Maghrebi cuisine

Maghreb cuisine is the cooking of the Maghreb region, the northwesternmost part of Africa along the Mediterranean Sea, consisting of the countries of Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, and Tunisia. Well-known dishes from the region include couscous, pastilla, tajine and shakshouka.

Couscous, here served with vegetables and meat, is one of the most characteristic dishes of the Maghreb.

Origins
The Maghreb

The cuisine of the Maghreb, the western region of North Africa, includes that of Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia and Libya, is by origin a mixture of Arabian, Berber and Mediterranean cuisines, with historic influences from Ottoman and European cuisines.[1][2][3] The cuisines of Algeria, Tunisia and Libya and Morocco have also been influenced by French and Italian cuisine respectively.[1][4][5][6]

Cuisine
See also: Moroccan cuisine, Algerian cuisine, Tunisian cuisine, Libyan cuisine, and Mauritanian cuisine

In Maghrebi cuisine, the most common staple foods are wheat (for khobz bread[7] and couscous[8]),[9] fish, seafood, goat,[10] lamb,[10] beef,[10] dates, almonds, olives and various vegetables and fruits.

Because the region is predominantly Muslim, halal meats are usually eaten. Most dishes are spiced.[11]

The use of legumes, nuts, fruits and spices is very prominent.[10] Salt-preserved lemons (l'hamd mrakad) and so-called "oil-cured" olives are distinctive elements of the cuisine.[9]

The best-known Maghrebi dish abroad is couscous,[12] made from wheat semolina.[11] The tajine, a cooking vessel made of clay, is also a common denominator in this region, although the dishes and preparation methods vary widely. For example, a tajine in Tunisia is a baked quiche-like dish,[13] whereas in Morocco it is a slow-cooked stew.[14] Pastilla is also an important Andalusian dish of the region.[15]

Spices

Spices found in this region's cuisine are ginger, allspice, caraway, saffron, paprika, cloves, cumin, coriander, cayenne pepper and turmeric.[16] Fresh peppermint, parsley, or coriander are also very common. Spice mixtures such as ras el hanout, baharat, and chili pastes like harissa (especially in Tunisia) are frequently used as well.

See also

References
  1. Davidson, Alan; Jaine, Tom, eds. (2014). "Algeria". The Oxford Companion to Food (3 ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 12. ISBN 0-19-967733-6.
  2. Szabo, John (2013-01-01). Pairing Food and Wine For Dummies. John Wiley & Sons. p. 302. ISBN 978-1-118-39957-6. The cuisine of North Africa, including Morocco, Egypt, Algeria, and Tunisia, blends Arabian influence with the traditional regional Berber cuisine, the original inhabitants of North Africa west of the Nile. This area also had many influences from various Mediterranean invaders and European traders and travelers, evident through various ingredients and cooking methods still in use today.
  3. Silverwood, Stephen (2016-09-09). Takeaway Heritage: True Stories from Kebab Shops and Restaurants. Refugee Radio. ISBN 978-0-9929374-2-3. Maghreb cuisine is a mixture of Mediterranean, Arab and Berber traditions with a range of historical influences from European colonialism and Ottoman expansion.
  4. Helou, Anissa (2014). "Morocco". In Davidson, Alan; Jaine, Tom (eds.). The Oxford Companion to Food (3 ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 532–533. ISBN 0-19-967733-6.
  5. Davidson, Alan; Jaine, Tom, eds. (2014). "Tunisia". The Oxford Companion to Food (3 ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 835. ISBN 0-19-967733-6.
  6. Davidson, Alan; Jaine, Tom, eds. (2014). "Libya". The Oxford Companion to Food (3 ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-967733-6.
  7. Qarooni, Jalal (1996). Flat Bread Technology. Springer. pp. 84–. ISBN 978-0-412-08111-8.
  8. Smith, Andrew (2013). The Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America. Oxford University Press. pp. 567–. ISBN 978-0-19-973496-2.
  9. MacVeigh, Jeremy (2008). International Cuisine. Cengage Learning. pp. 273–. ISBN 1-111-79970-9.
  10. "North African Cuisine." Archived 2016-04-03 at the Wayback Machine Jamaica Observer. Accessed June 2011.
  11. Mourad, Mazouz. "The Momo Cookbook." Archived 2011-09-19 at the Wayback Machine The Globalist. Accessed June 2011.
  12. Cheshes, Jay (12 November 2012). "Couscous Royale". Saveur. Retrieved 3 October 2016. North Africa's best-known dish has become one of the most widely consumed foods in France. These days, even ordinary neighborhood bistros often feature a couscous special one day of the week.
  13. "Tunisian Tagine". BBC. Retrieved 3 October 2016.
  14. Cloake, Felicity (13 March 2013). "How to make the perfect chicken tagine". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 October 2016. Does this most famous of all Moroccan dishes actually need to be cooked in a real tagine?
  15. Best, Cassie. "Chicken & almond pastillas". BBC. Retrieved 3 October 2016.
  16. Winget, Mary. Cooking the North African Way. p. 22.
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for North African cuisine.
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