meat
Recipes with either beef, veal, lamb, pork or larger game meats such as rabbit, hare, wild boar or venison.
Couscous bidaoui (Casablanca-style couscous)
Tender lamb and a generous mix of vegetables simmered in a fragrant broth, piled over mounds of steamed couscous. Known in Morocco as couscous bidaoui, the Casablanca style, this is the dish of the Friday family meal, served on a large communal platter.
Baked rice with béchamel (roz bel béchamel)
Layers of spiced ground meat, golden fried eggplant and tomato, and creamy rice folded into béchamel, all topped with melted cheese and baked until bubbling. Known in Egypt as roz bel béchamel ("rice with béchamel"), this is a comforting family bake in the same spirit as Egypt's better-known macarona bil-bechamel, with rice standing in for the pasta.
Egyptian rice koftas (koftet rozz)
Ground beef worked with crushed rice, onion, and herbs, shaped into small meatballs, fried until golden, then simmered gently in a fresh tomato sauce. Known in Egypt as koftet rozz (rice kofta), this is a staple of everyday Egyptian cooking and a particular favorite during Ramadan, when it's often served with a side of fried rice.
Lamb and prune tagine (mrouzia)
One of Morocco's great sweet-savory dishes: lamb simmered slowly with prunes, cinnamon, and honey until it turns almost jammy, finished with a scattering of golden fried almonds. This home-style version is a simplified take on mrouzia (m'rouzia), the festive tagine traditionally prepared for Eid al-Adha with leftover mutton from the sacrifice. Grander versions lean on ras el hanout and saffron, but everyday home cooking often pares the spicing down to cinnamon alone, as it is here.
Kefta briouats (meat-filled pastries)
Kefta briouats, also known as briouates de kefta, are small, crisp Moroccan pastries built around seasoned ground meat — usually beef or lamb — wrapped in paper-thin warqa pastry and folded into tight triangles before frying until deeply golden. They're a fixture of Moroccan appetizer spreads and Ramadan tables, most often served simply, though one distinctive regional style finishes them with a dusting of cinnamon and powdered sugar for a sweet-savory contrast.
Moroccan chicken pastilla (bastilla)
Pastilla — also spelled bastilla, pronounced that way in Morocco since Arabic has no "p" sound — is one of the country's most celebrated dishes: a round pie of paper-thin warqa or phyllo pastry wrapped around a richly spiced chicken and egg filling, topped with almonds, and finished with a dusting of cinnamon and powdered sugar for a striking sweet-and-savory contrast. It was traditionally made with pigeon; chicken is now the everyday substitute almost everywhere outside Morocco's most traditional kitchens.