Food in Morocco

Staple foods in Morocco are bread, tea, tagine, couscous.

The main Moroccan dish most people are familiar with is couscous, the old
national delicacy. Beef is the most commonly eaten red meat in Morocco, usually
eaten in a tagine with a wide selection of vegetables. Chicken is also very
commonly used in tagines, or roasted.
Few people outside of cities have clocks in Morocco, instead scheduling their days
around the five calls to prayer and the five daily meals. Breakfast comes early in
the morning, followed by a second breakfast at mid-morning. Lunch is served at
midday, and in the late afternoon there is a break for tea and bread. Finally, dinner
is served in the late evening.

Moroccan Chicken Tagine

A Moroccan classic. The mixture of spices is rich, complex, and delightful.
Serve with the traditional couscous for a fabulous meal with an ethnic flair.

Course Main dish

Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Total Time 2 hours
Servings: Change to adjust-> people
Calories 349 kcal
Author Analida
Ingredients
1/2 cup onion chopped
1 cup water
2 garlic cloves minced
2 Roma tomato cored and diced
1/4 cup peas frozen
3 carrots sliced
2 Tb olive oil
1 tsp curry
1 tsp chili powder
1 Tb fresh parsley chopped
1 tsp Kosher salt (paleo diet: sea salt)
3 lbs chicken whole roaster cut into pieces
1 lb potatoes (paleo diet: sweet potatoes)
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Instructions
1. Peel and slice potatoes 1/4" (potatoes in water to avoid browning while you
cook the tagine.
2. On the bottom of the tagine dish place the onions, carrots, tomatoes, and
garlic. Place chicken pieces on top and season with the spices. Sprinkle
with the chopped parsley. Pour over the olive oil. Add roughly 1 cup of
water.
3. Cover and cook over medium heat for about 1 hour. Check for doneness.
The chicken should be tender.
4. Drain potatoes and add them to the top of the tagine forming a circle.
Cover and continue to cook for another 20 minutes until the potatoes are
soft. Add the peas and cook for an additional 5 minutes uncovered.
5. Serve with couscous* or rice.
6. I usually purchase the boxed couscous(gasp) from the ethnic section of my
grocery store.
7. As a side note, this recipe can be easily adapted to be made in a crock pot.
Cook until the chicken is fork tender.
http://ethnicspoon.com/moroccan-chicken-tagine/

The word Tajine or Tagine is a distinctive earthenware dish with two parts; a pose
unit which is flat and circular with low sides and a large cone, or dome-shaped covers
that rests inside the base during cooking. In that clay dish with a cone shaped top it
is cooked and served. The word Tajine or Tagine can refer to both: food, prepared
in that dish or to the dish. The history of Moroccan tajin is debated. It has been
suggested that tajin was first introduced to Morocco in the 12 th century by the
Phoenicians, who visited the area in that time. While another theory attributes it to
Tonac civilization that was in Mexico between the 800 and 600 B.C.This theory
based its assumption on the statuette of EL TAJIN, the god of rain of that
civilization. However, the most plausible evidence attributed it to North Africa and
its first settlers -Berber.

https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2012/06/46130/moroccan-couscous-and-
tagine/

According to the website Moroccan World News Moroccan Tajine and couscous
are two faces to the same coin; it is the delicacy of Moroccan cuisine. They are two
national dishes that take great advantages from the strong Andalusian, Jewishs
influence and from the natural bounty.
https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2012/06/46130/moroccan-couscous-and-
tagine/

The coastal plains and plateaus provide the main growing areas for Morocco's
commercial agriculture. The warm climate and rains allow for cereal production of
winter wheat and barley, with vegetables, fruits, grapes, olives and pulses grown
during the summer. They have been able to increase irrigation allowing them to
grow what were traditionally export crops, such as: tea, sugarcane, cotton, tobacco,
sunflowers and soybeans. Livestock is done agriculturally as well with cattle,
sheep, and goats. Morocco has also a coastline that has provided abundant fishing
opportunities.