Vegans, vegetarians and meat-conscious people - listen up!
With vegans and vegetarians set to make up a quarter of the British population by 2025, it is clear that a meat-free diet has become more than a personal choice. It's a movement. So what are the Moroccan options for vegans, vegetarians and those striving to be more conscious with their meat consumption?
In the UK's cultural imagination, North Africa boasts many a meat-based dish, and it is true lamb is extremely popular in Morocco. However, Morocco actually boasts some great vegan options, as most of the population cannot afford to eat meat regularly.
Have a taste of...
- Khoubz: Moroccan bread is also vegan. Our bread contains no eggs and no butter. It only has flour, water, and yeast, and it is slowly cooked in the oven giving it a crispy exterior and a soft interior.
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Fresh Moroccan salads, such as cucumber with zahatar, moroccan tomato and other fresh vegetables.
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Cooked salads and starter salads, for example, with cooked broad beans.
- Loubia which is the Moroccan version of baked beans, it has which kidney beans in a rich tomato sauce.
- Bissara: This one is more of soup/dip that you can eat with Moroccan bread “Khoubz”. It’s resembles Hummus but it has more of a runny consistency. We top it with Cumin, olive oil, and sometimes spicy pepper flakes and it’s to die for.
- Batbout: It’s the same as Khoubz, but instead of being cooked in the oven, Batbout is cooked on a pan.
- Taktouka: is a Moroccan sauce/dip that is made of onions, tomatoes, and bell peppers. The vegetables are charred in the oven or grill, peeled, and then cooked slowly on the stove which gives it a delicious charry taste.
- Zaalouk: Zaalouk is similar to Taktouka, and it has the same ingredients as well, the only addition is aubergine. Aubergine gives it a very different taste and make it extremely delicious.
- Vegetable Tagine: This tagine is the meatless version of chicken tagine. It has all the vegetables you can think of, and it is slowly cooked on the stove until the onions get caramelized.
- Vegan Harira: Vegan Harira is the meatless version of Harira. Usually Harira is cooked first by browning some meat, but in a lot of restaurants and recipes, meat can be skipped and voilà, you’ve got a vegetarian dish.
- Vegetables Bastila: This Bastilla contains vegetables like carrots, courgettes, and so on wrapped in a Moroccan-like phyllo dough and is fried or cooked in the oven. It’s very tasty and it can be healthy as well.
- 7 vegetables Couscous: 7 vegetables Couscous is the yummiest version of Couscous as it contains everything there is to like. It doesn’t have any meat, and the sauce is very fragrant, and tasty.
- 'Adis' which is a lentil dish.
- Maakouda is a potato cake.
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Street food snacks like carrot, potato or aubergine fritters etc
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Steamed chickpeas, or sometimes broad beans, flavoured with cumin, paprika and black pepper.
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A classic in the UK, corn on the cob, but in Morocco you can have it grilled or steamed.
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Sfenj is a Moroccan fluffy donut! A spongy ring of dough fried in oil that can be sprinkled with sugar or coated with honey.
- Beghrir: Beghrir is the Moroccan version of pancakes. It’s batter made with flour, oil, sugar, and yeast. We usually stack beghrir and top it with honey and butter, or, eat it with any kind of spreads.
- Msmen: Our Moroccan crepe version or Msmen, is a vegan version of crepes. It’s a flaky dough cooked in a pan with a bit oil and it’s very delicious. There are some non-vegan versions of it, but it’s safe to say that most people make the vegan version of it.
- For dessert the main thing is fruit however most Moroccan sweets are vegan as they are not made with butter or eggs.
- Fruit juice: 100% vegan and cruelty free. The 2 most famous juice options in Morocco are orange juice, and avocado juice. Avocado juice is usually very filling, and some people drink it on its own.
- Moroccan tea: Our Moroccan tea is a delicious minty drink that should be drunk when it’s still hot. It’ll make you feel all sorts of good things because of how delicious it is.
