North African cuisine

Tunisian Brik with an egg, tuna, onion and parsley

Méchoui is a North African dish that consists of a whole sheep or a lamb spit-roasted on a barbecue

Tunisian Egg shakshouka

North Africa, the northernmost part of Africa along the Mediterranean Sea^[1] includes the countries of Algeria, Libya, Morocco, and Tunisia. The region has a high degree of geographic, political, social, economic and cultural diversity which influences the region's cuisine and the culinary style.

Over several centuries traders, travelers, invaders, migrants and immigrants all have influenced the cuisine of North Africa. The Phoenicians of the 1st century brought sausages, the Carthaginians introduced wheat and its by-product, semolina. The Berbers, adapted this into couscous, one of the main staple diet.^[1] Olives and olive oils were introduced before the arrival of the Romans. From the 7th century onwards, the Arabs^[2] introduced a variety of spices, like saffron, nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger^[3] and cloves, which contributed and influenced the culinary culture of North Africa. The Ottoman Turks brought sweet pastries and other bakery products, and from the New World, North Africa received potatoes, tomatoes, zucchini and chili peppers.

Common foods and dishes

In North African cuisine, the most common staple foods are meat, seafood, goat,^[2] lamb,^[2] beef,^[2] dates, almonds, olives, various vegetables and fruit. Because the region is predominantly Muslim, halal meats are usually eaten. Halal meats are derived from animals that are slaughtered according to Sharia, Islamic law. Most dishes are spiced,^[4] especially with cumin,^[3] ginger, paprika, cinnamon^[3] and saffron. Fresh peppermint, parsley, or coriander are also very common. Spice mixtures such as ras el hanout, baharat, and chilli pastes like harissa (especially in Tunisia) are frequently used. The use of Legumes, nuts, fruits and spices is very prominent.^[2]

The best-known North African/Berber dish abroad is surely Couscous.^[4] Pastilla and The Tajine, a cooking vessel of Berber/Amazigh origin, is also a common denominator in this region, although what each nation defines as the resulting dish from being cooked in a tajine as well as the associated preparation methods, may be drastically different. For example, a "tajine" in Tunisia is a baked frittata/quiche-like dish, whereas in Morocco it is dish is a slow-cooked stew .

Maghreb cuisine

The Maghreb Union Countries

Moroccan couscous with vegetables and raisins

The cuisine of the Maghreb, the western region of North Africa that includes the six countries of Morocco, Western Sahara, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, and Mauritania, is primarily a Berber cuisine (and punic/phoenician for Tunisia) with some Arab and Mediterranean influences. The eastern part of North Africa (Libya and Egypt) is heavily influenced by the Ottoman Empire and its Turkish culture, sharing characteristics and similar dishes with much of Turkish and Peninsular Arab cuisine. The cuisines of Algeria and Tunisia are less thoroughly influenced by these Eastern elements, deriving more influence from French and Italian cuisine respectively and with roots for Tunisia, dating back to the punics in Ancient Carthage. While Moroccan cuisine for the most part remained outside of relatively recent and contemporary influences, although Moroccan cuisine itself have roots dating back to the heyday of the kingdom of Numidia modern-day Algeria and kingdom of Mauretania modern-day Morocco.

Cuisine similarities

Most of the North African countries have several similar dishes, sometimes almost the same dish with a different name (the Tunisian coucha and the Moroccan tangia are both essentially the same dish: a meat stew prepared in an urn and cooked overnight in a public oven), sometimes with a slight change in ingredients and cooking style. Additionally, two entirely different dishes may share the same name. There are noticeable differences between the cooking styles of different regions – there are spicy dishes and sophisticated pastries typical of Tunisian cuisine, full-bodied dishes prepared in Moroccan palace cookery, and simpler dishes prepared in various regions and countries.

By country

For more specific styles, refer to the articles on each national or regional cuisine:

See also

• List of African cuisines
• List of African dishes
• Mediterranean cuisine

References