The History of Tomatoes in Moroccan Cuisine

A slow arrival from the New World

The tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) was domesticated in the Americas and carried back to Europe by Spanish and Portuguese traders in the 16th century. Like many New World foods, it was met at first with suspicion — regarded as ornamental or even poisonous before it was widely eaten. It spread around the Mediterranean over the following two centuries, reaching North Africa through the same networks of trade and contact, particularly via Spain and the coastal ports.

Its adoption in Morocco was gradual. Dishes that now seem to depend on tomatoes — kefta tagine, loubia, many braises and salads — must originally have been made with other bases, and the tomato slotted into these preparations as it became available and familiar. By the modern era it had become one of the most-used vegetables in the cuisine.

How the tomato reshaped the cuisine

The tomato's arrival changed Moroccan cooking in concrete ways. It gave the everyday tagine its rich, slightly sweet, brothy sauce; it made possible the cheap bean and vegetable stews that feed ordinary households; and it became the base of the cooked salads and the raw chopped salad that open so many meals. Combined with paprika and other New World arrivals, it helped create a whole layer of the cuisine that feels traditional but is in fact only a few centuries old.

The chopped salad of tomato, onion and herbs — sometimes with cucumber and green pepper — is now so standard that it accompanies grilled meats and couscous across the country. Tomato also underpins the sauces of dishes as varied as kefta, loubia and many fish preparations.

• Tagines: tomato gives the everyday braise its rich, sweet-sharp sauce.
• Salads: the raw chopped salad of tomato, onion and herbs is a standard side.
• Stews: loubia and many bean and vegetable dishes are built on a tomato base.

Morocco the tomato exporter

In the modern era, Morocco has become not just a consumer but a major producer of tomatoes. The Souss-Massa region around Agadir, with its long growing season and extensive greenhouses, produces tomatoes on an industrial scale, and Morocco ranks among the world's leading exporters, supplying European markets in particular. This has made the tomato an important part of the national economy as well as the national diet.

For the broader story of American crops in Moroccan food, see New World foods in Moroccan cuisine, and for a dish that depends entirely on the tomato, see the history of kefta tagine.