the food
Moroccan dishes worth knowing before dinner
A primer on the classics of the Moroccan table, from tagine to pastilla, drawn from Wikipedia.
Reserve your evening at Dar Essalam ↗Five dishes at a glance
| Dish | What it is |
|---|---|
| Tagine | Lamb or chicken cooked with vegetables and spices such as saffron, cumin and cinnamon |
| Couscous | A staple grain dish, often topped with meat and vegetables |
| Pastilla | A widely known Moroccan dish, also spelled basteeya or bestilla |
| Harira | A heavy soup, typically served in winter |
| Zaalouk | A salad of aubergine and tomato |
How a meal is built
A typical Moroccan lunch opens with hot and cold salads, followed by a tagine, and a formal meal may bring a lamb or chicken dish or a couscous next. Seasonal fruit often ends the meal.
Tagine
Lamb is the meat Moroccans eat most, usually in a tagine with a wide choice of vegetables. Chicken is common too, and plums, boiled eggs and lemon turn up as extra ingredients.
Couscous
Couscous is the Moroccan dish most people know, usually topped with meat and vegetables. Couscoussiers dating back to the 12th century were found in the ruins of Igiliz, in the Sous valley.
Pastilla and friends
Other widely known dishes include pastilla, tanjia and rfissa. Seafood features in many dishes along the coast, including versions of pastilla.
Spices
Saffron, cumin, cinnamon, ginger and coriander flavour a tagine, and the blend ras el hanout can combine as many as twenty-seven spices.
What the menus here list
Dar Essalam's two menus are listed as courses: a starter, a main course and a dessert, or an extended version with two mains. Guest reviews mention lamb tagine and chicken with figs.