Discover Moroccan dishes

The gustatory journey begins with breakfast. It most often consists of mint tea, bread and sweet pancakes. While some Moroccans have adopted the toasted baguette, others stick to la harcha, a bread of Berber origin made with semolina. In addition to the thousand-hole pancakes, known here as baghrir, msemmen and rziza (puff pastry pancakes) are eaten in the morning. 
For an energy boost before a morning at work or spent visiting the kingdom's greatest sites, sweet pancakes are drizzled with honey, jam, fromage frais or butter.

Lunch is eaten at home. Parents and children come home from school to share this meal together, the heartiest of the day. It usually begins with a salad or green vegetables. For example, you can enjoy eggplant caviar with garlic, zaalouk, or bakoula, a spicy salad of steamed spinach.

In Morocco, after school, children don't have a snack but a kaskrot. It includes the same food as at breakfast: hot and cold drinks, pancakes, Moroccan bread and side dishes.

After a day like this, dinner is a lighter meal. It often consists of leftovers from lunch or a soup. Loubia, a white bean soup with meat and tomato sauce, is a typical Moroccan evening dish. It's also ideal for regaining strength after a hike in the Atlas mountains.

Dishes in Morocco are accompanied by mint tea and bread. You'll be brought batbout, a round, soft bread roll, a mahrarch, a hard-crusted galette or a slice of khobz, a wheat semolina loaf. When mint tea is served as a dessert or in between meals, it comes with cornes de gazelle. This Moroccan cake is made of almond paste coated with shortbread dough and flavored with orange blossom. In Rabat, the pastry is replaced by powdered sugar.

Private events, such as weddings and births, or religious holidays, such as Eid-El-Kebir are an opportunity to get together and feast on dishes that are out of the ordinary.

The Eid-El-Kebir, one of the most important Muslim celebrations, celebrates the faith of Ibrahim. When he was ready to sacrifice his son to fulfill the divine command, the Angel Gabriel intervened to substitute a sheep for the child. Traditionally, lamb or mutton is eaten on this day. It can be prepared in a sweet Moroccan tagine, Mrouzia or served as a mechoui. The whole animal is cooked on a spit or braised in an earthen oven. If you're invited to a mechoui and served first, congratulations, you are a distinguished guest!

During receptions, for weddings or engagements in particular, women make pastillas. This specialty from Fez is a brick sheet cake filled and sprinkled with powdered sugar and cinnamon. The sweet version is topped with cream, almond or sesame seeds. But it's the savoury versions that are the most popular. Usually filled with pigeon stuffing, the Moroccan pastilla is available with a chicken, fish or seafood filling.

While at home a festive meal is synonymous with champagne, this is not the case in Morocco, a Muslim country. Instead, you're offered soft drinks such as mint tea, sodas, still water, sparkling water and fruit or vegetable juices. If your host is not a practising Muslim or you are dining in a restaurant, you can order wine or beer. Take the opportunity to discover the local products. Moroccan vintages have their enthusiasts. Casablanca, a blonde lager, even won a silver medal at the International Beer Challenge!

The month of Ramadan, known as the blessed or holy month, is a highlight in the lives of Moroccans. For 29 or 30 days, Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset. During this period, believers are encouraged to focus on their faith and perform good deeds.

The breaking of the fast (Ftour) is traditionally done by drinking a glass of milk and eating a few dates. But above all it's an opportunity to get together with family and friends. People share harira, a soup of Andalusian origin made from meat, lentils, tomatoes and onions. It is served hot, with hard-boiled eggs.

Another Moroccan soup whose aroma signals the breaking of the fast: chorba. Offered to the poor and served to the faithful after prayer, it is prepared with mutton, vegetables and vermicelli.