khorchef خرشف
Moroccan Darija · noun
“khorchef” (خرشف) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning cardoon (ribbed vegetable).
Meanings
- cardoon (ribbed vegetable)
- wild artichoke, edible thistle
Usage
In Morocco, khorchef (often with the article: lkhorchef) mainly means the cardoon. It is a plant close to the artichoke, of which the peeled ribs and stalks are eaten. The word belongs to home-cooking vocabulary. It appears in dishes such as meat tajine with cardoons, often served with preserved lemon and olives. Pitfall: the source translates the word as "artichoke." But for the cultivated artichoke, darija usually says qoq. Khorchef is used as a collective noun, with no common plural. For example, one says chi khorchef for "some cardoons."
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “khorchef” but also “kharchef”, “khourchef”, “khorchaf” and “5orchef”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 5 is kha (خ), like the ch in Scottish loch.