What is Moroccan Food?
An Introduction to the Delicious North African Cuisine of Morocco
Moroccan food is often confused with Middle Eastern food, but is actually very distinct. The country is located on the north-western tip of Africa, and the food is thus an incredibly rich mix of African, Arab, Berber (an indigenous people) and southern Spanish influences.
Just the word ‘Morocco’ conjures up images of intense colors, tastes and smells. Probably the overarching picture most people have of Morocco is its souks or markets, and in particular the spice stalls selling golden saffron, fragrant cinnamon, powdered ginger and fat cardamom pods.
Classic Moroccan food is characterized by its rich spiced sauces, slow-cooked tajines or stews and delicate, rose-scented pastries. What is less well known about Moroccan food is that its richness belies its simplicity. Most Moroccan dishes are made with everyday ingredients such as chickpeas, peppers, tomatoes, potatoes, eggs and honey. It is the way in which the ingredients are prepared and cooked, and the Moroccan understanding of how to combine sweet and savory flavors and season dishes to perfection that make this country’s cuisine so unique and tantalizing.
Moroccan Ingredients
Most ingredients used in Moroccan dishes are readily available outside Morocco. More unusual ingredients are becoming increasingly commonplace in supermarkets or specialty stores. These include couscous, preserved lemons, which are often used to flavor tajines and warka pastry leaves for b’stila pie. Orange flower water and rosewater are also frequently called for in cakes and sweets.
Couscous
This is Morocco’s national dish. Made from semolina (the starchy inner part of durum wheat) and traditionally rolled into tiny balls by hand, couscous is often classified as a grain but is actually closer to pasta. The traditional preparation method of steaming the couscous in layers requires patience and skill, but the result is blissfully light and fluffy. Couscous has a very mild taste, which makes it the perfect accompaniment to rich tajines.
Tajine
Tajine is both the name of the rich and ubiquitous Moroccan stew and the conical earthenware pot in which it is cooked. The shape of the pot is designed especially so that the steam produced during the long cooking process gathers at the top and is forced back down into the food, keeping it moist and succulent.
Tajines are the focal point of most Moroccan meals and come in a vast number of traditional and regional varieties. Just a few of them include chicken with olives and preserved lemons, lamb with prunes and fish with fennel. Tajines can also be a delicious meat-free mix of up to seven different vegetables.
Mint Tea
Mint tea, which is actually a combination of spearmint leaves and green tea, is drunk at all times of day and night. It is served sweet to guests in homes, and you may even be given a glass when entering a shop. It is such an integral part of Moroccan life that making it has evolved into an elaborate ceremony. The tea is brewed in a silver, bulb-shaped pot with a long spout, and poured into small cups from a height so that bubbles are created.
Desserts
Sweets are often eaten between meals rather than at the end of them. Moroccan sweets include honey cakes (deep-fried pieces of dough dipped in honey and sprinkled with sesame seeds) and qa’b el-ghazal or gazelle’s horns (crescent-shaped pastries filled with almond paste).
Bread
Traditionally, food in Morocco is eaten with the thumb and first two fingers of the right hand. Bread or l’khubz is thus an important part of Moroccan cuisine, both as a food and as a utensil for scooping up meat and vegetables, or soaking up the last drops of sauce from a tajine. If you are used to using a knife and fork, eating this way can take a little practice. However, it is very much a part of enjoying Morocco’s delicious food and only adds to the pleasure. Give it a go!
Did You Know?
Ras el-hanout, which translates as ‘top of the shop’ and is thought to mean the best a vendor has to offer, is a Moroccan spice mix. It can contain anything from six up to 100 different spices. These include cinnamon, mace, cayenne pepper and nutmeg, as well as more unusual ingredients such as lavender, dried rosebuds, ash berries and monk’s pepper, the latter supposedly being an aphrodisiac. Ras el-hanout is used to flavor tajines and couscous or rubbed into meat.
