Food, Glorious Moroccan Food

Moroccan cuisine is renowned around the world, too ane could nation that at to the lowest degree cous cous has reached the tables of many countries, Italy included.

 

I must confess that I was very excited to effort the nutrient in Marrakesh's infamous primary square, Jemaa el Fna, also called exactly 'la place' inwards French. At nighttime the UNESCO-listed foursquare becomes really alive, alongside enough of unlike stalls offering all sorts of different food, from meat skewers to fried vegetables, too fifty-fifty caprine animal heads! I returned every nighttime I was inwards Marrakesh, fifty-fifty though the lineament of the nutrient changed drastically, even at the same stall. If ane nighttime a for sure stall had fantabulous calamari, easily comparable to the same dish inwards a really adept eating theatre inwards Italy, the next night the same dish was disappointing to nation the least. Dishes cost 10-70 dirhams (€ 0,88-6), too they are perfect for sharing. The average toll paid for a dinner was, inwards my experience, between 40-80 dirhams per soul (€ 3,46-7).

Making friends inwards Jemaa el Fna

One of the best pleasance of travelling inwards Kingdom of Morocco is drinking drinking glass afterwards drinking glass of delicious freshly-squeezed orangish juice. In Kingdom of Morocco orangish juice is served everywhere, too it is cheap if compared to Europe. It costs 4-5 dh (€ 0,35-0,43) inwards Jemaa el Fna, too usually non to a greater extent than than 10 dh (€ 0,86) inwards a restaurant. In Italy it would cost me at to the lowest degree €2,50 inwards a bar!

Orange juice stall inwards Essaouira

 

Morocco is a province that has a lot of fresh produce: olives, oranges, dried fruit too nuts, but also fresh fish along the coast, or camel meat inwards the interior.

 

Olives for sale inwards Essaouira

Perhaps you'll go surprised to discovery that the cous cous served inwards Kingdom of Morocco is non the same that yous purchase inwards supermarkets inwards Italy or inwards the UK. What nosotros receive got is instant pre-steamed cous cous, but the master ane takes a spell to cook, too it's to a greater extent than fluffy. The traditional dish is oft served alongside vegetables, without many spices. It is non fifty-fifty the close pop dish, at to the lowest degree inwards the business office of Kingdom of Morocco that I visited. As a thing of fact, the protagonist during our Moroccan meals seemed to go the tajine. 

A tajine is a traditional Berber dish that takes the call of the conical earthenware pot inwards which it is cooked. There are all sorts of colourful tajines for sale all over Morocco, but non all of them are adept for cooking. The modest ones that yous oft come across too that could check your paw luggage are usually for presentation or decoration.
 

Vegetable tajine alongside orangish juice inwards Marrakesh

On my tertiary solar daytime inwards Marrakesh I decided to receive got a cooking class organized past times my hostel. At 10 am I met alongside the other participants, an American distich who was equally eager equally I was to larn the secrets of Moroccan cuisine. Our instructors were Mariam too Aida, 2 immature too grin Moroccan girls who spoke really adept English. We cooked a vegetable tajine too a beef stew with prunes too nuts, addition a delicious avocado shiver alongside dates too nuts. I know the latter sounds foreign to close of you, but I assure yous that it was delicious!

 

We went to the marketplace start to purchase vegetables too meat. If you're squeamish, this powerfulness non go the house for you: flies buzz around huge cuts of meat, too rusty utensils re used to weigh the vegetables. In spite of this, it was fascinating to come across how things were bought too sold inwards the onetime medina of Marrakesh.

Our side past times side halt was to purchase bread, milk, nuts too dried fruit for our dishes. The house they took us to was absolutely fascinating, a paradise for someone similar me who loves all kinds of nuts. They also had many kinds of dates, whereas inwards Italy yous tin forcefulness out detect entirely one. 

Mariam shopping for nuts inwards the onetime medina

It was really interesting to come across how a really elementary thing similar peeling vegetables tin forcefulness out go done differently inwards a unlike business office of the world. The zucchini were peeled equally yous practise alongside a murphy for example, too they were of a lighter color compared to the ones nosotros commonly role in Italy. The eggplant was also peeled, but entirely partially. I felt similar a tike again, learning the basics of cooking alongside my mother. There was a really relaxed atmosphere throughout the class, alongside the girls laughing at my crying spell cutting the onions.

We disposed the vegetables inwards the bottom of the tajine: onions first, too therefore potatoes, peas, zucchini too eggplant.

Small tajines for sale inwards Marrakesh

When it was the 2nd to add together the spices, each of us took turns inwards sprinkling ginger, paprika, cumin, saffron, pepper too parsley. Those sachets inwards the picture is imitation saffron, used to give color to the dish. Apparently, it's really mutual inwards this business office of the world to role imitation saffron, because the existent spice is really expensive, inwards spite of the fact that it is grown inwards Morocco.
 

Spices for our cooking class

Cooking course of written report inwards Marrakesh

The tajine was left for xxx minutes on the stove, too and therefore it was ready to go eaten!



The tajine that nosotros cooked

 

This cooking course of written report cost me 150 dh (13€), addition the coin nosotros spent for the nutrient at the market, around xc dh (7,80€) per person.

Beef stew alongside prunes too nuts, addition the avocado milkshake

 

One thing is sure: I'm going to gear upwards that avocado shiver at domicile too! You demand milk, an avocado, some dates, some walnuts, vanilla sugar, and regular sugar. They're all ingredients I tin forcefulness out detect inwards Italy too! Fresh juices were ane of my favourite things inwards Morocco, too I had them inwards unlike places too alongside unlike fruit.

 



Orange, strawberry too banana juice inwards Essaouira



 



Not every sense I had inwards Kingdom of Morocco regarding nutrient was excellent, though. During my 3-day trip to the Sahara desert, where nosotros explored the share to the eastward of Marrakesh, the mini-bus (it was one of the many tours offered past times my the hostels too riads of Marrakesh) oft stopped inwards touristic restaurants inwards the middle of nowhere. All these places offered wi-fi, too a decent toilet, but the food was honestly non specially exciting. They all offered the same menus: chicken tajine, vegetable cous cous, grilled keftas (meatballs), too skewers, with a wretched selection of vegetables or a salad for side dish. They were also expensive for Moroccan standards: usually around 80-100 dirhams (7-9€) for a primary dish too a drink. There were actually no alternatives, as at that spot were no other restaurants around, too I call upwards it was intended to brand us pass that coin there.

 

I wonder if to a greater extent than expensive tours booked through other locomote agencies offering you more appealing choices, or at least the liberty to conduct where to eat. What I know is that a distich who I had met inwards Marrakesh too had booked a to a greater extent than expensive individual tour also had lunch in ane of these restaurants. This flaw of the guided tours to the Sahara share makes yous call upwards that at that spot is footling variety concerning nutrient inwards key Morocco, which is likely non true.

The best repast I had inwards Kingdom of Morocco is peradventure that at the harbour inwards Essaouira. There are fish stalls that grill whatever fish yous desire at the 2nd for a ridiculous price. We paid 75 dh each (€6,60) for a big plate of fresh prawns, scampi, squid, sole, body of body of water bass too sardines, served alongside salad, chips too a quaff included inwards the price. Pay attending to the H2O bottle that you're served, because mine appeared non to go sealed, therefore I told them I had changed my heed too asked for a coke instead.

Fish for sale inwards Essaouira

And you, receive got yous tried Moroccan food? What is your favourite Moroccan dish?

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