What Makes Moroccan Seasoning the Best of Both Worlds?

Moroccan food is an amazing mélange of cuisines from the mid-eastern world. With Mediterranean African, Jewish, Arabian, French and Moorish influences to name just a few, the spices and herbs used in Moroccan food are as diverse as the cultures mingling together at the crossroads of Morocco.

Today, Moroccan food has piqued the interests of the western world. Spice mixes from Morocco blend extremely well with a number of Western meat and vegetable dishes, enriching them to savoury, delectable fusion dishes. Moroccan seasoning recipes are innumerable, as the spices used can be varied with the tastes and preferences of the chef and the dish being prepared.

Traditional Uses of Moroccan Seasoning Recipes:

From sauces, salads and main dishes, the spice mix is used to add sweet, zesty and spicy flavours to the dishes. A few famous traditional dishes utilising the Moroccan spice mix are:

Couscous with Vegetables:

Prepared with lamb or chicken or beef stewed together with the couscous. Usually, a simpler spice mix consisting of earthy, nutty cumin and coriander and the fruity and slightly bitter flavour of sweet paprika and sometimes cayenne pepper is used. The flavours of sweet paprika and cayenne pepper differ only in its heat and are a good combination to induce a well-balanced spicy savour.

Bastilla:

It is a complex and elaborately prepared sweet and savoury pie. Elements of the Moroccan seasoning recipe are distributed from the pastry shell, meaty stuffing, and the sweet topping. Cinnamon forms a large proportion of this spice mix.

Tagines:

The Kefta or lamb meatball tagine is one of the most popular tagines utilising earthy cumin and coriander, spicy ginger and lemony galangal, allspice, the peppers for heat and the punchy-warm-bittersweet caraway. It is a well-rounded dish to be shared with friends and family with some Moroccan bread.

Western Uses of Moroccan Seasoning:

The western world has been obsessed with Mid-eastern food for decades now. The use of Moroccan seasoning spices goes hand in hand with spice mixes from other parts of the world. Some of the fusion western recipes that adopt Moroccan seasoning are:

Burgers:

The all-star lamb or hamburger can be prepared by flavouring the patties with the spice mix. Additional use of thyme, parsley, mustard powder, mace, and anise in the spice mix add that extra zing to the patty, not to mention lending a familiar yet exotic taste to the dish.

Stir fries:

The multi-faceted dish that can be assembled using just about anything in a kitchen, be it vegetables, meats, or seafood, they taste terrific with just a hint of Moroccan seasoning. Stir-fried chicken with beans and potatoes flavoured with aromatic sweet and spicy peppers, fennel, cumin, coriander, turmeric, saffron, ginger, and cinnamon, makes the dish something special indeed.

Salads:

Surprisingly, Moroccan seasoning pairs well even with salads and in particular with seafood-based salads such as tuna salad. It’s earthy and zesty tones turn the dish into something much more appetising and healthy than a mere salad.

The perfect balance of sweet and savoury that’s found in the Moroccan seasoning mix undoubtedly appeals to both western and eastern tastes. With increasing interests across the globe in trying new foods, herbs, and spices, it’s no wonder that the Moroccan seasoning mix is something of a worldwide sensation.