TRADITIONAL FOOD IN MOROCCO
Moroccan cuisine is rich in spices, only natural when you consider the ages-old spice trade from Arabia to North Africa. Spices here are used to enhance, not mask, the flavor of food. |
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The following spices are among the most commonly used. |
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| Ginger | |
| The ginger comes from the ginger root. It is fragrant, spicy, and is widely used in Moroccan stews, tagines and soups. It should be pale yellow. Ginger may darken a little older and have a bitter quality. |  |
| Black pepper | |
| Black pepper comes from the dried berries of the plant Piper nigrum. It is more flavorful and pungent when it is freshly ground, but it can be stored for very long. |  |
| White pepper | |
| White pepper comes from the same bay as black pepper, but only the inner core is ground. White pepper is milder than black pepper and is especially good in sauces Moroccan gentler, imbued with onions and saffron. |  |
| Paprika doux | |
| obtenu à partir de poivrons rouges séchés, le paprika est utilisé dans la cuisine Marocaine pour assaisonner la viande, les salades cuites, les plats d'haricots, les ragoûts et les soupes.. |  |
| paprika | |
| Like its counterpart sweet, hot paprika is ground from dried peppers, even if a spicier variety. Its use in Moroccan cuisine is mostly optional and to taste. |  |
| Cumin | |
| Cumin is the dried fruit of a plant of the parsley family. It gives a very aromatic and slightly bitter taste. It is used in Moroccan cooking with eggs, some tagines and stews, grilled meats and roasted, beans, salads and more. |  |
| Cinnamon | |
| Cinnamon is a spice scented sweet that comes from the bark of the cinnamon. Moroccan cuisine makes use of the ground cinnamon and bark into pieces (in rolls of bark or sticks). Cinnamon is commonly used in pastries and Moroccan dishes milder, such as those that combine meat with fruit, but it is also used in the Harira. |  |
| Safran | |
The saffron threads are the stigmas of the saffron flower. They are very fragrant, and son only a few are enough to give a yellow color, a wonderful aroma and distinctive taste to dishes. Saffron is known to be expensive, but it is much more affordable in Morocco and other Mediterranean countries than in North America. Markets in the Middle East often sell at prices more reasonable than the grocery stores. |
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| Turmeric | |
| It is a bright orange powder that is used alone or with turmeric to give a yellow Moroccan dishes. The dye has no aroma or taste, and is probably not available outside of Morocco. If you use it, be careful, it's messy! |  |
| Curcuma | |
| Bien que le curcuma est utilisé principalement pour donner une couleur jaune à la cuisine Marocaine, il a un arôme terreux et légèrement amer. Il vient des racines d'une plante appelée Curcuma Longa. Les Marocains utilisent fréquemment le curcuma et le colorant artificiel dans une même recette. Toutefois, le curcuma peut suffire si vous ne pouvez pas obtenir le colorant jaune Marocains ou si vous voulez tout simplement éviter les colorants artificiels. |  |
| Ras El Hanout | |
| The name translates as "head shop" and is a mixture of ground spices. Recipes for Ras El Hanout vary, but they often include cardamom, nutmeg, anise, mace, cinnamon, ginger, chillies different, and turmeric. |  |
| Anise seeds | |
| The anise seeds have a distinct taste of licorice, and are used in Moroccan cooking and baking. Ground anise is also used. |  |
| Nutmeg | |
| Sweet and spicy, this aromatic spice is a spice blend called Ras el hanout. It is used - but less frequently - for seasoning savory dishes. The ground nutmeg is the seed of the same fruit that gives the mace. |  |
| Sesame seeds | |
| Golden sesame seeds in shell - not the seeds and nuts that are most commonly white in the U.S. - are used in Moroccan cuisine. They have a flavor reminiscent of the taste of nuts, and are mainly used in baking, although they are surprisingly good as a garnish on some dishes. |  |
| Gum arabic (acacia gum) | |
| La gomme arabique est en fait la sève durcie de l'acacia. Elle est moulue et utilisées dans des recettes Marocaines comme un stabilisateur. |  |
| Fenugrec | |
| Gum arabic is actually the hardened sap of the acacia. It is ground and used in Moroccan recipes as a stabilizer.. |  |
| Bay leaves | |
The whole bay leaves could be used in stews, tagines and tomato sauces. They are very fragrant and slightly spicy, and they come from a variety of conifer. |
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| The Moroccan table also makes good use of the following ingredients: | |
| Onions | |
| Spanish onions are the most popular.. |  |
| Garlic | |
| it is often used in dishes containing honey to balance the taste. |  |
| lemons | |
| Especially the pickled lemons.. |  |
| Eggs | |
| a very popular element; curdled eggs are used in bisteeya, while vegetables and chicken are often coated with eggs. |  |
| Honey | |
| used in glazed dishes, desserts, poultry stuffings and tagines |  |
| Couscous | |
| the grain as well as the dish is ubiquitous |  |
| Chick-peas | |
| used in hummus, couscous dishes,harira and tagines |  |
| Bread | |
| heavier Arab bread and the lighter pita bread are both edible and functional when eating with the fingers |  |
| Olives | |
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| Buttermilk | |
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| Rich in both history and flavor, Moroccan cuisine is one of the most exotic food in the world. | |
| Salads | |
| A fresh, cool salad is often served at the start of a meal. Among the most commonly served are a tomato and green pepper salad (similar to the Spanish gazpacho), a mixed herb salad, eggplant salad or a salad redolent with oranges, which the Moroccans grow in large quantity. |  |
| Harira Soup traditional lentil soup | |
| This hearty Moroccan soup, of Berber origin, is typically served as the evening meal during the holy month of Ramadan. It is an excellent cold-weather soup. |  |
| Mechoui | |
| This roasted lamb dish is a great favorite! A paprika and cumin spice combination is pasted over the lamb and then it's slowly cooked for about three hours. Generally seasoned with cumin & salt. |  |
| Bisteeya | |
| This traditional savory pastry is made in three layers: a layer of shredded chicken is topped with eggs which are curdled in a lemony onion sauce and further topped with a dusting of sweetened almonds. The whole is enclosed in tissue-thin pastry called warka and topped by a layer of cinnamon and sugar. It is believed that this fine pastry (similar to the pastry used for Chinese spring rolls) came from the Persians, who likely learned to prepare it from the Chinese. |  |
| Couscouse | |
| These are fine semolina grains which are plumped by steaming them over a simmering stew. The grains are then piled on a large platter, with the stew heaped on top. This is a classic Berber dish which has seen many interpretations. Traditionally, couscous is served for Friday lunch or for special occasions. It is never a main dish, rather it is served as the last dish at the end of a meal. A "couscous of seven vegetables" is common in Fez, where seven is considered a lucky number. The seven "lucky" vegetables are onions, pumpkin, zucchini, turnips, chili peppers, carrots and tomatoes. |  |
| Tajine | |
| The Tajine serves as the framework for a college of ingredients, spices and styles. Tajine de viande (Meat Tagine), Tajine des poissons (Fish Tagine), chicken with preserved lemons Tagines |  |
| Fish | |
| Both fresh and salt water fish grace the Moroccan table. While it is commonly prepared as a stew, it is sometimes fried and often stuffed. A popular fish tagine, which is prepared with potatoes, tomatoes and green peppers, shows a strong Andalusian influence. The Moroccans believe that in a tagine, the sauce is everything! |  |
| Poultry | |
| Some of the tastiest dishes in Moroccan cookery involve chicken, which can be steamed, broiled or fried and is often accompanied with vegetables. Chicken with lemon and olives is the classic preparation, while a chicken tagine cooked with butter, onions, pepper, saffron, chick-peas, almonds and lemon is also popular. Chickens are also prepared stuffed with raisins, almonds, rice or eggs, but when you consider the experimental nature of Moroccan cooks, perhaps it's all of the above!! |
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| Meat | |
| Lamb is king on the Moroccan table, especially roasted lamb, which is as tender and flavorful as you will find. It can also be braised, browned, steamed or served on skewers, the latter commonly known as shish kebab. Kefta is lamb or beef which has been generously spiced, then rolled into the shape of a sausage, placed on a skewer and broiled; when it is rolled into meatballs, it is used in tagines. Lamb tagines are prepared with a cornucopia of vegetables and some even use fruit. |  |
| Desserts | |
| Sweets aren't always served at the end of a Moroccan meal, but when they are, it might well be one of the following: "gazelle's horns" are a croissant-like pastry which is stuffed with almond paste and topped with sugar, while honey cakes are pretzel-shaped pieces of dough which are deep-fried, dipped into a piping-hot pot of honey and then sprinkled with sesame seeds. |  |
| National drinks | |
| Mint tea made with green tea, fresh mint and sugar. It is very refreshing and its consumption is an integral part of Moroccan social courtesy. Coffee is made very strong, except at breakfast. |  |