Vegetarian Heaven
Moroccan food is as varied as the influences that created it over centuries, including Berber, Moorish, Arab and Mediterranean. (You can read about these at The Moroccan Stock Pot), but despite the mounds of wonderful vegetables you see in the souks of the tiniest village to the largest city, it’s only relatively recently that vegetarian restaurants have started opening in the main tourist centres. But that doesn’t mean vegetarian dishes didn’t exist.
One of the best known is Harira, Morocco’s famous tomato and lentil soup. Some recipes call for a small amount of meat, but leave the meat out and fragrantly season the tomatoes, celery, lentils and chickpeas with ginger, pepper, and cinnamon, and add plenty of fresh herbs – cilantro, parsley, celery and onion – and you have wonderful vegetarian dish as a winter warmer. (Download Denari Delicious for our recipe for Harira.)
Moroccan salads and side dishes play a big role in Moroccan cuisine, either in their raw state more easily recognised in western cuisine but more often as dips, eaten with chunks of freshly-baked bread. Two or three together make a delicious light lunch, and for a main dish we prepare our vegetable tajin exactly as we do our meat tajins, slowly cooked with very fresh ingredients.
Whatever your dietary requirements, please let us know in advance and we’ll make sure that you will taste the full flavours of Moroccan cuisine.
