Morocco cuisine is known throughout the world for it’s extensive use of spices. Perhaps the most prevelant in Moroccan cooking is Ras el Hanout, a mixture of ground spices that literally translates as ‘the head of the shop’, implying that the spice provides the best the shop has to offer. The recipe for Ras el Hanout varies from region to region, and even from shop to shop; but they frequently include cardamom, nutmeg, anise, mace, cinnamon, ginger, various peppers, and turmeric.

Once upon a time, Ras el Hanout included cantharides, a substance excreted form the Spanish fly’s leg joints. However the sale of cantharides was banned in Morocco during the 1990s due to it’s suspected aphrodisiac qualities. Here at Hip Marrakech, we think Ras el Hanout tastes great without cantharides and we are pretty glad of this modern recipe change.

Tags: Marrakech, Moroccan food, moroccan spices, spice

This entry was posted on Saturday, July 12th, 2014 at 11:45 pm and is filed under Marrakech. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.