By abbymarco
Like many other people I'm sure, having the opportunity to eat new foods (and a lot of them) was one of the things I was most excited about when I began my study abroad experience. Moroccan food has certainly not let me down, as food and meal times are a huge part of the culture here. With so many exciting, new, and sometimes weird flavors, it's hard to choose just one favorite food... So here's my top five!
1. Couscous: I couldn't make it through this list without listing this Moroccan staple! Every Friday for lunch, Moroccans enjoy steamed couscous piled high with stewed meat and tons vegetables. The Moroccan spices and perfectly-cooked veggies that melt in your mouts are completely irresistible, and they're the reason I rush home after my Arabic classes on Fridays. Couscous is the traditional Moroccan meal that is only eaten on Fridays, the holiest day in Islam. And the best part is that it's eaten with your hands!!
2. Meloui: My absolute favorite Moroccan breakfast and afternoon snack! I'm lucky, my host moms feeds it to me every single morning, and it will definitely be what I miss most when I go home. Meloui are round Moroccan pancakes shaped by rolling a folded strip of dough up like a rug, and then flattening the upright coil into a circle. They can be eaten plain or with syrup made from butter and honey, but I usually eat mine with yummy homemade jam... Mmmm.
3. Moroccan Mint Tea: Of course, I couldn't make it through this list without giving Morocco's favorite drink the credit it deserves. Moroccan mint tea is a green tea prepared with spearmint leaves and sugar... Lots and lots of sugar. The typical Moroccan can't make it through their day without having at least five cups of this delicious stuff. My host family gives it to me every morning and afternoon, and we even get mint tea breaks during the school day!!
4. Tagine: Tagine is a historically Berber North African dish that is named after the clay pot in which it is cooked. It is a slow-cooked savory stew that is usually filled with some combination of chicken, beef, fish, fruits, vegetables, dates, and tons of spices. Traditionally, tagine is just eaten by scooping it up with bread, but my host family usually offers me utensils to eat mine with. It's a Moroccan classic; I eat some sort of tagine almost every night.
5. Harira: During the holy month of Ramadan, the fast is broken at sunset each day with a steaming bowl of soup, called harira, but my host mom makes it quite often during other times of the year! The soup is full of yummy tomatoes, lentils, chickpeas and lamb, and it is finished off with a squeeze of lemon juice and some chopped coriander. It's the perfect end to a long day, and it always leaves me feeling warm and satisfied.
Of course, there are TONS of other amazing Moroccan dishes. You will just have to come try them all for yourself! Or, you can do what I plan on doing when I come back home for the summer: look up Moroccan recipes online and try replicating them yourself!