Moroccan Delights

While in Morocco, we were introduced to many new styles of architecture, culture and ways of life.  We really enjoyed the different types of Moroccan dishes we tried and wanted to share them with you all.

For breakfasts, we would eat at our riad or kasbah while on the road.  For the most part the breakfasts were very similar to what we usually eat: breads, jams, yougurts etc… one thing that did stand out for us was Msemen; it’s a traditional Moroccan crepe or pancake that you dip in honey and eat – delicious!

Sweet rolls for breakfast

Breakfast in the Sahara!

Msemen dipped in honey

Pita made with semolina and spread with cream cheese.

Another thing we really enjoyed at each breakfast was the fresh squeezed orange juice – it was so sweet and orangey – a delicious way to start our day.

Of course mint tea was always the standard drink at all of our meals and we started to request it without sugar – otherwise we were too hyper! It’s green tea with fresh mint leaves added to the cup.  Zoe became our tea pourer and enjoyed pouring and repouring our teas to achieve the best “white turban” (foam), on the top of each drink.

For our lunches and dinners we tried a variety of delicious traditional foods such as:

Moroccan salads

This was always my favourite as there were often a number of little bowls filled with different types of salad and appetizers.  They were always presented so beautifully!

Carrots and olives

Moroccan salad with egg

Moroccan salad with peppers

Moroccan salads with cabbage, raisins, carrots, eggplants and zucchinis

Couscous with chicken

This dish was beautifully presented and the steam from the meat and vegetables was used to cook the couscous.

Tagine

Tagine is basically a terra cotta casserole dish where everything is cooked in one pot.  We ate them at all of the different places we visited and they were all delicious.  The presentation is gorgeous and once the food is cooked, the chefs will often decorate the meals with almonds, lemon and/or olives.

Ta-da Tangine!

What’s under the lid?

Beef with prunes and eggs

Chicken

Eggplants, Zucchini and Tomatoes

Cabbage, Potatoes, Carrots and more!

Meatball

Lemon and olives to decorate the chicken

The girls even had a chance to make one at the riad for their food posting…see their write up for tomorrow.

What we try to do is order different dishes and share them so we can try different tastes.  One day we split a pastilla which is a dish made up of sheets of pastry – like phyllo and then stuffed.  We had one that had beef, parsley and egg.  The pastry is then sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar so it’s a combination of sweet and salty. It was really nice.

One night, we shared some briouats which are somewhat similar to the pastilla, but look more like eggrolls.  We ordered a veggie one filled with noodles and vegetables.  It was also quite tasty.

At the end of each meal we always had a plate of fruit.  We loved it because it was full of clementine oranges, pomegranates and other sweet fruits.  Of course it was always beautifully presented.

Another interesting thing we noticed…in Morocco they do not put salt and pepper shakers on the table like we do, rather they put salt and cumin in little pots to sprinkle on your food.

We really enjoyed trying all the different foods in Morocco as we travelled from Fez to the Sahara and back.  For all of us, our favourite meal was not at the riad, kasbahs or touristy restaurants.  On our way back to Fez, Hassan and Hamid asked us if we would like to try a local restaurant.  Of course we jumped at the chance and were not disappointed!

The restaurant was a barbeque place and you could walk up and select which fresh meat you would like to eat.  They ground the meat in front of you and then proceeded to bbq it with charcoal.  Along with some bread, tomatoes and onions, all of us agreed that it was the best meal we had tried.

A Local BBQ

Select your fresh meat

Watch them bbq it

Enjoy!

What was really neat was when Hassan went across the street and bought us some fresh pomegranates for dessert.  We had them for dessert right at the table.  I told Hassan we can’t bring our own food into restaurants in Canada – but he waved me away and said that’s how it’s done in Morocco!  They then proceeded to teach us how to eat pomegranates the Moroccan way. They quickly “thumbed” the arils and would have 20 ready to eat by the time I had pulled out one!  It was a fun lesson for us all to learn!

Learning how to eat pomegranates the Moroccan way!

All done!

Of course, it doesn’t matter what country you are in….you can always find a Coke and a smile:)

We really enjoyed our time in Morocco and had fun trying the new tastes and flavours.  I know Montreal has a big Moroccan population, but I’m not sure if Toronto does and if there are many restaurants to choose from.  This is something to look into when we return home.