Cumin, cinnamon, mint, and lemon: these are the flavors we most strongly associate with Moroccan cuisine. When you start thinking of these spices in terms of nutty pilafs and rich tagines, a Moroccan-themed dinner party practically writes itself.
• Cooked Wild Greens Salad from Saveur - Cumin and lemon transform this dish of simple steamed greens.
• Moroccan Baby Carrot Salad from 101 Cookbooks - A classic sweet-savory side dish.
• Squash and Chickpea Moroccan Stew from Smitten Kitchen - With slivered almonds, preserved lemons, and green olives, oh my!
• Lamb Tagine with Prunes and Cinnamon from Gourmet - Slow-cooked until the meat practically melts into the sauce.
• Shrimp and Vegetable Tagine with Preserved Lemon from Food & Wine - Ginger and sweet paprika give this dish a kick.
• Yogurt Cake from Epicurious - A simple dessert is just the ticket after such a rich meal.
• Almond Pastries in Honey Syrup from Leite's Culinaria - Then again, you can't go wrong with sweet and crunchy.
What Moroccan dishes do you love?
Related: Word of Mouth: Tagine
(Image: Romulo Yanes/Gourmet)
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Oh you should add bastilla to this list! By far one of the most amazing meals ever (technically its an app I believe) but its a puff pastry filled with either spiced cinnamony chopped chicken and almonds or (my fav) heavily spiced very tender veggies then its baked and dusted with powdered sugar. Its sweet and savory and SO good.
*Its actually phyllo dough, not puff pastry. Corrected myself.
jmorri - That sounds INCREDIBLE! I'm totally going to go look for a recipe.
I agree with @jmorri26: bistilla (which is a specialty from Fez, and usually contains pigeon meat there in it's traditional form), is an incredible dish.
Other favorites include harira--the delicious and warming lentil soup, which can sometimes be found in a veggie version; and all the roasted veg salads of eggplant and peppers with lemon juice and tons of fresh herbs.
Also all the wild street foods: b'ssara (white bean soup made with olive oil and sprinkled with cumin); fresh chickpeas in the street with cumin and salt; snails from steaming vats on the street, eaten with safety pins; and heart-stopping sandwiches made of fried eggs and potatoes with hot sauce.
I'm so cooking some of these tomorrow, and I'm adding bastilla to the list too.
I love Moroccan. Every few years I throw a huge Moroccan dinner party. Turn my living room into a giant tent, pillows everywhere around a hammered brass low table. Six or seven courses, flowing wine, and if I'm feeling extravagant, hire a belly dancer.
My favorite dish to make is b'stilla (pastilla). I boil chicken breasts in a grated onion, cinnamon, sugar mix until the chicken is cooked through and I have a sweet spice slurry. Grind the chicken. Grind up some hard boiled eggs and toasted almond. Wrap it all up in phyllo dough and bake. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and decorate with more cinnamon. When it is served, it's blisteringly hot, but folks dive into it anyway. So delicious. I really need to start making it in smaller quantities for regular meals.