Moroccan Cuisine

UPDATE: In September 2020 I found a nice video of a person invited to eat a Moroccan meal with a family in the region. It showed what I describe in my post, so I decided to reference it here.

Moroccan Cuisine

USNews describes the Kingdom of Morocco as a Muslim country in western North Africa, with coastlines on the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. Just an hour ferry ride from Spain, the country has a unique mix of Arab, Berber, African and European cultural influences.

When I think of Moroccan food, deep flavors and textures, varied colors and tastes come quickly to mind. I find the traditional foods beautiful to look at, wonderfully aromatic, and with a depth of savory and sweet flavor. In general, all of the Moroccan food I have eaten so far, has been loaded with spice, but not really spicy-hot.

I turned to Wikipedia to see how they described Moroccan cuisine: typically a mix of Berber, Arabic, Andalusian, and Mediterranean cuisines with slight European and sub-Saharan influences.

Then I wanted to see what were the cooking methods used in the cuisine and I found TasteofMaroc who wrote: Like most other cuisines, Moroccan cooking uses common culinary methods such as stewing meats and vegetables in thick broths or sauces (marqa or marka), boiling (maslouq), steaming (m’bakh·khar), grilling (mechoui), baking (fel ferran), roasting (m’hammar), and cooking between two fires (binnarine).

Moroccan Food

I cannot possibly indicate all the foods that Moroccans eat, nor all the techniques that are used to prepare that food. But there are a handful of items I can say to decribe the food.

• Meats include beef, goat, mutton and lamb, chicken and seafood
• Starches include wheat via breads and couscous pasta
• Other proteins include eggs and lentils (here is a Moroccan-inspired lentil stew I like)
• Cooking uses lots of olive oil
• Cuisine uses grapes, and many savory dishes are accented by sweet raisins or olives.
• A common drink is green tea with mint.
• They also grow fruit: lemons, tangerines, grapes, and oranges.

Moroccan Spices + Herbs

Spice

Saveur indicates that Wandering among Morocco’s spice stalls—past the saffron, the cinnamon, the rich, earthy cumin seed, the pungent powdered ginger, the licorice-scented anise—you may well think the Moroccans have fallen in love with every spice in the world. In fact, the country’s cooks have a deep understanding of how spices should be used: to stretch the taste of foods, pushing them to a certain point without destroying their inherent flavors.

The usual Tajine spices include blends like ras el hanout. I have also seen Harissa used a lot.

Specifically these are the spices predominantly used in Moroccan cooking: Black or white pepper, cardamon seeds or powder, cumin powder or seeds, paprika, saffron, hot red peppers, ground or whole cinnamon, turmeric, ground ginger, and chili powder.

Preserves + Aromatics

The cuisine also uses preserved lemons to accent some dishes. It is very easy to make and uses up a fair amount if lemons, important if you have a prolific lemon tree, as I have.

• I have also made some preserved limes, using the same technique, and will be using that in some foods as a test.

Other foods include: Sesame seeds, onions, orange flower water, and dried fruit (apricots, raisons, dates, figs).

Herbs

Herbs used most often are: mint, parsley, cilantro, oregano, peppermint, marjoram, verbena, sage and bay laurel. Just so happens I have most of these herbs growing in my back yard. Which is great.

Cooking With a Tagine

I have been cooking some Moroccan dishes, mainly savory stews, and all these recipes have Tajine in their name. At first I thought it was the name of a dish or perhaps a particular flavor. But I learned quickly that the word has two simultaneous definitions. First, it is the name of a Moroccan cooking vessel that braises food. Second, is that it is shorthand for any savory (or sweet) stew cooked in this pot.

The closest pot I have to a Tajine is my slow cooker, so I am adopting my cooking of favorite Tajine recipes to the pot I have (I cannot possibly fit more stuff into my kitchen, although Tajines are beautiful!)

The Tajine is an earthenware pottery (photo above), it has a shallow round base and a conical chimney-like lid, that is used specifically in Morocco to, essentially, slow cook foods. Like a slow cooker, the lid is made to fit tightly, and shaped to catch and return all the food’s condensation. This steams/braises the food, and since limited moisture is lost in the process, the food comes out tender and tasty.

The Tajine comes in various styles, but all have the basic shape as pictured above. But from its first use on, as it cooks dishes over time, what you cook in will itself provide spice to the food and make it tastier than food cooked in a slow cooker.

• Similar to a cast iron skillet, where you need to prep and season the tool, but from then on with minimal care it improves with each dish.
• This also reminds me of tea pots, the longer you use it, often the better the tea.

In the Tajine, heat is traditionally adjusted by controlling the heat by hand. This is easy, since it uses an external heating source (traditionally coals). But for a stove-top, a diffuser (see above) is placed above the heating element (electrical or gas) to protect the cooking Tajine from direct contact with heat. At the same time, I would not suggest using high heat, it is, after all, a slow cooking, pottery vessel. So keep on low or medium; too hot and I imagine you could crack the pot.

Slow Cooker vs. Tagine

But there are differences between the two cooking vessels.

• The modern slow cooker can fit food up to its bowl capacity, usually measured in quarts. Its bowl is deep but not wide. (Although Le Creuset has “braisers” that are wider, shallow bots with domed lids.)
• The Tajine is made with a shallow but large round bottom so once the food is cooked you can use that as the serving dish. I have seen pictures of very large ones created to serve a whole large family and guests, but do not know exactly how large they can get.
• This difference of a deep bowl versus shallow bowl can make a difference in the flavor of the dish.(1)
• Some claim that a slow cooker can handle “wetter” recipes better than terra cotta or clay Tajines, that may leech out liquid.
• Some, who use Tajines frequently, say their pots season the food better than any enamel slow cooker, because over time spices and seasonings are absorbed into the ceramic itself.
• I think the slow cooker, which can be set to low, should be able to keep the food warmer longer.
• Given the Tajine is pottery, I imagine they can crack if cold liquid is introduced while it is hot, or if the temp is set too high. My slow cooker is enameled cast iron, heavy, nonstick, and nearly indestructable.
• In both, however you do not stir the stew once it starts. Ideally when you open it, it is because it is done. So care is made while layering the food, for that will be what your guests will see it before eating.

Moroccan Recipes

Bastilla

In general terms, this savory pie is made from shredded pigeon or chicken that is mixed with beaten eggs and spices, and fried, crushed almonds all wrapped with an incredibly light, flaky pastry shell (similar to phyllo). A dusting of confectioners’ sugar and cinnamon gives the pie a touch of sweetness on top.

SpruceEats describes the dish this way: …chicken is cooked with saffron, ginger, pepper and cinnamon, then layered within crispy warqa pastry with an herb-laden omelet and fried almonds scented with orange flower water. An utterly amazing fusion of flavors and textures. 

Couscous

This is wheat semolina pasta, formed into little balls, and steamed. Often, for added flavor, the pasta is steamed over meat or veggies.

I have this in my kitchen pantry for it is a very quick dish to cook and is used to make salads, a side dish, or a main dish. The pictures I have seen show a serving bowl filled like a pyramid with couscous and layered on the sides are slices of meat or veggies.

Harira Soup

Harira soup is a hearty, tomato-based soup that is a meal in itself. It has meat, veggies, lentils and chickpeas. Often with a squeeze of lemon and a topping of cilantro.

It is served all over and has the usual regional variations. Some versions may include rice, or broken noodles and the broth is often made from lamb, but sometimes beef as well.

Khobz

This is a round, flatish bread that can be 12” in diameter, with many variations, but it is cooked in wood fired ovens. The recipe I found, that I like, is at TasteofMaroc, put the bread in the oven (435F) on a parchment lined baking sheet for 20 minutes or until browned.

• 4C white bread flour 
• 2t kosher salt
• 2t sugar
• 1T  yeast
• 2T olive oil
• 1-1/4C warm water

Tagine or Stews

Recipes for the Tajine or Slow Cooker will often call for specific layering of the food to be cooked, generally placed in a conical fashion (that fits the shape of the ceramic dish), and left as is to cook until tender. In general, just follow the recipe and you will put things in the proper layer.

One way would be to start a Tajine with the olive oil, up to 1/3C in some recipes, or perhaps a layer of onions. But from that point on, the food is layered according to density, or how long it takes to cook. The denser items are on the bottom. The first actual ingredient, after the base oil + aromatics, might be the protein (lamb, chicken, beef), then layered veggies on top, then herbs and finally the spices or fruit and nuts along with a bit of water or stock. (Fish would go on top of the veggies rather than under them since they are not as hearty as lamb or chicken.)

These dishes will take time to cook, 2-4 hours depending upon the protein, and should have lots of flavor. Here are links to my Slow Cooker version of two traditional Tajine recipes:

• a sweet veggie
• a chicken + veggie

Moroccan Serving + Eating

For serving, nothing could beat having a beautiful, hand crafted Tajine on the dining table. The bottom becomes the serving dish and this is a communal way of eating, each person dipping bread into the stew and enjoying the food.

• Generally, pork and alcohol are not served except at places catering to tourists.
• The left hand is not used for eating.
• Use the thumb and first two fingers on the right hand for taking the bread and dipping it into the Tagine.
• When offered food, accept and enjoy, as it is rude to do otherwise (1).

This way of cooking also makes total sense for the Moroccan environment. It takes relatively little energy to cook, and importantly does not waste water as all the juices in the food itself will help cook the food.

Hope I clarified some things regarding Tajine recipes. If anyone cooks with this pot please feel free to correct me if I made any mistakes. I will continue to add Tajine and Moroccan recipes to my website, but modified for slow cookers.

— Patty

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