Morocco is known for its rich and flavorful cuisine, from multiple breakfast options to culinary delights for dinner. In this article, we’ll present you with 5 delicious Moroccan dishes to try when you come to Morocco.
From the small, hidden local restaurants in the side streets of a Souk, to the big market squares like Jemaa El Fnaa or upscale restaurants in Marrakesh, Morocco offers many ways to experience traditional, local food.
What sets the Moroccan cuisine apart from other countries is the many spices that are being used. Raz El Hanout, for example, is a mixture of over 20 spices that are often used to flavor local plates. Add to this the unique ways of cooking that add to the flavor, the presentation, and the specialty of each dish – you are in for a mouthwatering delight.
Independent of your budget, here are 5 dishes you should try (many times 🙂 when you come to Morocco!
- Couscous
- Tajine
- Pizza Berber
- Harija
- Pastilla
1. Couscous – Only on Fridays!
Couscous is a typical local dish, usually only consumed on Friday, the day of rest and prayer. It’s slow cooked on the stove on the bottom of the pot, while another section on top holds the vegetables, which are steamed with the evaporating water from the couscous underneath.
Couscous is often served in typical ceramic pots and can also be cooked in the same pot on the stove. It comes typically with meat, chicken, or fish on top of the couscous mountain, with assorted carrots, potatoes, and courgette around the couscous, hiding the protein underneath it.
Some people like to add glazed onions on top, as well as a brew of spices. And people eat by hand or with a piece of round bread usually baked in the earth oven.
2. Tajine – All Day, Every Day!
Tajine is the go-to food for every day. Be it for lunch or dinner, there is always space for more tajine. Tajine is cooked in a round ceramic plate covered by a cone-shaped ceramic lid. It holds vegetables and meat, chicken, or fish. Similar to couscous, the protein is hidden in the center, and the veggies are assorted around it in a pyramid-shaped way.
Tajine is typically eaten with round flatbread by hand. It takes a good amount of time to cook, and if prepared at home, it can take up to two hours until the tajine is ready, slow-cooked, and delicious.
3. Pizza Berber – The Rarity!
Pizza Berber is a typical nomad food that you rarely get in any restaurant. If you are lucky, it’s something you can get on a trip to the Sahara Desert, but even here you have to ask for it; the cooks are rare!
Pizza Berber is prepared with pizza dough, filled with cooked potatoes, meat, and vegetables, then shaped like a round bread (with all ingredients hidden inside), and cooked under hot charcoal in the desert sand at night.
It is very tasty and such a joy to eat when it comes back from the sand!
4. Harira – The EntrĂ©e!
I eat harira as a full dinner, but for most people that’s going to be too little food. So, harira is the most authentic, typical Moroccan soup you will get. And you get it everywhere. While other soups, like Bisara, are harder to find, Harira is usually sold at all local places, on all markets, and at any restaurant that serves typical Moroccan food.
The soup consists of a vegetable broth thickened with wheat flour. In addition, it carries small soup noodles, chickpeas, coriander, carrots, and a few other ingredients. The unique flavor comes from its many spices, which is hard to re-create at home.
Harira, like most other types of food in Morocco, is eaten alongside local bread (but with a spoon :).
5. Pastilla – The Specialty!
Pastilla is another typical Moroccan dish that—like pizza Berber – you don’t find too often, but more often than the desert sand pizza. Similar to Berber pizza, it is made of dough filled with several ingredients, just that pastilla dough is flaky (similar to apple strudel), and instead of salty ingredients, it combines salty and sweet.
A chicken and date pastilla, for example, is made of raisins, almonds, dates, meat, vegetables, spices, parsley, and cilantro. The ingredients are wrapped in the dough from top to bottom, creating a round type of cake. It will then be cooked in the oven until the crust becomes golden and crispy.
When cooled down, the top is sprinkled with icing sugar and cinnamon, giving a nice contrast to the ingredients inside the pie.
Enjoy Pizza Berber with us in the Sahara Desert
I hope you enjoyed these tips for the 5 Moroccan dishes to try, when you come to Morocco! If you’d like to experience an authentic excursion to the Sahara Desert and cook pizza Berber together with the nomads, check out our retreats with yoga, meditation, dance, food trips, creative workshops, and more.
We also offer customized personal trips throughout Morocco.
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