Ras el hanout

Flavour and aroma

warm, floral, sweet-spicy, complex. Warm, sweetly spiced, earthy, with mild heat.

Heat

Very mild

Forms

ground

How to use it

• bloom in fat · Tadka (tempering) technique

  Stir into olive oil or butter with the onions at the start of a tagine and cook for 1 minute over low-medium heat before adding meat and liquid.

• use raw

  Rub on lamb or chicken with oil and salt before roasting or grilling, ideally a few hours ahead.

• Seasoning tagines and couscous
• Rubbed on lamb or chicken before grilling or roasting
• Tossed with roasted vegetables and chickpeas
• A pinch in lentil soup or harira

Identifying good quality

A fine, warm-brown to orange powder, sometimes with visible rose petals. It should smell layered and floral; a blend that smells mainly of cumin or turmeric is a simpler, cheaper version.

• Not to be confused with Baharat (seven spice): Baharat is a Levantine/Gulf blend, peppery rather than floral.

Origin and history

Origin: Morocco and the wider Maghreb.. Grown and used: Used in Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia; sold internationally..

Ras el hanout means 'head of the shop' in Arabic: the best blend a spice merchant could offer. There is no fixed recipe; traditional versions can contain a dozen to 30 or more ingredients, such as cumin, coriander, ginger, cinnamon, turmeric, black pepper, cardamom, nutmeg, mace, allspice, dried rosebuds, lavender and grains of paradise.

Well documented