North African cooking from Morocco to Egypt uses cumin, coriander, caraway, cinnamon and saffron, and blends such as ras el hanout, harissa, chermoula and dukkah.
Overview¶
North Africa — the Maghreb (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya) plus Egypt — shares a Berber (Amazigh) foundation, an Arab and Ottoman overlay, Andalusian influence from Muslim and Jewish refugees from Spain, and in the twentieth century French and Italian colonial legacies. Its spicing is warm and aromatic, with cumin, coriander, caraway, ginger, cinnamon and saffron, and it combines sweet and savoury readily: lamb with prunes, chicken with apricots, pastilla dusted with sugar and cinnamon.
Heat varies more than outsiders expect. Moroccan cooking is mostly mild, with harissa as a condiment; Tunisian cooking is among the hottest in the Mediterranean.
The core palette¶
- cumin: on the table beside salt in Morocco, sprinkled on eggs, grilled meat and bean soups.
- Coriander seed and caraway: the base of Tunisian tabil and of harissa.
- paprika, sweet and hot, and dried chillies.
- Warm spices: cinnamon, ground ginger, black pepper, nutmeg, allspice and cloves.
- Colour: saffron (Morocco grows its own, around Taliouine) and turmeric, sometimes blended.
- Ras el hanout ("head of the shop"): the spice seller's best mixture, anything from a dozen to several dozen ingredients.
- Herbs: masses of coriander and flat-leaf parsley; spearmint for tea; wild thyme and oregano (Moroccan za'atar is often a thyme-like plant).
- Preserved lemons and olives, not spices but as important to a tagine as any.
Regional differences¶
Morocco¶
The most internationally known: tagines, couscous, pastilla, harira and mint tea. Spicing is layered and gentle. chermoula (coriander, parsley, garlic, cumin, paprika, lemon) marinates fish. Smen, aged fermented butter, gives some tagines a cheesy depth.
Algeria¶
Shares much with Morocco and Tunisia, with more chilli in the east. Chorba soups, couscous and chakhchoukha. Ras el hanout are used, alongside local chilli mixes.
Tunisia¶
The home of harissa as a daily ingredient: chilli, garlic, caraway, coriander and olive oil. It goes into stews, couscous, shakshuka (widely attributed to Tunisia) and lablabi, a chickpea soup. Tabil (coriander, caraway, garlic, chilli) is the everyday blend. Tunisian food uses a lot of fish and tuna.
Libya¶
Close to Tunisia, with Italian influence (macaroni imbakbka) and a hot spice mix called hararat.
Egypt¶
Egyptian cooking is less spiced and relies on cumin, coriander, garlic and onion. Staples include ful medames, ta'ameya (falafel made with broad beans), koshari, molokhia, and dukkah, a crushed mix of nuts, sesame, coriander and cumin eaten with bread and oil. See also middle-eastern-cuisine.
Key techniques¶
- Tagine braising: meat is cooked slowly in the conical pot with onions, spices and a little water. Much of the spice goes in raw with the oil and onions at the start, and the long cooking marries it; honey, fruit or preserved lemon come later.
- Steaming couscous: in a couscoussier over the simmering stew, in two or three stages, rubbing the grains with oil or butter between each.
- Marinades: chermoula for fish; harissa or paprika-cumin rubs for grilled meats. See dry-rubs-and-marinades.
- Grinding blends: ras el hanout and tabil are best freshly ground from toasted whole spices. See making-a-spice-blend.
📌 Ras el hanout is not a fixed recipe
There is no standard ras el hanout. Some Moroccan versions include rose buds, lavender, grains-of-paradise, long-pepper or cubeb. Commercial blends vary enormously, so taste yours before adding it by the spoon.
Landmark dishes¶
Moroccan tagines (lamb with prunes; chicken with preserved lemon and olives), couscous with seven vegetables, harira, pastilla, mechoui, zaalouk (aubergine salad) and mint tea; Algerian chorba and chakhchoukha; Tunisian harissa, shakshuka, lablabi, brik and couscous with fish; Egyptian ful medames, koshari and molokhia.
Stocking the cupboard¶
- cumin (whole and ground) and coriander seed
- paprika and ground ginger
- cinnamon and turmeric
- saffron
- Ras el hanout from a good source
- harissa — a tube or jar, or make it with caraway
- Preserved lemons
- Fresh coriander and flat-leaf parsley, and dukkah if cooking Egyptian dishes