Vegetarian recipes from Morocco

Meat-free Moroccan cooking rests on three pillars: durum wheat semolina, pulses (broad beans, chickpeas, lentils) and olive oil, lifted by a set of aromatics found everywhere — cumin, sweet paprika, coriander and parsley chopped together, garlic, ginger, turmeric. seven vegetable couscous shows the fullest form: semolina steamed over a broth of squash, turnip, carrot and courgette, served from a shared dish. meatless harira follows the same logic, chickpeas and lentils thickened with a tadouira of flour and tomato paste, while bessara strips the idea to its core: dried broad beans, garlic, cumin, a thread of oil.

A meal is built from small plates rather than one central dish. Cooked salads open the table: zaalouk of aubergine melted into tomato, taktouka of grilled peeled peppers, served warm with bread used as cutlery. Heavier preparations follow — maakouda potato patties fried in rounds, vegetable tagine with olives simmered slowly under its lid with olives and preserved lemon, or vegetable pastilla in warqa sheets. orange and cinnamon salad closes the meal, with no dairy and no pastry.