Sweeteners, nuts & dried fruit · اللوز · louz
Almonds
Fried to garnish tagines, ground for pastries — Morocco's essential nut
No nut is more Moroccan than the almond. Grown in the Anti-Atlas, the Rif and the Tafilalet — Tafraoute celebrates its almond blossom each spring — it is fried whole to crown a festive tagine, blanched and ground into the paste at the heart of the country's finest pastries, and milled with argan into amlou. Sweet or savoury, it is everywhere.
- Darija
- louz
- Forms
- Whole · blanched · fried · paste
- Growing areas
- Anti-Atlas · Rif · Tafilalet
- Signature use
- Almond paste for pastries
What it is
Almonds are the kernels of the almond tree, grown widely across Morocco's mountains and oases and sold in every form the kitchen needs: in the shell, shelled raw, blanched (skins removed), fried golden, slivered, and ground to a fine meal or a smooth paste. The Tafraoute region in the Anti-Atlas is especially famous for its almonds and its spectacular spring blossom.
Because they anchor both the sweet and the savoury sides of the cuisine — and because so much depends on their freshness — almonds are a true pantry cornerstone. They are also expensive relative to other nuts, so a well-made almond dish reads as generous and celebratory.
Most Moroccan recipes start from raw or blanched almonds and fry or grind them fresh, rather than using pre-roasted salted nuts, which keeps control of texture and flavour.
In the Moroccan kitchen
On the savoury side, whole blanched almonds are fried in oil until golden and scattered over festive tagines — most famously lamb with prunes and mrouzia — where they add crunch against the soft, sweet meat. They also stud rice, seffa and stuffings.
On the sweet side, ground almonds are the foundation of Morocco's pastry canon: the almond-paste filling of kaab el ghazal (gazelle horns), briouat and countless tea-time sweets, plus sellou and the almond milk sharbat el louz. Ground with roasted argan and honey they become amlou.
Technique matters: blanch by soaking in hot water and slipping off the skins, fry gently so they turn gold rather than bitter-brown, and grind in short bursts so the oils do not turn the meal to paste before you want it to.
- Fried whole to garnish lamb-with-prunes and mrouzia tagines
- Ground into almond paste for kaab el ghazal, briouat and pastries
- Milled with argan oil and honey into amlou
- Sellou and seffa — toasted and ground or slivered
- Almond milk (sharbat el louz) and stuffings for dates and pastries
How to choose & store
Freshness is everything with almonds, because their oils go rancid. Good raw almonds are pale, plump and evenly sized, and taste sweet and clean; any bitterness, a musty or paint-like smell, or shrivelled, oily-looking kernels mean they are stale. In-shell almonds keep freshest of all if you are happy to crack them.
Buy the form that suits the job — whole raw for frying and grinding fresh, blanched to save a step, ground meal only if you will use it quickly — and buy from a stall with fast turnover rather than a dusty, long-standing bin.
Storage — Store almonds airtight in a cool, dark place; the fridge or freezer keeps them freshest and stops the oils turning. Ground almond meal is the most perishable — buy it in small amounts and use it soon.
Buying it in Marrakech
What to look for at the stall — and how to buy well without invented prices to anchor you.
- Buy from the dried-fruit and nut stalls, which sell almonds whole, blanched, slivered and ground by weight.
- Taste a raw almond before buying — it should be sweet and clean; reject any with a bitter or musty edge.
- Prefer whole raw or in-shell almonds for the freshest flavour, and blanch or grind them yourself close to cooking.
- For pastry-making, ask for freshly ground almond meal in the quantity you need rather than a large bag that will stale.
- Choose a busy stall with high turnover; nuts sitting long in open bins go rancid in the heat.
Substitutes
- In pastries and amlou there is no real substitute for almonds; other ground nuts (cashew, pistachio) change the character entirely.
- As a tagine garnish, blanched almonds are ideal, but a scatter of pine nuts or slivered pistachios can stand in for crunch.
- For almond milk or a nut-free need, adapt to taste — but expect a noticeably different result from the classic.
Frequently asked questions
How are almonds used in Moroccan cooking?
In two main ways: fried whole and scattered over festive tagines such as lamb with prunes for crunch, and ground into the almond paste at the heart of pastries like kaab el ghazal and briouat. They also go into amlou, sellou, seffa and almond milk.
Should I buy almonds whole or ready-ground?
Whole raw or in-shell almonds keep freshest and let you blanch, fry or grind them as needed. Ready-ground almond meal is convenient for pastry but goes stale fastest, so buy it in small amounts and use it quickly.
How can I tell if almonds are fresh?
Fresh almonds are pale, plump and evenly sized and taste sweet and clean. Bitterness, a musty or paint-like smell, or shrivelled, oily-looking kernels mean they are stale — the oils have started to turn rancid. Taste one before buying.
How should I store almonds?
Airtight, in a cool dark place, or better still in the fridge or freezer to stop the oils oxidising. Ground almond meal is the most perishable form, so keep only what you will use soon.