Table Talk: Counting sheep is a dream come true for Amherst couple

By CLAIRE HOPLEY

Published on August 03, 2007

As a project manager for a computer company, Khalid Elkalai of Amherst works at home most days, traveling to his office in Norwood a couple of times a week. His schedule gives him time to pursue a second life as a farmer and shepherd, raising sheep on his Crescent Moon Farm in Belchertown.

A native of Morocco, Elkalai fondly recalls childhood visits to his uncle's farm in the mountains there. "I used to love it," he said. "Everyone farmed there, not really for economic reasons, more as a lifestyle; it's more relaxed, the food is fresh."

He said that farming is part of life for about 60 to 65 percent of Moroccans. "People maybe have a half acre or an acre round their house and they perhaps keep chickens or a goat, and grow vegetables or fruit," he said. "This way they produce a lot of their own food."

Elkalai said that as he grew up and got close to college age, agriculture was still his first love, but the difficulties of making a living in it persuaded him to go into computers when he went to study in Paris. After two years there, he came to the United States, and while his computer career was blossoming in the eastern part of Massachusetts, he heard about Brookfield Farm in Amherst.

Brookfield is a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm, which means that it has shareholders who buy a share in spring and then receive crops throughout the growing season.

Elkalai and his wife, Kathleen, bought a share eight years ago.

Pretty soon involvement in Brookfield inspired renewed thoughts of farming, so three years ago they took the major step of moving to Amherst to pursue their dream.

Now they have a flock of about 80 sheep.

Why sheep farming? "As a Moslem I can tell you that one of the biggest problems for Moslems in this country is getting halal meat," Elkalai said.

Halal meat comes from animals slaughtered according to Islamic dietary law. Elkalai realized that if he raised animals and had them slaughtered in the way prescribed by his religion, he would have a ready market in the Moslem community.

"Halal meat is similar to kosher meat," he said. "[The animal] has to be killed humanely. A very sharp knife is used so the animal feels no pain. And then the blood is drained so there is no risk of consuming it."

In addition, the carcass is inspected for any signs of illness. If these are found after inspection, it cannot be used as meat.

Unfortuately the only slaughterhouse in Massachusetts where halal meat could be produced recently burned down. So though Elkalai has lamb available for sale, it is not halal. He hopes halal meat will return next year.

Lamb is the staple meat of Morocco, with chicken as a second choice, and some goat, especially in rural areas, but very little beef, and no pork, because its consumption is forbidden by Islamic law.

Elkalai explains that in Morocco sheep range over the hills and pastures; they're not kept in barns nor fed grains, hormones or routine antibiotics.

"So they are not fatty," he said. "I hear many Americans complain that lamb is fatty or gamey, but that's because the animals are fed grains to make them grow fast. If lambs are raised on grass that does not occur."

His own lambs are raised in fields and live there pretty much all the year. Lambing season is April to May, and the lambs are ready for sale by August, when they usually weigh between 65 and 75 pounds.

"I never wean them, and I don't try to get the ewes to give birth twice a year," Elkalai said. "That's not normal. That stresses them. If they are raised properly - allowed to graze on pastures - they are healthy. A healthy animal will grow without hormones."

He believes that sheep that are raised intensively in barns, and which receive hormones to prompt fast growth and frequent breeding, would not qualify as halal meat, even if they were slaughtered in the approved style. "Halal is about humane treatment. I don't regard intensive methods as humane, so to my mind lambs reared that way could not be halal."

At this stage in his farming venture, Elkalai is concentrating on building his flock by keeping ewes that give birth to twins and triplets and selling the others. But he has plans for the future. With a larger flock he is hoping to eventually buy the land he now rents. Within the next three to four years he hopes to raise other animals for meat, including chickens and cows.

"Every animal has plants it likes to eat," he said. "Cows can graze a field first, then sheep because they like plants lower down, then finally chickens. This lets the sun penetrate the earth, so the plants grow and the animals are healthy."

His goal is to run his farm as a CSA with shareholder members getting a share of the meat. He also wants to expand into berries. "I am going to plant strawberries, raspberries and blueberries, and start a jam enterprise," he said. "That could also be run as a CSA."

For the moment, Elkalai sells his lamb directly to Moslem customers locally and in Boston and also through a co-op in Vermont. It is available at the Brookfield Farm store on Hulst Road in Amherst, which is open to the public as well as to Brookfield members. For more information, email crescentmoonfarm@gmail.com or call the owners at 253-0528.

Lamb lovers know that lamb beats out beef and chicken as a favorite meat in many parts of the world, and each country has its own favorite ways of cooking it. Here are some lamb dishes and other recipes from Khalid Elkalai's native country of Morocco.

MOROCCAN TAGINE WITH APPLES

This recipe is from Claudia Roden's "A book of Middle Eastern Food" (Vintage Books, 1974). The dish can be made with quinces (which are halved and cored but not peeled), and also with pears, dates, or prunes. Roden notes that Moroccans use various kinds of pepper, including black, cayenne or paprika, but in moderation. Any of these peppers can be used in this dish, in combination to taste.

2 pounds lamb, cut into cubes

2 onions, finely chopped

salt and pepper

1 small bunch cilantro or parsley, chopped

¼ teaspoon powdered saffron (optional)

½ teaspoon powdered ginger

1 pound apples, peeled, cored and halves (or quinces or pears)

Put the meat and 1 chopped onion in a large pan, cover with water and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Add the fresh cilantro or parsley, saffron if used and ginger. Bring to the boil and simmer gently, covered, until the meat is tender and the onion practically disintegrated. This takes about an hour.

Then add the other chopped onion and cook until soft.

Half an hour before serving, add the apples or other fruit and cook only until just tender. (If you make this with quinces, saute them in butter first.)

LAMB COUS COUS

Here is another recipe from Claudia Roden's "A book of Middle Eastern Food" (Vintage Books, 1974). Cous cous is a Moroccan classic, a form of pasta that can now be easily purchased in local supermarkets. It is usually cooked in a special two-part pot, called a couscoussi￨re. It has a deep part in which various meats and vegetables are stewed, and a perforated top on which the cous cous cooks in the steam. Or you can improvise a couscoussi￨re by perching a sieve or small-holed colander over the pan so the cous cous steams. Cous cous is never actually immersed in the broth.

You can follow the package directions for making cous cous and ladle the lamb mixture on top for serving if you like.

Chicken is a popular alternative to lamb and could be used in its place in this dish, or you could use half chicken and half lamb.

2 pounds lamb cut into cubes

2 onions, finely chopped

1/3 cup chickpeas soaked overnight (or use 1 cup canned chickpeas)

2 white turnips, quartered

2 large carrots, sliced

2½ tablespoons olive oil

salt and black pepper

¼ teaspoon powdered saffron (optional)

¼ teaspoon powdered ginger

1 pound cous cous

½ cup raisins

¼ pound fresh or frozen broad beans or lima beans

3 zucchini, sliced

2 tomatoes, quartered

5 tablespoons chopped parsley

1 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon paprika

cayenne or chili pepper

2½ tablespoons butter

Put the meat, onions, chickpeas (if dried) turnips and carrots in a large stewpan.

Cover with water and add the oil, salt and pepper, ginger and saffron, bring to the boil, and simmer for about an hour.

Just before the hour is up, moisten the cous cous with a little cold water, working it with your fingers to swell it.

Put it in a sieve (or whatever you are using) and fit it over the top of the pan. Steam for half an hour.

Add the raisins, beans, chickpeas if you are using canned, zucchini, tomatoes and parsley to the simmering mixture and cook for another 20-30 minutes, with the cous cous in place.

Take a cupful of liquid from the stew and stir into it the paprika and enough cayenne or chili to make if spicy-hot.

To serve, pile the cous cous into a large shallow dish and fork in the butter. Top with the meat and vegetables and some of the broth as needed. Serve the hot sauce separately.

EGGPLANT

AND PEPPER SALAD

This recipe comes from Habeeb Salloum's and James Peters' book "From the Lands of Figs and Olives," published by Interlink Books of Northampton (1995).

1 large eggplant

2 cloves garlic, crushed

2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley

2 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro

½ teaspoon cumin

½ teaspoon paprika

1 medium onion, chopped

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 large sweet red pepper, chopped

2 tablespoons lemon juice

salt to taste

Bake the eggplant in a 425-degree oven for about 1 hour, turning frequently. Cool, peel and mash to a pulp. Add the garlic, parsley, cilantro, cumin and paprika. Mix well and set aside.

In a frying pan, saute the onion in the olive oil until the onion starts to turn golden brown. Add the red pepper and fry a few minutes longer. Stir in the eggplant mixture, lemon juice and salt. Mix well, place on a serving dish, and chill for at least an hour before serving.

RAS EL HANNOUT

Ras el hannout translates as "head of the shop" because it has the best spices in it. It is a popular mixture throughout North Africa.

This Moroccan version is from Ana Sortun's "Spice: Flavors of the Eastern Mediterranean" (HarperCollins, 2006).

She notes that this spice mixture is especially good with chickpeas, squid, fish and many vegetables, but "it really shines with chicken."

¼ cup cumin seeds

3/4 teaspoon saffron

1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 tablespoon turmeric

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper

½ cup paprika

In a small skillet over medium heat, toast the cumin seeds for 2 minutes until fragrant. Place in a spice grinder and cool completely. Add the saffron and grind with the cumin seeds.

Remove to a mixing bowl and combine with the other spices.