My recent trip to Marrakech brought back delicious memories of last year’s family vacation in Morocco, where we stayed in Taghazout, the surf capital of the country. We spent a week in an apartment overlooking the ocean, with the kids trying to surf and me relaxing in the many little cafes along the seafront, enjoying refreshing orange juice or sweet mint tea.

We visited around Easter, a perfect time since Morocco is warm and sunny in spring. With airlines like Monarch offering cheap flights to Agadir, there’s no reason not to go. Here are some of the delightful food experiences from our trip to Taghazout and Agadir:

Due to Morocco’s history as a French protectorate, you can easily find freshly baked baguettes alongside traditional Moroccan flatbread for breakfast. We enjoyed these with Amlou, a dip made from ground almonds, argan oil, and local honey, which was so addictive that we brought a jar home. We even visited an argan oil cooperative to see how the oil is made, used both in cooking and in skin and hair products.

For lunch, we often had Moroccan salad, a common dish in cafes and restaurants, made from garden vegetables like tomatoes, cucumber, peppers, and red onion, tossed in vinaigrette and served with French bread. Alcohol isn’t typically served in Morocco, except in places catering to Europeans, so we drank lots of freshly pressed orange juice. Markets are full of oranges ready to be juiced, and we found juice bars offering interesting combinations like carrot, beetroot, and ginger.

Chickpeas were a staple in many dishes, made into hummus or used in salads with tomatoes, black olives, and goat cheese, or cooked in tagines instead of meat. Couscous, another North African staple, is steamed and served with oven-cooked vegetables and sometimes meat or chickpeas. We had couscous in various forms, from elegant French-style at L’Auberge to a home-cooked version after a hike to Paradise Valley.

Tagine, a slow-cooked dish in a clay pot, was another favorite. It often combines meat with fruit flavors, like lamb with prunes or chicken with preserved lemons and green olives. Each neighborhood has a hammam where you can leave your tagine to cook while you bathe, picking it up later for lunch.

In just a week near Agadir, we only scratched the surface of Moroccan cuisine, likely experiencing tourist favorites. For more variety, I recommend checking out Moroccan food blogs like The View from Fez and Maroc Mama. Enjoy exploring Moroccan recipes!

If you’re planning a trip to Morocco, I recommend the Lonely Planet Guide to Morocco.