Moroccan Food – A Feast of Flavours

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Moroccan cuisine is famous for the Tagine and the Couscous. For sure these two recipes are delicious, but Moroccan food is much much more. It is a feast of flavors.

I love eating, but sometimes I can be a bit picky, especially when it is meat. I also have some allergies that make my food life more complicated. But in Morocco, I was in heaven! So many delicious recipes: couscous, tagine, soups, spices and different flavors. For me, Moroccan Food was a Feast!

Rob`s stomach was happy too. With a particular taste for lamb, there he tried some Moroccan recipes with lamb meat and local spices. His favorite dish: Lamb Shish Kebab!

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If you stay in a Riad, the breakfast tends to be simple and delicious. Forget the hotels` continental breakfast, in Moroccan cuisine you are going to eat freshly made pancakes, bread, sweet apricot jam, butter and tea. Yummy…

If you are a coffee addict like us, you will be disappointed too! This is the only downside of Moroccan food and drink, the coffee sucks. Although the teas are so delicious that it made up for us! Try the mint tea with gateau au miel…  For dessert, snack time, whenever you want.

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Now it´s time to talk about my favorite food: Couscous!

Before I start describing this traditional Moroccan food, just a small comment:

“I’m writing this post at 7 pm, I already had a big mug of coffee and cookies.  However,  because  I´m thinking of Moroccan couscous my mouth is already watering… Damn… I love that dish so much!! I never eat such a delicious, full of flavor couscous.” Said that, let’s go back to the post.

Probably you already tried couscous, so you know that it is made of semolina (granules of durum wheat). You cook it with hot water and steam. Super easy, super fast and in Morocco super fluffy and delicious!

We had meals in several restaurants and food stalls around Marrakech and in other cities too. After 20 days of trip the winner Moroccan recipe was the Vegetarian Couscous we eat at stall nº26 in Jemaa el-Fnaa. The food they serve is one of the highlights of our Marrakech trip.

The couscous was so good that we had dinner almost every night there. And as regulars, our tea became for free and we got special pictures with the restaurant crew!

Tagine!! (that´s how you get a good picture in Marrakech. Instead of say “Smile”, Tagine sounds more proper and fun. Look, everybody with a great smile)

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Why is that Moroccan couscous so special??

Hummm… The ingredients that I could figure out were: ginger, cinnamon, pepper, onions, garlic, carrots, zucchini, grapes, raisins, plums and a type of sweet potato. The mix of the savory couscous and vegetables with the sweetness of the fruits was amazing. The smell of it was inebriate.

If you need some protein you can order couscous with chicken, beef or lamb. The meat comes boiled with some vegetables. I tried the chicken and Rob the Lamb, but both of us voted for the Vegetarian Couscous as our favorite Moroccan food!

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As much as we loved the couscous, the Moroccan traditional and touristic dish actually is tagine!

It´s a mix of vegetables and meat cooked with spices in a typical ceramic pot. The food and the pot are called Tagine. Every restaurant has its own recipe and if you travel around the country you will find different tagines. All them worthy to try!

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Moroccan food is not only tagine and couscous. You can find tomato &  spices pure to eat with bread as appetizers. Salads, grilled vegetables, rice, fried fish and seafood, soups and kebabs. Don´t forget to try all the shish kebabs. Beef, Lamb, chicken, vegetables, everything on the stick… Rob ate them all!

The classic Harira Soup is a must-eat dish too. At Jemaa El-Fna there are many stalls specialized in this soup. Trust your nose and follow the smell of lentils, chickpeas, coriander and spices, lots of spice! When you order your bowl pay attention to the cutlery. Most of the time the spoons are made of wood, another Moroccan charm.

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If this variety of food is not enough for you, give a try to the snails soup. They are hot sellers! As I already told you I´m picky with food and snails are not for my taste. You will have to try them and let me know how it is!

The list of Moroccan food is huge. We could keep talking and writing… You would be bothered and I would be starving. So before we finish let´s just chat about Food X Healthy!

Most of the travelers are concerned about food poisoning in Morocco, and we weren’t different! Kept in mind that for safety reasons you should only eat what has been cooked, boiled, peeled or you can take it to your Riad for a proper wash.

This strategy worked pretty well for us!  During 20 days around Morocco (big and tiny cities), none of us got sick or had diarrhea. We tasted street food, teas, orange juices and lots of different dishes. Most of the time we choose local restaurants filled with Moroccan customers, due to the busy service the probability of the food be out of date is small. And living like a local you can have a proper Moroccan food experience: a Feast of Flavours.

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One more piece of advice: drink only mineral water, and when buying always double-check if it’s sealed. 😉

Happy travels and awesome meals!

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