Best Tagine in Tiznit — Souss Berber Slow Cooking

Tiznit sits at the edge of the Souss plain and the Anti-Atlas foothills, in the heartland of Amazigh (Berber) Chleuh cuisine. The tagines here are honest, country cooking: lamb or beef slow-simmered with onion, saffron and cumin; chicken with preserved lemon and the region's excellent olives; and vegetable tagines built on the Souss's carrots, potatoes, courgettes and pumpkin. What marks the local style is the use of argan oil and almonds, both native to this corner of Morocco, which lend a nutty richness you taste less often further north.

A dish to seek out is tagine finished with a spoonful of amlou — the Souss speciality of ground roasted almonds, argan oil and honey — or cooked in argan oil rather than olive oil, giving a distinctive toasted depth. Berber tagines in this region are also often cooked communally and slowly over embers, the conical lid trapping the steam so the meat turns meltingly tender and the sauce reduces to a glossy base you mop up with bread.

The best versions are found at the small canteens and family eateries in and around the medina, especially near the main square and the famous silver souk, where local traders and artisans eat lunch. As everywhere in Morocco, tagine is a lunchtime dish that rewards arriving hungry in the early afternoon, when it has been cooking since morning. A riad or guesthouse table will plate it more prettily, but the flavour is the same tradition.

Order one tagine to share between two with plenty of bread and a simple salad, and do not rush it. In Tiznit, the tagine is the unhurried centre of the meal, the way Souss families have eaten for generations.