On My Plate: Morocco

The Moroccan culinary alphabet only has about 10 letters. But what it lacks in depth and diversity it makes up for in down-to-earth-made-with-love deliciousness.

Where: Someone’s home in the small town of M’Hamid, where the road ends and the Sahara Desert properly begins.

What: Chicken tajine. The word tajine refers to the round earthenware dish (with distinctive conical top), the vessel for Morocco’s most versatile meal. Often topped with a mound of fruits and/or vegetables (whatever looks good at the market that day), the tajine usually features chicken, beef or lamp patiently braised in a fragrantly spiced sauce. Only an animal would approach this platter with cutlery. Far better to dive in with a fistful of traditional bread (just tear a chunk of the small round loaves), pinching some meat and soaking up some of the heavenly juice at the bottom.

Charlie Scott will be back on the tagine circuit when he attends PURE this November.