Morrocan mint tea
THE BEST PART ABOUT DINING
IN MARRAKECH?
You don’t need to go to a five-star restaurant
to enjoy a good meal in Marrakech. In fact,
within the medina (or old town) you’d be hardpressed
to even find one. For breakfast, opt for
a local riad. A Moroccan staple, these villas
boast private inner courtyards that are open
to the elements yet removed from the bustle
of the city. You most likely won’t see a menu.
Instead, the chef will provide a selection of
fresh-baked breads and pastries with cheeses
and honey, fresh fruit and some of Morocco’s
famous fresh-squeezed orange juice. Often
ornamented with intricate tilework, fragrant
flora and picture-perfect plunge pools, riads
make for the perfect serene setting to start the
day before braving the bustling souks.
While out shopping, make sure to snag
some of Morocco’s market staples to bring
home, such as fresh spices, plump olives and
authentic Moroccan argan oil. For lunch, take
some chances and give in to the hawkers.
On the surface, these persistent street food
vendors may seem like pushy salespeople,
but there’s a wholesome purpose behind
their no-strings-attached samples. One bite of
these mouthwatering morsels and you’ll want
to buy the whole meal. For the full Moroccan
tasting menu, try all the delectable samples —
yes, even the snails — before settling on a full
plate, washed down with a steaming cup of
sweetened mint tea.
For dinner, go for the country’s most famous
dish: Tagine. Named after the ceramic dishes
in which they are cooked, the cone-shaped
lids of these one-pot wonders trap steam
during cooking and return the liquid to the
pot, resulting in melt-in-your-mouth meats
and savory, marinated vegetables. They
come in infinite flavors, like tangy chicken
with preserved lemons and olives, succulent
lamb or beef with prunes or a sweet-meetssavory
chicken and apricot, often served over
couscous to soak up the delicious sauce.
In a sense, the tagine is an embodiment
of Moroccan cuisine itself — flavors with
that inimitable wow-factor backed by
ancient cooking and farming techniques,
a deep-rooted market culture and diverse
culinary influences from Berber to Andalusi,
Mediterranean, Sub-Saharan and beyond.
20 | SELECT · 2020