Tifarda

Food of Morocco is delicious, but not the most diverse.

It is made famous by Tajine, which is the primary dish you'll find in any restaurant. We also took a cooking class for this. Tajine isn't actually a "dish" it's a ceramic pot that was originally part of Berber culture but can now be found across North Africa and the Middle East due to their heavy cultural integration. Tagine can contain chicken, beef, lamb or fish. It usually also contains 7 different vegetables, but we did also get vege-less tagline in our travels.

Beyond that, the other common dish you'll see on menus is Couscous. This is VERY similar to Tagine, but on a bed couscous. It can be really filling. Dave was actually really loving the couscous dish because it is such a balanced meal and as we travel, that hasn't always been easy.

Breakfasts were very bread heavy. We were often given the choice of 3 or 4 different types of bread (all at once) with different condiments. Those included "Khobz," a half leavened bread disk that is crunchy on the outside and fluffy inside. Also, "Meloui" which I've also seen called a "Moroccan Crepe" and it is just that. It doesn't have any filling though. "Harcha" is kind of like a cornbread biscuit. The last one I'll mention is Beghrir, which are basically pancakes.

Common condiments are olive oil, honey, & fresh jams. Dave's favorite was Amlou. We heard someone call it Moroccan Nutella, but I think that is selling it short. It's effectively a nut butter with argan oil, almonds and honey. I didn't know argan was edible and thought it was primarily used in cosmetics.

You can actually find eggs for breakfast if you want. One of our favorite breakfasts dishes was Fassi (see picture), eggs in a cast iron pan, with Khlea (cured beef). It's pretty good and we'd recommend it.

Restaurants aside, we have to talk about the markets or souks. There you can find vendors with piles of spices or olives or sweets. Massive fish markets and the occasional squak of a chicken meeting it's end. Traveling around souks are a sight to behold. The one in Fes in particular is amazing, but we didn't get many pictures.Read more