Morocco?
Posted by closeyoureyestosee on Jan 24, 2009 · Member since Jan 2007 · 1218 posts
Has anyone traveled to Morocco as a vegan? I googled it and it seems like it's not going to be easy. Any suggestions would be appreciated. (This is a very tentative plan of mine, but I want to make sure I'll be able to eat if I do go!)
All I have to say is, sounds exotic. Other than that, I've got nothin' helpful for you. :)>>>
I think of olives, fresh cold pressed olive oil, Moroccan mint, plumped semolina grains, veggies cook in a tajine and a country rich in spices! :)>>>
I think I remember reading a travel section about Morocco in an old VegNews magazine - I shall go through my pile later and see if I can find if for you.
Ok, the July/August 07 Vegnews issue has a small article about eating in Morocco - here is the info from it:
3 Common Vegan Dinners:
Seksu bidawi - a seven-vegetable dish with couscous, served with harissa sauce
Vegetable tagine - a slow-cooked stew served in a shallow, cone-shaped dish
Harira soup - with chickpeas, ginger, lentils, saffron, paprika, and vegetable stock
Also mentions the open marketplaces of Marrakesh as good places to get fruit (esp. oranges), mint tea, and a variety of spices, including saffron, harissa, and paprika.
To Do:
Marrakech's Djamaa El Fna Square - live entertainment, music, orange-juice stalls, and acrobats
Taros Cafe - a romantic rooftop bar near the edge of the medina and overlooking Essaouira's port - late night Gnawa bands, in the daytime you can see painting studios and local artists creating and selling works on canvas
To Stay:
Riyad Charai - beautiful boutique resort tucked into lovely garden setting in Marrakech
riyadcharai.com
Riad Dar Liouba - elegant, modern and affordable hotel in the seaside town of Essaouira
darliouba.com
I'd say to stock up on some lara/luna/clif/anything bars for the trip incase theres times where you cant get food. Never traveled that far as a vegan though.
I last traveled to Morocco in 1999 (during Ramadan, nonetheless!!!) as a vegan and I really didn't find it difficult at all. The only hard part is communication, but if you learn the words "without meat" and "without meat juices," you should be just fine. They have lots of beautiful vegetable dishes cooked without stock or anything, and the fruits and nuts are gorgeous. The food in the markets are pretty simple, so you should be able to assess what's okay and what's not. And of course the food in big cities and fancy restaurants are sufficiently Westernized so you should be able to find/request vegan food. I had an incredible meal in Marrakech where they made me a vegan pastilla!! (Pastilla is a traditional pigeon pie, barf. They made mine of tofu, onion, and almonds-- sounds like a weird substitute, but it was brilliant.)
Be careful with the butter-- Moroccan cooking uses loads of olive oil, natch, but the European influence is such that butter is more prevalent. Sometimes bread is made with it and dishes are finished with it.
Unfortunately, the pastries will pretty much be out for ya. Turkey is different, because they use mostly sugar water, but Moroccan sweets use lots of honey.
My dad's from Morocco! Any other questions?
Wow! ;)b
Sound like a great trip ahead! (That means, I think you should do it!)
My wife's aunt used to live in Morocco, and still cooks a lot of dishes that she learned in her time there. Surprisingly, most are vegan friendly.
Listen to sharway, and all will be well. Enjoy the trip.
anyone traveled to Morocco as a vegan?
how are your language skills? i make it around algeria & morocco okay as a vegan and although my arabic is very weak, my french is very strong; know how to say "vegan" (fr. = végétalien, -ienne) and understand something about the local cooking so that you'll not only have some idea what you'll want, but also some idea what you don't ... because, as you might guess, not every place is going to cater to english.
g'luck! bonne chance!
~ fr
Maby go on tino_bambino's thread 'back from Cuba with some advice'. She talked about some tricks. I think she said she brought some vegan bars and snacks in her luggage (might have to check online though, make sure you dont have issures with Airport security bringing food to another country).
Good luck on your trip. Morocco sounds amazing and enchanting. Hope you have fun!
Thank you everyone so much!!!
The plan is to go meet my friend in London and then head out to Morocco. I still have to get my money situation figured out, but I'm hoping this will happen. I would appreciate anything anyone could tell me. What do I wear? What should I do?
Ok, I'm starting to get excited and I don't even know if this is going to be a possibility yet! Hope hope!
Morocco is quite liberal for a Muslim country, so don't worry too much about your clothes. Not sure when in the year you're going, but plan on wearing long pants, mostly just because shorts are viewed very much an American thing, and you don't want to stand out. Do also plan on wearing/carrying long sleeves, because there will be certain situations where tank tops/short sleeves are not appropriate, like in/near mosques and whatnot. You do not need to cover your head.
What to do? Well, there are tons of incredible history and old buildings and whatnot, any guidebook can tell you which palace and mosque to visit. But definitely walk everywhere, go visit markets/souks, gardens, beaches (if you're nearby), drink tea, shop your little heart out, have a steam bath, etc. Morocco is really truly amazing-- I don't think you'll have any shortage of things to do.
Heh, also: http://www.happycow.net/africa/morocco/
My aunt just went to Morocco last fall. She stayed at this hotel
http://www.naturallymorocco.co.uk/Brochures/Brochure_Essaouira_Lalla_Mira_Eco_Hotel.php?pid=210
It is not vegan, but veggie friendly, so they might be up for a special vegan fare? She loved the hotel and her stay in Essaouria! Wish I could go...
I'm bumping this because I'm going next week! Any last words of advice?!??!
Learn how to say, "Beer, please" veeery quietly...
I don't drink, no worries!
Just got back from my trip. It wasn't nearly as hard to find vegan food as I thought it would be. Just about every restaurant had vegetable couscous. (I adopted a "don't ask don't tell" policy concerning chicken broth.) For breakfast, the riad usually had an assortment of breads, mint tea, muesli, and fruit. I brought a jar of peanut butter to put on the bread and bought some soy milk at a supermarket. The Earth Cafe (found on happycow.net) was absolutely lovely. The menu is in English but the staff didn't really speak much. There were 3 vegetarian and 4 vegan options. Amazing bread with argan oil. Highly recommended.
Welcome back CYETS!! Glad you had a great trip. Now, share the pictures. :)
Awesome! I'm glad you had a great trip too! I definitely want to check out Morocco sooner than later! :D
I'm glad the trip was a culinary success!
Some pictures of me in Marrakech:
http://photos-d.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs029.snc1/2582_146829330547_624735547_6334187_7392052_n.jpg
http://photos-a.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs029.snc1/2582_146829260547_624735547_6334176_3127854_n.jpg
http://photos-d.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs029.snc1/2582_146829280547_624735547_6334179_6758219_n.jpg
http://photos-c.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs029.snc1/2582_146829275547_624735547_6334178_6816365_n.jpg
http://photos-f.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs029.snc1/2582_146829245547_624735547_6334173_1064405_n.jpg
http://photos-d.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs029.snc1/2582_146829185547_624735547_6334163_3678467_n.jpg
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