Mint tea
Mint tea, the Moroccan drink of choice, is a sign of hospitality and friendship. It is served any time of day and after every meal. Prepared with green tea bags and spearmint leaves, mint tea is quit a refreshing drink. It is also heavily sweetened with sugar chipped off a fresh sugar cone. Do not be ashamed if you choose to drink it more than 5 times a day!
Harira
Harira is a traditional soup that has been around for years. It is made with tomatoes, lentils, chickpeas and lamb then topped with fresh squeezed lemon and chopped coriander. Also, harira is often served with a type of pretzel called chebakkiya. The combination of all the protein rich ingredients and the pretzel makes harira an extremely hearty meal.
Couscous
The original name for couscous derives from the Berber word seksu, which literally means “well-rolled.” Thus, couscous is a fine, hand-rolled pasta. It is often served over top of stew, meat or vegetables then topped with a sweet raisin preserve. However, it is the Berber tradition to garnish the dish with a bowl of buttermilk.
Pastilla
Pastilla is a meat pie that succeeds at combining sweet and salty flavors. Traditionally it is made with squab (fledging pigeons), but since those are hard to catch shredded chicken has become a common substitute. Pastilla consists of thin layers of werqa dough, meat that has been slow-cooked in spices and broth, a crunchy layer of ground almonds, cinnamon and sugar. Sounds like an interesting mix, but it wouldn’t be served before almost every special meal if it were not delicious!
* Information from: bbcgoodfood.com, Wikipedia, and grayline.com
Photos from Pinterest
