What to Eat in Morocco: A First-Timer's Guide

Moroccan cooking is built on slow cooking, generous spicing and sharing. Many visitors leave having eaten tagine every day, which is a shame, because the country's everyday food is far more varied.

Breakfast

A Moroccan breakfast often includes breads and pancakes such as msemen (flaky square flatbread), baghrir (spongy semolina pancakes) and harcha (a semolina griddle bread), served with honey, butter, olive oil, olives, eggs and fresh cheese. Riads usually serve a generous version.

Dishes to look for

• Tagine. Named after the conical clay pot it is cooked in. Classic combinations include chicken with preserved lemon and olives, and lamb or beef with prunes and almonds.
• Couscous. Traditionally a Friday family meal, steamed and served with vegetables and meat.
• Harira. A tomato, lentil and chickpea soup, especially associated with breaking the fast during Ramadan.
• Pastilla (bastilla). A layered pastry that balances savoury filling with sugar and cinnamon, often made with poultry or seafood.
• Tanjia. A Marrakech speciality: meat slow-cooked in an urn, traditionally in the embers of a hammam furnace.
• Zaalouk and taktouka. Cooked salads of aubergine and of peppers with tomato, served with bread.
• Rfissa. Shredded msemen with chicken, lentils and fenugreek, a comforting dish for special occasions.

Street food

Street food is a highlight, especially in the evening. Look for grilled skewers, sardines on the coast, bissara (a fava bean soup) in winter, snail broth in Marrakech and freshly squeezed orange juice. Choose busy stalls with high turnover.

Mint tea

Green tea brewed with fresh mint and usually sugar is offered as a sign of hospitality, in homes, shops and riads. It is poured from a height to create a light foam. Accepting a glass is polite; you can ask for less sugar.

Table customs

• Bread is often used instead of cutlery to scoop food from a shared dish.
• Eat from the section of the dish in front of you, using your right hand.
• If you are invited to a home, expect generous portions, and accept a little more when offered.
• Alcohol is available in some licensed restaurants, bars and hotels, but not everywhere.

Dietary needs

Vegetarian dishes are easy to find, from vegetable tagines and couscous to cooked salads, lentils and bean dishes. Vegan travellers may need to ask about butter and stock. For allergies, carry a short written note in French and Arabic.