Moroccan gastronomy: the dishes not to be missed
Moroccan gastronomy
Despite its proximity, Moroccan gastronomy or cuisine is relatively unknown. However, it is composed of a large number of dishes that will not leave anyone indifferent.
Moroccan cuisine is composed of a number of dishes that no traveler should miss. Trying the local dishes is a must when visiting Marrakech. The best way to do this is by booking a food tour in the city. You will not regret it!
One of the best experiences of any trip is the discovery of gastronomy, because its flavors, smells, condiments and methods of preparation are an important part of the culture. Moroccan cuisine ranges from Tagine to Couscous, from Harira to Tangia, and is characterized by the presence of spices that greatly enhance the flavor.
Tagine
This dish is actually named after the container in which it is cooked, as is the case with Spanish Paella, which is an earthenware pot with an elongated cone-shaped lid.
In the pot, different types of vegetables are cooked with the chosen meat (lamb, beef or chicken) and different spices are added, such as turmeric and cumin. Cooking, in its most traditional form, should be slow, to the point that it takes several hours to complete the dish. In addition, the special shape of the container allows the steam to remain inside and the meat to be more tender and tasty.
Although they are all known as tagine, there are actually different types depending on the ingredients that are added to them. The most known are chicken with lemon, beef with plums and, for more uncommon events, sheep. We recommend booking a full food tour to try all the different types of tagines. You can try the Berber tagine in the desert and find fish and vegetable tagines in coastal areas.
Koftas
This dish is one of the most widespread in a large part of the world. You will find it under different names depending on the country: köfte, kafta, kufta, kufteh… and it’s just minced meat mixed with spices and a few other ingredients.
Very popular from Morocco to Pakistan, via India, Turkey, the Balkans, the Middle East and Central Asia, the main ingredient of this dish is meat, usually veal or lamb. If you have been to Marrakech with children, this recipe is likely to become one of their favorites.
To make koftas, just chop the meat, then add garlic, Persil and onion to it. As for the spices, their number and type depend a lot on the cook. In Marrakech, it is quite common to add Ras el Hanout, but it can also contain paprika, ginger or coriander. It can take the form of a meatball or a small hamburger. In Marrakech shops and across Morocco, you can often find it on a wooden stick, like a skewer, in the medina.
Harira Soup
It is not necessary to travel to Marrakech in winter (or to another city in the country) to enjoy a good soup. As in other Arab countries, this dish is very popular throughout the year, and there is even a version that is eaten for breakfast.
The best known of them is the harira, a very nutritious soup. For this reason, it is traditionally consumed when breaking the fast during Ramadan, but you can find it at any time in restaurants all over the country.
According to some hypotheses, the recipe originated in Al-Andalus and then spread to a large part of North Africa. Harira soup includes vegetables, cereals, meat and dried vegetables, usually chickpeas. But it is the aromatic herbs (such as coriander and mint), tomatoes, lemon and, of course, spices such as harissa, which give it its spiciness, and its delicious flavor. The whole thing is thickened with a little flour.
Couscous
If you are traveling to Morocco, there is a dish that you cannot miss: couscous. The name of this dish comes from its main ingredient, couscous, which is nothing but wheat semolina.
When you book a food tour in Marrakech, we will explain and show you the various ways this dish can be made. Just like there are many houses, there are also many different methods for preparing this dish. It all depends on the ingredients used to prepare the stew that accompanies the semolina.
Moroccan dishes usually include:
- Many vegetables
- Meat
- Chickpeas
- Onions
- Raisins
- Sometimes plums
In southern Morocco, fewer sweet ingredients are used.
To cook semolina in the traditional way, you need to use a couscous maker, a kind of steamer with a sieve above the pan. In this way, the stew ingredients are cooked in the lower part and the couscous itself is cooked in the upper part. Although this system gives the best results, the cooking of the semolina can take hours.
Mechui
The word mechoui, meshoui or meshwi means “roast” in Arabic. So it’s not difficult to guess what this popular Moroccan gastronomy dish is. The main ingredient is lamb, whose meat is most appreciated in North Africa and the Middle East. Originally, the animal was roasted in a hole dug in the ground and filled with wood. When the wood turned into embers, the whole lamb was placed inside and buried. The cooking lasts for several hours.
Of course, the version that we find today in the best restaurants in Marrakech uses more modern methods. The grill remains the ideal method, but in some places it is also roasted in the oven. For more flavor, the meat is often rubbed with a not too spicy version of the harissa sauce.
If you spend more than two days in Marrakech, I recommend that you try to taste this dish.
Pastilla
One of the most popular street dishes in Morocco (although it is also served in some restaurants) is the pastilla.
If you have been walking around the medina of Marrakech, either alone or as part of a gastronomic tour, you will probably have seen several shops selling it, because it is a very popular dish with locals and visitors. However, I recommend that you follow the safety tips in Marrakech and only buy them from trusted places.
It is a kind of phyllo or puff pastry filled with shredded poultry, raisins and dried fruits such as pistachios or nuts. Pastillas today usually contain chicken, but traditionally used pigeon meat. Pigeon is now considered a luxury ingredient due to its flavor. The dish is topped with cinnamon and icing sugar, creating a unique and delicious mix of sweet and savory tastes.
Tangia
Tangia is perhaps the least known traditional dish of Morocco. If you are visiting the country, you must not miss it. This is a meat stew. The recipe includes lamb, garlic, cumin, turmeric and candied lemons, typical of the country. Everything is cooked in a Tangia, a jar that gives its name to the recipe.
In addition to the spectacular taste of the dish, the history behind it is also interesting. The men used to bring the jar to the oven in their neighborhood in the morning when they left for work. The pot was buried under the earth in the embers of the fire for about 5 hours. When the workers had finished their work, they collected it to savor the taste.
To taste Tangia in Marrakech, head to the medina and find a restaurant that serves it. This works whether you’re on a guided tour or exploring the city on your own. One of the place where to experience this is the Souk Café, which offers a very delicious one.
Mint tea
No person who has visited Morocco, regardless of the length of their stay, has left without having tasted this delicious drink.
Mint tea, which is actually mint tea, can be considered the national drink. You will find it not only in restaurants, tea rooms and cafes, but also in any store where you spend more than 15 minutes.
Although the recipe is very simple- water, tea, mint and a good amount of sugar – it is difficult to find such a good one outside Morocco or in tea rooms run by people from the Maghreb.
Moroccans serve hot mint tea in small, narrow cups year-round, even in summer. This popular drink symbolizes Moroccan hospitality, and hosts offer it to all visitors. A Moroccan saying describes the three servings of tea:
- First glass: “bitter like life”
- Second glass: “strong like love”
- Third glass: “sweet like death”
There is no better place to taste it than on the terraces overlooking the Jamaa el Fna in Marrakech or in a cafe in the port of Essaouira, with a magnificent view of the Atlantic.
The sweets
Moroccan sweets are distinct from those typically found in Europe. Its main ingredients are honey, dates, nuts, semolina and dried fruits.
All over in Morocco, you may discover a huge number of shops offering these treats. You can also taste them in cafes or pastry shops, a name that comes from the French heritage of the country.
Among the best known, there are the famous baklavas, the curious gazelle horns or the Makroudh, but the variety is such that it will be impossible for you to taste them all.
The spices
Although they are not a food in their own right, no one can doubt the importance of spices in Moroccan gastronomy. Without them, all the dishes that you will taste during your trip would be really different.
Flavors are a portion of the visitor attractions simply discovered within the country. In each city, a portion of the souk is particularly devoted to them. There are few experiences more typical of the country than walking around the Rahba Kedima Square in Marrakech, immersed in the color and smell of spices.
The number of spices you will find is almost infinite, but here are the names of the most used, in case you want to experiment with them when you return :
Ras el Hanout
The star of Moroccan cuisine. In reality, it is a mixture of spices whose recipe is not fixed, each shop claiming to make the best. It is said that up to 30 different spices are used to create the mixture.
Cumin
If you are used to cumin in jars sold in supermarkets, the smell and taste of this spice in Morocco will surprise you with their intensity.
Harissa
It is one of the most utilized flavors in Morocco. It is made from a concentrate of smoked and grilled red peppers to which cumin, salt and garlic are added. Be careful, in some cases, it can be a little spicy, but less than the spice used in Tunisia.
Sesame
Grilled on the grill to give another flavor to the dishes.
Orange blossom water
It is made by boiling orange blossoms, and is used in Moroccan sweets and desserts.
Lemons protected in salt
Numerous Moroccan dishes, such as Tangia, utilize them