Summer Celebration menu
Summer Solstice Moroccan Feast — A Long-Evening Grill and Salad Menu
Moroccan summers are for long, late evenings, and the cooking moves outdoors to the grill and to cool, chilled salads that beat the heat. This solstice feast is built for warm nights: smoky brochettes and merguez from the coals, a spread of chilled salads, and a finish of watermelon and almond-milk that feels like relief. It is relaxed, generous, eat-outside food for the longest days. Below are the courses, a shopping list and a timeline for grilling. See the recipes and a how-to on grilling brochettes.
The menu
To start
Chilled salad spread (zaalouk, taktouka, cucumber-tomato)
Cool cooked and raw salads served straight from the fridge with bread — the antidote to the heat.
From the grill
Beef and lamb brochettes with merguez
Marinated meat skewers and spicy merguez sausages grilled over coals, dusted with cumin and salt.
Also grilled
Grilled vegetables and bread
Peppers, aubergine and onion charred on the grill, with warm bread to wrap the meat.
Side
Herbed rice or couscous salad
A cold grain salad with herbs, lemon and olive oil to round out the plate.
Dessert
Watermelon and melon with mint
Ice-cold watermelon and sweet melon scattered with mint — the classic Moroccan summer close.
Drink
Almond milk and mint tea (iced or hot)
Chilled almond milk for the heat, and mint tea served hot or over ice as you like.
Shopping list
- Beef or lamb for brochettes and merguez sausages
- Cumin, paprika, garlic and onion (marinade)
- Aubergines, peppers, tomatoes and onions (for salads and grilling)
- Cucumbers and fresh herbs (for the chopped salad)
- Rice or couscous, lemon and olive oil (for the grain salad)
- Watermelon and melon
- Fresh mint (for fruit, salad and tea)
- Blanched almonds and milk (for almond milk)
- Khobz or batbout bread
- Green tea and ice
Prep timeline
-
Morning of
Marinate the brochette meat; make all the chilled salads and refrigerate.
-
Afternoon
Make the grain salad and the almond milk; chill the watermelon and melon thoroughly.
-
1 hour before
Thread the brochettes; light the coals and let them settle to an even heat.
-
At the grill
Grill the vegetables first, then the brochettes and merguez to order.
-
To finish
Bring out the ice-cold melon and pour chilled almond milk or iced mint tea.
Host's tips
- Make every salad in the cool of the morning and keep them cold — chilled salads are the heart of a Moroccan summer table.
- Marinate the meat for a few hours with cumin, paprika and onion for the classic brochette flavour.
- Serve the watermelon straight from the fridge, almost icy — it is the traditional Moroccan summer dessert.
- Grill vegetables first while the coals are hottest, then the quick-cooking meat.
- Chilled almond milk (or a thin almond 'juice') is deeply refreshing on a hot night — blend it ahead and chill hard.
Questions about this menu
What do Moroccans eat in summer?
Lighter, cooler food: grilled brochettes and merguez outdoors, chilled salads like zaalouk and cucumber-tomato, and lots of cold watermelon and melon. Meals shift later into the cooler evening.
Why is watermelon so associated with Moroccan summer?
It is cheap, abundant and intensely cooling in the heat. A plate of ice-cold watermelon, sometimes with mint, is the default summer dessert across the country.
What is the classic brochette marinade?
Onion, garlic, cumin, paprika, salt, oil and sometimes coriander. The meat marinates for a few hours, then grills fast over coals and is finished with more cumin and salt at the table.
Can I serve mint tea cold?
Traditionally mint tea is served hot, even in summer, as the belief is that hot tea cools you. But iced mint tea has become popular too, and works well at a summer feast.
What is merguez?
A spicy North African sausage of lamb or beef seasoned with harissa, cumin and paprika. It is a grill staple, cooked quickly over coals until the skin blisters.
Learn to cook this menu with a local in Marrakech
Every dish here is taught, hands-on, in a Marrakech cooking class — or taste them across the medina on a guided food tour.