Morocco

Tajine

Meat, preserved lemon and olives steamed slowly under a conical clay lid.

Couscous

Semolina steamed three times over a vegetable broth, served Friday after prayers.

Pastilla

Warqa pastry pie of pigeon or chicken with almonds, dusted with sugar and cinnamon.

Harira

Tomato, lentil and chickpea soup thickened with flour, the first thing eaten at iftar.

Mechoui

Whole lamb roasted in a pit oven until the skin crackles and the meat pulls apart.

Tanjia

Marrakech beef sealed in an urn and left overnight in the ashes of the hammam furnace.

Rfissa

Shredded msemen soaked in fenugreek broth under chicken and lentils, served after childbirth.

Kefta

Spiced minced lamb grilled on skewers or cooked in tomato sauce with eggs.

Zaalouk

Smoked aubergine and tomato cooked down with garlic, cumin and paprika, served cool.

Taktouka

Salad of charred green pepper and tomato, scooped straight from the dish with bread.

Briouat

Small filled pastry triangles, savoury with meat or sweet with almond and honey.

Msemen

Square laminated flatbread folded and griddled, torn open for butter and honey.

Baghrir

Semolina pancake cooked one side only, its thousand holes drinking honey butter.

Harcha

Semolina griddle bread, sandy and crumbly, eaten hot with cheese at teatime.

Khobz

Round flat loaf baked in the neighbourhood oven and used as cutlery at every meal.

Chebakia

Sesame dough folded into flowers, fried and steeped in honey, made for Ramadan.

Sellou

Toasted flour, almonds and sesame pressed into a sweet, dense energy paste.

Seffa

Steamed vermicelli heaped with cinnamon, icing sugar, almonds and dates.

Amlou

Argan oil ground with roasted almonds and honey into a spread for morning bread.

Thé à la menthe

Gunpowder green tea with spearmint and sugar, poured from height into small glasses.