Winter Celebration menu
Winter Solstice Moroccan Menu — A Deep-Warmth Cold-Night Table
On the longest, coldest nights, Moroccan cooking reaches for its most warming dishes — soups thick enough to stand a spoon in, fenugreek-scented rfissa, and slow, spiced tagines. This solstice menu is deep winter comfort: a bowl of harira, restorative rfissa, a rich beef tagine, and warm sellou to finish. It is food designed to thaw you from the inside. Below are the courses, a shopping list and a timeline. See the recipes and a how-to on making rfissa.
The menu
Soup
Harira
The thick tomato, lentil and chickpea soup that warms every Moroccan winter table.
Restorative dish
Rfissa
Shredded msemen or day-old bread soaked in a fenugreek-and-lentil chicken broth — deeply warming and traditionally strengthening.
Main
Beef tagine with prunes and almonds
Slow-cooked beef sweetened with prunes, honey and cinnamon, scattered with fried almonds.
Side
Buttered couscous or warm bread
Simple buttery couscous or torn warm bread to soak up the rich sauces.
To finish
Warm sellou with mint tea
Spoonfuls of the toasted-flour, almond and honey sellou, warming and energy-rich, with hot mint tea.
Drink
Mint tea and spiced coffee
Hot mint tea, plus a small cup of Moroccan spiced coffee (with cinnamon and black pepper) for the cold.
Shopping list
- Tomatoes, lentils, chickpeas, celery and herbs (for harira)
- Chicken, fenugreek seeds and lentils (for rfissa)
- Msemen or day-old bread (for rfissa base)
- Beef on the bone, prunes, honey and cinnamon (for the tagine)
- Blanched almonds and onions
- Couscous and butter (or bread)
- Toasted flour, ground almonds, sesame and honey (for sellou)
- Ras el hanout, ginger and saffron
- Coffee, cinnamon and black pepper (for spiced coffee)
- Green tea and fresh mint
Prep timeline
-
1 week before
Make the sellou; it keeps for weeks and is ready to warm through when needed.
-
Day before
Make the harira; it is better reheated. Soak any dried pulses.
-
Afternoon
Start the beef tagine braising; build the rfissa broth with fenugreek and lentils.
-
1 hour before
Steam the couscous; shred the msemen for the rfissa and soak it in the hot broth.
-
At the table
Serve harira first, then rfissa, then the tagine; finish with warm sellou and tea.
Host's tips
- Make the harira a day ahead — it deepens overnight and only needs gentle reheating.
- Rfissa is traditionally a strengthening dish; the fenugreek is essential to its character, so don't skip it.
- Braise the beef long and slow for the coldest-night tenderness.
- Warm the sellou slightly before serving to bring out its aroma on a cold evening.
- Moroccan spiced coffee with cinnamon and pepper is a lovely warming end to a winter meal.
Questions about this menu
What is the most warming Moroccan dish for winter?
Harira soup and rfissa are the great warmers — thick, spiced and restorative. Rich prune tagines and buttery couscous complete a deep-winter table designed to heat you from within.
What is rfissa?
A comforting dish of shredded msemen or bread soaked in a chicken broth flavoured with fenugreek, lentils and ras el hanout. It is traditionally served to new mothers for its warming, strengthening qualities.
Why is fenugreek used in rfissa?
Fenugreek (helba) gives rfissa its distinctive slightly bitter, maple-like aroma and is believed in Moroccan tradition to be nourishing and warming, especially after childbirth.
Can sellou be served warm?
It is usually eaten at room temperature, but gently warming it on a cold night releases its toasted, honeyed aroma beautifully and makes it especially comforting.
What is Moroccan spiced coffee?
Coffee brewed or infused with warm spices — commonly cinnamon, black pepper, nutmeg and sometimes sesame or anise. It is a warming, aromatic cup popular in the cold months and in some regions year-round.
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.