Moroccan cuisine is the product of centuries of cultural exchange — Berber, Arab, Andalusian, Jewish, French and Sub-Saharan African influences have all left their mark on a food culture that is endlessly sophisticated and deeply satisfying.
The Essential Dishes
Tagine is the dish Morocco is most famous for — a slow-cooked stew of meat, vegetables, preserved lemon and olives, served in the conical earthenware pot that gives it its name. The best tagines are cooked over charcoal for hours; the worst are microwaved tourist traps. The difference is obvious.
Couscous is the Friday dish — traditionally served after the midday prayer, piled high with seven vegetables and your choice of meat. In a Moroccan home, couscous on Friday is a sacred ritual. Pastilla (or bastilla) is Morocco’s most extraordinary dish: wafer-thin filo pastry filled with pigeon (or, in coastal areas, seafood), eggs, almonds and a dusting of cinnamon and icing sugar. Sweet and savoury simultaneously.
The Spice Palette
Moroccan cooking relies on a specific palette of spices: ras el hanout (a complex blend of up to 30 spices), cumin, coriander, turmeric, ginger, cinnamon, saffron and paprika. Chermoula — a marinade of herbs, spices, lemon and olive oil — appears on everything from fish to vegetables.
Where to Eat Like a Local
The best Moroccan food is eaten in homes. Failing that, look for small neighbourhood restaurants with no English menu and a handwritten daily special on a chalkboard. In Fès, the Rcif area has excellent cheap Moroccan cooking. In Marrakech, the neighbourhood around Bab Doukkala is where the locals eat.
