Get a Taste of Morocco

Savour the flavours of this melting pot of cultures.

Moroccan cuisine has a vibrant recipe: One part Berber diet, a scoop of Andalusian influence, a dash of Mediterranean food, and just a sprinkle of sub-Saharan and European flavours.

If your palette salivates at the thought of tender meats and vegetables slow-cooked with saffron, cumin, turmeric, and cinnamon (the list literally can go on and on), then you’ll have no problem finding delicious eats in Morocco. Among all this spice, fields of olive groves, citrus trees, and wheat (the country’s main export) can be spotted throughout the country as you travel from city to city.

Bread is a cornerstone of Moroccan cuisine – you can expect to have it with just about every meal of the day, but breakfast takes the cake on this one. Breakfasts are pretty simple, however you won’t find potatoes, bacon, or sausage at the breakfast table. What you will find is plenty of bread (Khobz), pancakes (Baghrir, Msemen) and sweet rolls infused with orange flower water (Krachel). Opt for fresh-squeezed orange juice and a glass of hot mint tea to help get your day started.

Tagine, a North African Berber dish named after the pot in which it is cooked, is a Moroccan staple that’s perfect for lunches and dinners. The tagine is a fascinating cooking vessel. It’s a beautiful clay pot with a round base and a cone shaped lid. That lid traps steam and returns liquid below, leading to a moist, slow cooked savoury stew. Traditionally slow-cooked for an hour or two, Moroccan tagines are typically made with sliced meat, poultry, or fish together with vegetables or fruit and are jam-packed with flavours that mesh so well together.

For a true taste of Moroccan culture, prepare some of these dishes with the locals.

In Marrakech, attend a cooking lesson that can make a difference. Stop by the Amal Center, a social enterprise that empowers women to gain financial independence through culinary careers. Learn to prepare tagine with fresh, local ingredients. This training center is a non-profit that empowers women to be socially and financially independent through their culinary training, so the meal you’ll learn to prepare during this class is fulfilling on multiple fronts.

You’ll gather fresh vegetables and herbs with the women of the center and while your food cooks, you’ll sit down to a tea ceremony. When you sip on mint tea, you’ll get a taste of several Moroccan staples: the classic drink, and this country’s generosity and hospitality.

Learn more about the Colours of Morocco and other great culinary adventures from Collette! Plus, CARP members save an additional $100 per person off any tour — combinable with all other retail offers at gocollette.com/carp. You can even win a trip for two on Collette’s Colours of Morocco tour, enter for a chance to win here.