I admit it, I’m no fan of Yom Kippur — the whole fasting thing makes absolutely no sense to me, and in my adult life I get pretty close to homicidal if I go a day without eating anything. But on Erev Yom Kippur, the night the highest of the high holidays begins, it’s traditional for Jewish families to eat a hearty meal before going into 24 hours of fasting, and then a break-fast the following evening which usually consists of bagels and dairy/appetizing items.
My wife and my in-laws will be going through fasting torture for the next day (along with the accompanying davening) so we decided to cook a nice meal for Erev Yom Kippur. Instead of the traditional Ashkenazi food we Eastern European Jews are known for (and what we all just had last week for Rosh Hashonah, the Jewish New Year) I thought we’d switch things up a bit with some Sephardic-style Moroccan-Jewish cuisine.
Pita bread, imported from Brooklyn.
Moroccan Carrot Soup (sans milk) spiced with cardamom, cinnamon, black pepper, garlic and ginger. This was a big hit.
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Moroccan Baked Eggplant Salad and Israeli tomato/cucumber salad.
Chicken Tagine with Apricots and Chickpeas, topped with chopped Cilantro.
Tagine plated with Moroccan spiced couscous with pistachios and currants, Israeli Salad, Eggplant Salad and Hummus.
Dessert trio: Baklava, Poached Pears in Rose Champagne, Imported Turkish Pistachio Halvah
Halvah Closeup
Baklava
Poached Pear
Off The Broiler 
Because I lived in what was then French Morocco in the late fifties, I can remember some of the delicacies that the Perlows are creating here … very authentic and the smells might well take me back to the souks of Marrakesh or Fez … thanks for the memories and have an easy Yom Kippur fast … if you do that.
Thanks for this article! I love Moroccan food anyways, the wonderful blend of vegetables, spices and meat are great to enjoy with family and friends. A perfect fest for the begining of Yom Kippur. :)