Moroccan Cuisine - Morocco - page 902

one regional variation that makes all your sampling of chicken tajine with lemon and olives worthwhile.
That's when you cross over from casual diner to true tajine connoisseur, and fully appreciate the passionate
debates among Moroccans about such minutiae as the appropriate thickness of the lemon rind and brininess
of the olives. Variations on the classics are expected, but no self-respecting Moroccan restaurant should ever
serve you a tajine that's stringy, tasteless, watery or overcooked.
Dessert At lunchtime, dessert is usually sweet mint tea served with almond cookies. You may not think you
have room, but one bite of a dreamy kaab el-ghazal (crescent-shaped 'gazelle's horns' cookie stuffed with
almond paste and laced with orange-flower water) will surely convince you otherwise. A light, refreshing
option is the tart-sweet orange á canelle (orange slices with cinnamon and orange-flower water).
VEGETARIANS: YOUR MOROCCAN MENU
Breakfast Load up on Moroccan pastries, pancakes, fresh fruit and fresh-squeezed juice. Fresh goat's
cheese and olives from the souq are solid savoury choices with fresh-baked khoobz (Moroccan-style
wood-fired pita bread). Bessara is a delicious bean soup that's typically meat-free, but steer clear of
bubbling roadside vats if you're squeamish - they may contain snails or sheep's-head soup.
Lunch Try the mezze of salads, which come with fresh bread and may range from delicate cucumbers
in orange-blossom water to substantial herbed beets laced with kaffir lime. Vegetarians can some-
times, but not always, order a Berber vegetable tajine or Casablanca-style couscous with seven veget-
ables. Ingredients are bought fresh daily in small quantities and the chef may not have factored veget-
arians into the restaurant's purchases - so call ahead if you can. Pizza is another widely available and
inexpensive menu option, best when spiked with local herbs and olives.
Snacks Market stalls feature cascades of dried figs, dates and apricots alongside towering cones of
roasted nuts with salt, honey, cinnamon, cane sugar or hot pepper. Chickpeas and other pulses are
roasted, served hot in a paper cone with cumin and salt, and are not to be missed. Tea-time menus at
swanky restaurants may feature briouats (cigar-shaped pastries stuffed with goat's cheese or egg and
herbs), plus finger sandwiches, pastries and cakes. If that's not enough, there's always ice cream, and
mint tea with cookies or nuts are hardly ever more than a carpet shop away.
Dinner For a hearty change of pace from salads and couscous, try a vegetarian pasta (anything with
eggplant is especially tasty) or omelette (usually served with thick-cut fries). If you're staying in a
Moroccan guesthouse, before you leave in the morning you can usually request a vegetarian tajine
made to order with market-fresh produce. Pity you can't do that at home, right?
L'Asha (Dinner)
Dinner in Morocco doesn't usually start until around 8pm or 9pm, after work and possibly
a sunset stroll. Most Moroccans eat dinner at home, but you may notice young profession-
als, students and bachelors making a beeline for the local snak or pizzeria. In winter you'll
see vendors crack open steaming vats of harira - a hearty soup with a base of tomatoes,
onions, saffron and coriander, often with lentils, chickpeas and/or lamb. Dinner at home