Cuisine

Moroccan and Maghrebi

North African cooking of couscous, tagines and soups, mixing Amazigh (Berber), Arab, Andalusian, Ottoman and French influences, with warm spice blends, preserved lemons and harissa.

Flavour character: Warm, fragrant and layered: cumin, paprika, ginger, cinnamon and saffron; sweet-savoury combinations of meat with dried fruit and honey; salty-sour preserved lemon and olives; fresh coriander and parsley; fiery harissa in Tunisia.

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Traditional Moroccan tagine with lemons and olives, served outdoors, showcasing vibrant colors and delicious aromas.

History

Couscous (steamed semolina) is an Amazigh staple, and its knowledge and practices were jointly inscribed by UNESCO in 2020 for Algeria, Mauritania, Morocco and Tunisia. Arab conquest from the 7th century brought spices and sweet-savoury cooking; Muslims and Jews expelled from Spain after 1492 brought Andalusian dishes such as bastilla. Ottoman rule shaped Algerian and Tunisian cooking (brik, borek-like pastries), and French colonisation added bread and pastry. Tunisian harissa was inscribed by UNESCO in 2022.

Well documented

Geography and influences

The Mediterranean and Atlantic coasts, the Atlas and Rif mountains and the edge of the Sahara: wheat, olives, citrus, dates, almonds, sheep and goats.

Amazigh (Berber) foodways
Arab and Islamic cooking
Andalusian (Moorish and Sephardic) refugees
Ottoman rule in Algeria, Tunisia and Libya
French and Italian colonisation

Regional variations

Morocco: The most elaborate spice blends, sweet-savoury tagines, bastilla from Fez, tanjia from Marrakech.
Algeria: Chorba and rechta, Ottoman-influenced pastries, karantika in Oran.
Tunisia: The hottest: harissa in almost everything, brik, lablabi and fish couscous.
Libya: Bazeen, Italian-influenced pasta (mbakbaka) and spiced soups.