Marrakech: An overview - Part 22

Moroccan Food, Restaurants and Nightlife – continued

Pastilla is a starter as well as a main dish. It is a pillow of filo pastry with a sweet and savoury filling. This most often shredded pigeon cooked with onions. The dish will be dusted with cinnamon to give it that distinctive Moroccan flavour.

Briouettes are small triangles of filo pastry with a variety of fillings, the two most common being minced lamb with spices and pine nuts or a feta cheese with spinach. You will also find some place in Marrakech that prepare them with shrimp, chicken and lemon. They also have a sweet version of this dish which is prepared with groundnuts and soaked in honey.

Harira is a traditional Moroccan soup made with tomatoes, lentils, chickpeas, spices and lamb. While claiming to be a soup it can be a really substantial meal all by itself. It is often associated with special occasions and it is also served during Ramadan when it is eaten at sundown to break the fast.

Moroccan salads are served at the beginning of a meal similar the way they are served in America. You will find that they often have a sprinkling of orange blossom water which is a signature local ingredient.

The ending of a meal is often marked with a serving of Moroccan pastries. This is often the popular honey cakes or chabakia, they have been deep fried and then dipped in honey. Another dessert to enjoy is the sweet pastilla, which is a filo pastry covered in nuts and custard.

At any meal you will come across the pervasive green tea with mint and it is habitually served with vast quantities of sugar. The technique of pouring is almost as crucial as the drink itself. The servers use the long, curved teapot spouts to allow the tea to be poured dramatically as it gracefully arcs into the small glasses.

Set meals are available but they tend to be in the cheaper restaurants. Here the meal will consist of a starter, which will be a soup or a salad, then a main dish and a dessert which will often be fruit. The more expensive restaurants serve a limitless series of courses with more items than you could possibly want. However it is worth trying it at least once for a true Marrakech experience.

Entertainment is available in some places but they tend to be more setup for the tourist. They offer such distractions as belly dancing or performances by Gnawa musicians, you make even find acrobats and snake charmers showing their skills.

Continued in part 23.