The market · Spices · North Africa

Ras el hanout

A Moroccan spice blend with no fixed recipe — often a dozen or more spices, sometimes with dried rose.

warm · floral · sweet-spiced

What to do with it

Classics built on it
MoroccanTanjiaBeef or lamb packed into a tall clay urn with preserved lemon, garlic, cumin, saffron and smen, and cooked for hours in the embers.No one here has made it yet

Goes with

lambchickpeaapricotpreserved lemon

Knowing it

Where to buy
North African and Middle Eastern grocers. Blends differ widely; smell before you buy.
A little history
The name means 'head of the shop' — the best the spice seller has.

Kitchens that keep it in

MoroccoMoroccanSlow tagines, steamed couscous and sweet-savoury pastries, scented with warm spice, preserved lemon and handfuls of fresh herbs.11 classics

More spices

SpicesAchiote pasteearthy, peppery2 classicsSpicesAjwainthyme-like, sharp, bitter8 classicsSpicesAllspicewarm, sweet-spiced, peppery2 classicsSpicesAsafoetidapungent, sulphurous, garlicky when cooked12 classics