Soup

The three most common soups I see in Moroccan restaurants are bissara, harira and fish soup.

Bissara

I’ll start with my favourite: bissara. It’s made from beans. It’s green in colour and tastes a bit sweet, a bit grassy and a bit healthy. It doesn’t sound like much, but it’s tasty. Plus, it’s cheap and quite filling.

I order my bisara withut cumin. But if they offer Har, that is chili, I don't mind.

In the old town of Taza, there’s a place that serves both bissara and wholemeal harsha. They also serve tea, which not all eateries do. I bring a sugar-free yoghurt each time I go there, and I know it’s going to be a happy day.

Harira

Harira looks delicious. A red soup with chickpeas. But I’ve only tried it once, since that one time left me disappointed. It tasted mostly like sweet, floury tomato water. The seasoning was reminiscent of broth, with a slightly artificial flavour. Also, there were only a few chickpeas, so I didn't feel full at all.

Fish soup

The standard fish soup is tomato-based. Compared to the tomato base in harira, I think the one in fish soup is better, but not perfect.

In simple restaurants, fish soup is usually cheap, around ten dirhams. However, it isn’t particularly filling; just a few small pieces of fish and perhaps some shellfish.

Fish soup can function as a starter while waiting for the main course, or to warm you up on a winter’s day.