Streetfood in the Moroccan seaside town of Essaouira, from freshly grilled fish, olives, nuts, fresh local fruits, dried fruit and nuts, shawarmas, kebabs and Moroccan tacos, fresh breads and sweet pastries to go with tea or coffee – it’s all here.
You cannot turn a corner in Essaouira without being confronted by some beautiful smells of something cooking somewhere.
Moroccan food is not particularly spicy in a hot way, they use chilli sparingly, but use a distinct blend of pungent spices such as cinnamon, saffron, cumin, turmeric and paprika and often blend in a subtle sweet and savoury flavouring to their food.
One exception where the sweet and savoury are not too subtle are the chicken or pigeon pastillas, made with a fine, flaky brick pastry called ‘Warka’ and interleaved with a sweet layer of almond in the chicken pie and dusted with icing sugar.
You will see many Moroccans crowded around the tiny snail stalls eating the snails and drinking the cooking juice, also may love to start their meals with a soup such as chorba or harira.
If you can, try the msemmen, a cross between a square pancake and a flat bread, stuffed with kofta and salad are delicious.
Moroccan streetfood in Essaouira is similar to other cities in Morocco, apart from there being a lot of fresh fish and sea food and there are many fried fish stalls dotted around the town, which smell delicious.
If you have a sweet tooth – I mean a very sweet tooth have some of the excellent, but mega sweet pastries which are available in cafés and specialist shops with a glass of mint tea – it will satisfy the sugar rush of anyone (on Earth!)
Let’s have a look at what’s available in Essaouira …
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