use a lot of curry, but that’s actually saffron,” Fekhar said.

Along with saffron, Fekhar uses a generous hand with cumin, coriander, ginger and occasionally cinnamon to create the intense, often fragrant character of Moroccan dishes.

Scanning the menu at Marrakesh, it’s easy to see Fekhar puts a lot of stock in the practice of braising - browning meat on the stovetop and then adding spices and liquid before simmering slowly.

The result is meat that is tender and deeply flavored, since it has basically been steeped in the spices. “We don’t even put salt on the tables, and that has never been a problem,” Fekhar said.

Moroccan meals usually center around a main meat dish - lamb, beef, chicken or fish. Crusty white bread is used to soak up the sauce, or the dish is served with a favorite Moroccan side dish: couscous.

Fekhar said in North Africa, people usually make a meal of couscous at least once a week. The tiny, grainlike starch is actually considered a pasta and is made of semolina flour.

When Fekhar has a rare day off, he is more at home in his kitchen than in front of the TV. He plays around with new recipes, making the dish his own.

No matter what he’s cooking, though, Fekhar is adamant that the ingredients must be the freshest available.

“Stay away from cans,” he advised.

Spicy Chicken Marrakesh

This easy dish demonstrates the beauty of braising. Make sure your spices are fresh.

1 whole 3-pound fryer, cut into 8 pieces

1/2-cup olive oil

2 large onions, sliced

3 cloves garlic, chopped

2 tablespoons ground coriander

1 tablespoon ground caraway seeds

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2-teaspoon cayenne pepper

1-1/2 teaspoons salt

3 cups chicken broth

3 medium tomatoes, diced

1 bunch spinach, washed and shredded

1-1/2 pounds small red potatoes, cut in quarters

3 tablespoons ground Hungarian paprika

In a large saute pan, combine onions, garlic and olive oil and saute for 5 minutes over medium heat. Add chicken and spices (except paprika) and saute for 15 minutes or until the chicken is golden.

Add the chicken broth, tomatoes, spinach and potatoes and bring the mixture to a boil. Add the paprika and mix well. Cover and let simmer for 25 to 30 minutes.

Yield: 4 servings.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo