Hergma
 Moroccan-style hergma | |
| Alternative names | kerʻine |
|---|---|
| Type | stew (offal); tagine/lablabi |
| Associated cuisine | Maghrebi cuisine |
| Created by | Mizrahi Jews |
| Main ingredients | trotters |
| Ingredients generally used | wheatberries, chickpeas |
| Similar dishes | |
Hergma[a] (Arabic: الهركمة, lit. 'trotter' (synecdoche);[3] Moroccan Arabic: كرعين, romanized: kerʻine;[4][b] Algerian Arabic: لوبيا بالكرعين, romanized: loubia bil kerʻine;[6] Standard Moroccan Tamazight: ⵉⴼⵏⵣⴰ, ifenza[7]) is a Maghrebi cuisine stew featuring stewed trotters. The dish is largely cooked on Eid al-Adha with the trotters of the sacrificial animal, but also served year-round at souks, and enjoyed during Ramadan.[2] In Moroccan cuisine, hergma is a tagine; in Tunisian cuisine, hergma is a lablabi featuring other offal along with the trotters, such as heart and tripe.
Preparation and consumption
[edit]The trotters are considered a core ingredient due to the gelatin that emulsifies into the broth, making it thick. Trotters used include cow's trotters, sheep's trotters or goat's trotters; pig's trotters are haram/treif. Hergma is served as a street food at souks as well as a breakfast food; it is eaten by hand with khobz.[2][5]
In Algerian cuisine, hergma (loubia bil kerʻine), particularly in Algiers, is made with beans and lentils. It is typically served alongside babbouche, a snail dish.[6] In Moroccan cuisine, the dish is a type of tagine, baked in an earthenware pot; a typical recipe for Moroccan hergma is sheep's trotters with wheatberries, chickpeas and raisins.[5][8] In Tunisian cuisine, hergma is a soupier lablabi featuring other offal along the trotters, such as heart and tripe.[2][9]
History
[edit]Hergma is descended from the Sephardic cuisine dish hamin (adafina), a Sabbath stew brought by Jewish expats to the Maghreb from the 1492 expulsion of Jews from Spain.[5][10] The term "harqma" was documented in the 1505 Vocabulista arauigo en letra castellana by Pedro de Alcalá; definitions included cow's trotters, ratatouille, intestines, and butcher's scraps.[2][11]
Hergma was a favorite dish of Hassan II of Morocco.[2]
See also
[edit]- bouzellouf a.k.a. bacha, an Algerian cuisine stewed sheep's head, sometimes with sheep's trotters, popular in Annaba[12]
Notes
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Quitout, Michael (2002). Parlons L'arabe Tunisien Langue [Speaking the Tunisian Arabic Language] (in French). Paris: L'Harmattan. p. 99. ISBN 2-7475-2886-3.
- ^ a b c d e f Wright, Clifford (28 February 2012). The Best Stews in the World: 300 Satisfying One-Dish Dinners, from Chilis and Gumbos to Curries and Cassoulet. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. p. 116. ISBN 978-1-55832-747-4.
- ^ Fox, Thomas; Abu-Talib, Mohammed; et al. (Ben Thami, Ahmed; Chreibi, Allal; Kanouni, Habiba; Ligon, Ernest; Mekaoui, Mohammed) (1962). Herrell, Richard S. (ed.). A Dictionary Of Moroccan Arabic: Moroccan-English. Richard Slade Harrell Arabic Series. Washington, D.C.: Georgetown University Press. p. 55.
- ^ Quitout, Michel (12 December 2013). Arabe marocain - Guide de conversation [Moroccan Arabic - Conversation guide] (in French). Assimil. p. 137. ISBN 978-2-7005-0581-8.
- ^ a b c d Benlafquih, Christine; Kiffa, Nada (25 August 2017). "Moroccan Trotters Recipe - Hergma or Kour3ine". Taste of Maroc. Retrieved 27 February 2026.
- ^ a b Mourad, Ahmed (1 March 2025), شخشوخة والمقطعة وبركوكس.. تعرف على أشهر أكلات الشعب الجزائري في الشتاء البارد [Shakshouka, Maktouba, and Berkoukes... Discover the most famous dishes of the Algerian people in the cold winter.] (in Arabic), ngmisr.com
- ^ Laoust, Emile (1920). Challamel, Augustin (ed.). Mots Et Choses Berberes [Berber Words and Things] (in French). Paris: Librairie maritime et coloniale. p. 120.
- ^ Ben Alaya, Wahid (2000). Quitout, Michel (ed.). L'Arabve morocain de poche [Pocket Moroccan Arabic] (in French). France: Assimil. p. 118. ISBN 2-7005-0280-9.
- ^ Lageman, Thessa (2016). "This Fiery Tunisian Soup Is Not for the Faint of Heart". VICE. Retrieved 2 March 2026.
- ^ Iverson, Jeffrey T. (17 October 2011), The Conciliatory Chef, TIME
- ^ de Alcalá, Pedro; Varela de Salamanca, Juán (1505). Vocabulista arauigo en letra castellana (in Spanish). Granada : Iuan varela de salama[n]ca.
- ^ "BACHA- TÊTE ET PIEDS DE MOUTON EN SAUCE PIQUANTE - TERROIR BÔNOIS". BACHA- TÊTE ET PIEDS DE MOUTON EN SAUCE PIQUANTE - TERROIR BÔNOIS. Retrieved 2 March 2026.
