16
Jan
[vimeo]http://www.vimeo.com/16977936[/vimeo]
Great news. Absolute Press are bringing out an expanded edition of my Fifth Quarter next year. To celebrate this, I thought I’d post a couple of videos I did recently of one of my food obsessions: lamb testicles. The last place I expected to see them was in the kitchens of Pistache d’Alep (the best baklava maker in Aleppo) where they have recently installed a separate butcher’s kiosk to prepare the meat for the kibbeh balls and lahm bil-ajine (meat ‘pizza’), which they also make there. Their butcher is a charming and very jolly man, who took great pleasure in showing us how to prepare the testicles for cooking. It is possible that this butcher ‘kiosk’ was a temporary installation because of the Eid. i forgot to ask. In any case, I am only sorry he wasn’t there when Andrew Zimmern filmed in the kitchens for his upcoming Syrian episode of Bizarre Foods. He would have loved the spectacle. And Andrew, if you are reading this post, I am totally flattered to be your new food-crush! I also loved spending that day with you.
[vimeo]http://www.vimeo.com/16952000[/vimeo]
Tagged : Aleppo, Andrew Zimmern, fifth quarter, lamb testicles, offal, Pistache d'Alep, syria 
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There is 6 comments on this post
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January 16, 2011 at 10:58 am
You are preaching to the choir about lamb testicles… thanks to you I made them. It’s all in the mind that they are a little daunting to work with… the peeling is an experience… but then what texture and flavor… they reminded me of the best sweetbreads ever… and my St Bernard loved the peelings… it was a huge hit with her (simply sauteed if you please). Thanks so much, Anissa, for sharing this delicacy.
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January 16, 2011 at 11:20 am
you are welcome deana. i like the fact that you didn’t waste any of it. and it is true, the texture is simply divine, and the taste very delicate ๐
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January 19, 2011 at 7:45 pm
Annissa, I just bought one of your books ..sorry but I just “discovered” u.. Thanks for making a difference and writing properly about some of the Moroccan food. It frustrates me to see foreigners “charcuter” the recipes and pretend this is authentic. I am really amazed by your style of writing. Most of the recipes are exactly what we woud have made at home indeed..
Regarding the testicules..we have a dish in fes called B3assess..The recipe is very yummy and it’s cooked with tomatoes. Now I’m 34 yers old..I just came to know at 32 that these were indeed testicules..I’m still shocked since then. So beside this pshycological trauma..the testicules made the fassi way still taste good..
If you want the recipe I can check with my mum and grandma how they do it…
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January 20, 2011 at 3:27 am
thanks so much nada. i am so happy you are enjoying my book and my moroccan recipes. i used to go to morocco a lot, staying with a friend who had a marvellous cook. and now i have a great friend there who has the best restaurant in marrakesh, le stylia, where he has women cooking, so, i know the cuisine well. do you live in Fez? and yes, i would love the recipe. will send you an email ๐
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March 5, 2014 at 2:00 pm
In Serbia they eat them on a weekly bases. As those things are as disposable as, well as junk I guess. In the rest of Europe, we don’t eat them, we have them fermented into musk. Anyway, I wouldn’t, as a man, eat sth that comes frรณm a man, but I can imagine for a woman it is not so much of an issue. As only the males are slaughtered in slaughterhouses, tons of those things are around. And don’t worry about the pain, Angela, all of them are removed post mortem, except when they are castrated, but for cattle and sheep, at least in Europe, it rarely happens that the animal survives its testes.
Greets