Mouthwatering Moroccan Cuisine

Morocco's mouthwatering cuisine has a depth of flavor resulting from ancient influences from Andalusian Spain, Arabia, Asia and France.

It's alive with subtle spices and mouthwatering flavor combinations. Imagine fresh, sour green olives paired with preserved lemons, stirred into a tagine of tender chicken; or a tender  pigeon meat pie dusted with cinnamon and icing; or sardines flash broiled coated with a combination of coriander, parsley, cumin and a hint of chili. Every meal is an experience! 

So here are some traditional Moroccan delicacies to look out for when you're traveling this majestic kingdom:

B’ssara

This rich soup of dried fava beans is traditionally served in Northern Morocco for breakfast, topped with a swirl of olive oil, a sprinkling of cumin and paprika, with fresh bread out of the oven. 

Hot soup for breakfast? Absolutely! It's a "fava"lis way to start the day!

Fresh Seafood

Fresh seafood is a staple in Morocco, due to the extensive coastline along the Mediterranean and Atlantic. A highlight of any trip would be to walk the piers of Essouira, purchase sardines fresh off the boat and bring them right to a local restaurant and have them salt-bake the sardines for you. MWA! What perfection! 

There is a wide variety of seafood dishes that you can enjoy anywhere in Morocco, and you can be assured of the highest quality, freshest fish in the world. Think tagine, couscous, stews, bastilla, crab and lobster, etc. When in port towns, make it a priority to find a good guide who can lead you directly to the best seafood restaurants in town. 

Harira

Harira is a perhaps the most common staple of the Moroccan diet. During the holy month of Ramadan, the fast is broken at sunset each day with a steaming bowl of this delicious soup that is rich with tomatoes, lentils, chickpeas (sometimes lamb, sometimes vegetarian), and finished off with a squeeze of lemon juice and some chopped coriander, and served with a sticky sweet pretzel called chebakkiya. 

Couscous

Couscous, perhaps the most familiar of Moroccan dishes, is a fine wheat pasta traditionally rolled by hand and double steamed. When served, the meat is covered by a pyramid of couscous and the vegetables are pressed into the sides and the sauce is served separately. 

It's often garnished with a sweet raisin preserve, or in the Berber tradition, a bowl of buttermilk. 

Royal Couscous is a kind of "kitchen sink" version that has everything and anything the chef wants to add, with several different meats in addition to all the vegetables they can fit. 

B’stilla

This very special pie, served as a main course for special events, represents the pinnacle of exquisite Fassi (from Fez) cuisine. Layers of a paper-thin pastry wrap around a blend of pigeon, chicken, seafood or other meat, mixed with almonds and eggs spiced with saffron, cinnamon and fresh coriander. The savory pie is then dusted with sugar and cinnamon. It is delicious and unforgettable! It takes many hours to make, and is usually quite expensive, but well worth it. 

Tagine

A tagine is both a meal and a kind of pottery. The meal is cooked and served in the tagine pot. 

On your Moroccan journey, you'll find an infinite assortment of roadside "tagineries" where you can stop and have a bite for lunch You'll be able to choose from an assortment of beef, chicken or lamb cooked in a tomato and onion sauce with garlic, fresh coriander and parsley.  It is served with pan bread and mint tea. 

Mint Tea

Mint tea is the quintessential element of Moroccan hospitality. It will be rare that you enter a home or hotel and are not offered the opportunity to sit down immediately for a cup of this delicious refreshment, otherwise known as "Moroccan Whiskey." It is a tea ceremony to rival tea ceremonies, and has been a part of Moroccan tradition for hundreds and hundreds of years. 

Mint tea is prepared with fresh mint, Chinese Gunpowder tea, and sugar. It is steeped, then poured out, and poured back in, until the taste has reached perfection. If you don't consume sugar, you can ask for no sugar and it will be provided. 

On your journey, you will enjoy many cups of Moroccan Hospitality!

Marrakesh Voyage offers cooking classes as a part of our customized, private journies. Whether you're interested in a solo class or a whole tour of cooking classes, we can provide you with the ultimate experience for your budget.

Marrakesh Voyage is a Morocco ground tour operator specialized in FIT and exotic escorted trips throughout the mystical Kingdom of Morocco, representing Guests and Tour Operators from all around the Globe. Our headquarters are in New York, and we have offices all over Morocco.

We will help you design and customize the trip of a life time according to your interest, passions, and desire for you, your guests and for your company.

 

 

 

Morocco as Foodie Paradise

If food is your great pleasure, then a universe of delights awaits you as you journey around the ancient Kingdom of Morocco.

From the simplest Tagine (delicious stew served in an earthen pot called a tagine) enjoyed at a stop on the road, to the most elaborate Bastilla (an elegant savory pie, traditionally made for celebrations) served in an ancient Arabian Palace, Morocco offers unparalleled eating opportunities.

When you combine Morocco's world-class hospitality and architectural splendor with the plethora of earthy, old-world sights, sounds and tastes, you experience an extraordinary sensation every time you take a bite. Tinged with French je ne sais quoi, Spanish Romance and the Heart of Portugal, the cuisine of Morocco is delectable in it's infinite variations.

Enjoy the Sea Like the Locals: When you visit one of the coastal towns - especially Essaouiera - you can pick out your own fish, fresh off the boat as the fishermen come in with their catch. They'll wrap it up and you can bring it to any number of little restaurants where the chef will cook it up for you and serve it fresh with salad, bread and olives. MWA! What a treat! Any guide can help you accomplish this.

The latest craze, and rightly so, is Culinary Vacations where travelers enjoy time in different cities and learn to cook a variety of Moroccan dishes - for example tagine with beef and prunes, fish couscous, chicken bastilla - and also enjoy the experience of shopping at the ancient markets for the ripest, freshest produce. It's an immensely enjoyable experiencing that includes learning, socializing, sightseeing, drinking lots of wine and of course eating the delicious dishes that are prepared!

In addition to a wide variety of customized journies, Marrakesh Voyage offers Culinary Vacations for its clients, all of whom have the freedom to customize their private, chaufferred trip to their own needs and desires. If you're interested in one cooking lesson, or a complete culinary journey, we can help you create the perfect itinerary.

No trip to Morocco is complete without at least one meal at the famous Jma El Fna Square in Marrakesh. During the day, the square is full of jugglers and acrobats and tricksters and henna artists, and as dusk approaches it is swept clean as the food tents come out. For the more adventurous, you can try goat heads or sheep brains; for the less curious, there's plenty of hareira (soup), tagine and couscous, sausages, roasts and sandwiches. It's refreshing to take a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice on your way in, and load up on almonds, olives, figs and dates on your way out (taste testing is encouraged!). The Jma El Fna Square is at the edge of the famous Souk of Marrakesh, a sprawling medieval labyrinth of stalls and stores where you can find anything your heart desires. Combine a day of shopping in the Souk with a dinner under the tents and you'll surely come home with stories to last a lifetime!

The city of Fez (founded in 859AD, and one of the world's largest car-free zones) is considered one of the top culinary capitals in the world, and you could spend a month sampling its fare without tiring of it. You'll taste French and Spanish influences, as course after course of tapas-style meals appear on your table. Save room for desert! 

The chefs and artisans of Morocco are nothing if not inventive, and they are always improving and innovating their craft. If you're itching for an exquisite foodie adventure in Morocco, contact us and we'll help you create the journey of a lifetime! 

Blessings on your journey,

Meg Montgomery, Morocco Expert
MarrakeshVoyage.com