North African Cuisine
Traditional North African Food
The Northern part of Africa boasts the rugged Atlas Mountains, the stunning peaks and deep gorges of the Ethiopian Highlands, and the populous Nile River basin. It’s also home to the picturesque Sahara, the world’s third-largest desert.
Includes: Western Sahara / Morocco / Algeria / Libya / Tunisia / Egypt / Sudan / Burkina Faso / Chad / Guinea-Bissau / Mali / Mauritania / Niger / Senegal
“I know once people get connected to real food, they never change back.” – Alice Waters
It’s a food culture shaped by traders, travelers, invaders, migrants, and immigrants. Going all the way back to the 1st century, semolina was brought by the Carthaginians (modern-day Tunisia), which was turned into couscous by the Berbers. The Phoenicians (modern-day Lebanon) introduced sausages and the Arabs brought saffron, nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves. From North America, foods like zucchini, potatoes, tomatoes, and chili peppers arrived.
These worldly influences converge in the Moroccan tajine, which is both a clay cone-shaped cooking device and a delicious steamed stew. The tajine is filled with braised chunks of chicken, garlic, onion, olives, preserved lemons, and a complex spice blend called Ras el hanout. It combines cardamom, cumin, clove, cinnamon, nutmeg, mace, allspice, ginger, chili peppers, coriander seed, peppercorn, sweet and hot paprika, fenugreek, and dry turmeric. The Tunisian version tends to be a bit spicier than the Moroccan version.
Find Local North African Shefs & Meals
When searching for “north african cuisine near me”, you’ll find Shef delivers North African food in the following locations:
- New York City
- New Jersey
- Seattle
- Los Angeles
- San Francisco (Bay Area)
- Chicago
Find your local home-cooked food today!
