The scents of the souk
Rich in spices, the local cuisine makes good use of cinnamon, cumin, turmeric, ginger, paprika, coriander, saffron, cloves, fennel, anise, nutmeg, pepper, fenugreek, caraway and sesame seeds. Twenty-seven spices are traditionally combined to create the famous ras-el-hanout (literally "at the head of the grocery store"). They range from common spices such as cinnamon or cumin to more unusual ones such as dried rosebuds or iris root powder. The most common herbs include mint, parsley, coriander, oregano, peppermint, marjoram, verbena, sage and bay leaf. Although the local cuisine is not very spicy, harissa, a fierce paste of chili and garlic, is popular.
While the heart of the Sahara and the peaks of the Atlas Mountains experience climatic extremes, the valleys and coasts have a mild climate throughout the year, offering a variety of products: eggplant, bell pepper, tomato, potato, zucchini, pumpkin, cucumber, carrot, turnip, artichoke, onion, but also all kinds of fruits, including citrus fruits (lemon, orange, tangerine), plums, figs, dates or apricots and grapes, which are used both in salted and sweet. Candied lemons, preserved in salt and water, are appreciated for their particularly strong taste. Olives and olive oil are also essential to Moroccan cuisine. Cereals such as wheat, barley, rice, as well as legumes (chickpeas, lentils, beans and split peas), are widely used.
Lamb and mutton are very common, as well as beef and chicken, and to a lesser extent duck or pigeon. Snails - simmered in a spicy sauce - are among the most popular market snacks in Morocco. With almost 3,000 km of coastline shared between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean, fish and seafood abound in Moroccan cuisine: sole, swordfish, tuna, mackerel, eel, snapper, crab, shrimp, lobster and all kinds of mollusks. The kingdom is also the world'sleading exporter of sardines.
The souks can be a great opportunity to discover many products to bring back in your luggage (spices, preserves, dry goods, etc.) at very attractive prices. However, beware of little tricks, such as fake saffron, which is actually made of carnation petals, a vaguely aromatic orange flower. A saffron pistil is a long thin filament, of a unique dark red color.
An essential pillar of Islam, Ramadan is strictly observed in Morocco. From sunrise to sunset, the practitioner must not eat or drink. Its date changes every year according to the new moon, but its duration is always about 30 days. At sunset, the fast is broken (ftour or iftar) with rather rich snacks such as soups, honey pastries or dates. This snack, which is meant to be small, allows one to wait for dinner which takes place later in the night. Ramadan ends with Eid el-Fitr (literally "feast of the break").
The basics of Moroccan cuisine
In Morocco, the menu often begins with appetizers, especially salads or savory pastries. While chlada is a fresh mixture of tomato, cucumber and parsley, there are many cooked salads (served cold or warm) containing tomato, bell pepper, eggplant, beet, potato or carrot, enhanced with olive oil and aromatic herbs. The taktouka, for example, is a preparation based on tomato, bell pepper and onion confit. The matbukha is similar but very spicy. Let's also mention the zaalouk, which is similar to eggplant and tomato caviar. Sweet and sour is very common here, with orange and carrot salads, flavored with cumin, cinnamon and coriander.
Soups are very popular, such as harira, traditionally served during Ramadan, made of meat and offal, onions, saffron, chickpeas or lentils, all served with rice, tomato and coriander. Chorba is very similar, but with the addition of vermicelli. Simpler, the bissara (or tamarakt) is a very thick soup with split peas or beans. Chakchouka is a compote of tomatoes and green peppers in which some eggs are broken and cooked in a boiling sauce. It is served with bread.
Many savoury pastries are made with brick paper, a kind of very thin pancake, which becomes crispy after cooking. One thinks of pastilla, a pastry containing a stuffing made of poultry (chicken, guinea fowl, partridge or, more refined, pigeon), with onions, almonds, scrambled eggs and coriander. To decorate it, it is sprinkled with powdered sugar and cinnamon. Some modern versions contain a seafood filling. Briouats are triangular turnovers usually filled with minced meat (beef or lamb), onions, preserved lemon, and sometimes cheese. The term "brik" - a distortion of the Turkish word bürek - is a turnover filled with tuna or hard-boiled egg. Makouda are fried potato croquettes with herbs. A typical street market snack, msemmen, is a kind of elastic, nutritious patty that is sometimes stuffed with a mixture of minced meat, onion, tomato and chili.
Couscous, tajines and grills
Emblem of the Moroccan cuisine, the couscous is obviously not to be presented anymore, so much it is known in France. It should be noted that the royal couscous is a French invention, which allowed customers in France to taste several different meats with a vegetable sauce with "oriental" flavors. In reality, couscous is generally composed of one meat and several vegetables, served with semolina. There are about 140 varieties, which contain merguez, lamb, chicken or even meatballs, not to mention vegetarian versions.
One can also enjoy a couscous with onions and caramelized raisins(t'faya), which also contains lamb, or a couscous belboula made of barley semolina. The couscous with khlii is a classic recipe, the only difference being that instead of fresh meat, khlii is added, lamb confit in its own fat, with a very strong taste. Almonds, pistachios, dried fruits, candied lemons, pigeon or duck meat are also used in some couscous recipes.
Another essential dish, the tagine designates both the recipe and the dish to prepare it. The meat (mutton, lamb, chicken, etc.) is stewed with spices, vegetables and sometimes fruit. Unlike couscous, a tagine contains little liquid except for the cooking juices of the food, and is served with bread and not semolina. There is of course the inevitable chicken tagine with preserved lemon and olives, as well as the mrouzia, a common tagine for the breaking of the Ramadan fast, made of lamb, almonds and prunes. On the coast, you can also taste couscous and fish and seafood tagines, full of flavors, especially with shrimps.
The tanjia, not to be confused with the tajine, is a dish based on mutton and spices that is simmered all night in a clay pot in hot ashes. Another example is r'fissa, a roasted chicken flavored with fenugreek and saffron, served on a bed of patties(msemmen) that soak up the cooking juices of the chicken. Grilled meats, especially brochettes, are an inexpensive and very tasty snack. Merguez, made from beef and/or mutton, are obviously much better on the spot, as are keftas, spicy meatballs (lamb or/and beef), often grilled but also served with a tomato sauce with coriander. Not forgetting the mechoui, a whole lamb roasted on a spit for several hours until the meat melts in your mouth.
Desserts and drinks
Among the popular sweets in Morocco, we find of course the baghrir or crêpe mille-trous (very spongy pancake served hot with melted butter and honey), the chebakia (fried pastry in the shape of a rose soaked in syrup), the horns of gazelles (croissants made of shortcrust pastry filled with almond paste and orange blossom water), feqqas (crunchy almond cookies), ghriba (very crumbly cookies made of walnuts or grated coconut), or makrouds (thin semolina bites filled with date paste, fried and soaked in syrup). The sfenj, which can be translated as "sponge" in Arabic, is simply a type of doughnut. The more classic meskouta is a simple crown-shaped cake flavored with orange juice. Originally from Greece and Turkey, the baklava is common in Morocco and consists of a multitude of layers of filo pastry, walnuts, pistachios and crushed almonds, which are soaked in syrup. Finally, the pastilla au lait is like a mille-feuilles of crispy brick pastry sheets topped with orange blossom-scented milk cream.
At the heart of social life in the Maghreb, mint tea is traditionally prepared by the head of the family and offered to guests as a sign of hospitality. Tea is consumed throughout the day at the slightest social interaction. Although the arrival of tea (originally from China) in the Maghreb is debatable, it is believed that the plant began to be consumed in the region in the late eighteenth century. Composed of green tea, fresh mint leaves, boiling water and lots of sugar, the proportions and brewing time of mint tea can vary considerably.
Unlike the rest of North Africa, Morocco was never part of the Ottoman Empire. As a result, coffee - a popular Turkish beverage - did not arrive in the country until the French protectorate. Today, most hotels and restaurants for tourists offer good coffee, although tea remains the most popular hot drink. Fruit juices are also popular, but beware that some are made with tap water, which is not drinkable in the country.
Although Islam forbids the consumption of alcohol, Morocco is quite flexible, especially for tourists, and it is possible to find beers, wines and spirits in international restaurants and hotels without any problem. The most common beer is Flag Special, a light lager, while Casablanca is stronger. Morocco is also famous for its wines such as gris de Guerrouane, boulaouane, oustalet, cabernet président, thaleb, père Antoine, bonassia or cardinal Amazir in the red wine category, or chaud-soleil and valpierre in the white. Finally, the mahia is a digestive based on figs titling 40 °.
