Ingredients
The Best Olives for Moroccan Cooking
Morocco is one of the world's great olive countries, and the barrels of olives in every souk are graded by colour, cure and use. Knowing which olive goes where — a firm green in a tagine, a wrinkled beldi on a salad plate — makes a real difference, because the wrong olive can turn bitter or fall apart in the pot.
At a glance
- Firm green (picholine-type) olives for cooking — they hold shape in a tagine
- Wrinkled beldi olives are best for the table and salads, not braising
- Marinated purple-red olives are the classic snacking and mezze choice
- Rinse or briefly blanch very salty olives before adding to a dish
Guide
For the classic chicken tagine with preserved lemon, you want a firm, meaty green olive that holds its shape through cooking and stays pleasantly savoury rather than turning bitter. In Morocco these are the picholine-type green olives; wherever you are, choose a firm green cracked olive, ideally unpitted for the best flavour and texture. Give them a quick rinse, and if they are very salty or sharp, a brief soak or blanch in fresh water takes the edge off so they don't overwhelm the dish.
The dark, wrinkled beldi olives — slow-cured, oil-glossy and intensely flavoured — are more of a table and salad olive than a cooking one. Their soft flesh and concentrated, almost fermented taste is wonderful alongside bread, in a Moroccan salad, or scattered over a plate, but they can go mushy and overpowering if braised. Purple-red olives sit in between: half-ripe, cracked and marinated with herbs, garlic, chilli or preserved lemon, they are classic snacking and mezze olives.
Buy from a busy stall with high turnover so the olives are fresh, and taste before you commit — barrels vary hugely. Store them in the fridge covered in their brine or a little olive oil, and they keep for weeks. As a rule of thumb: firm green olives for the tagine, wrinkled beldi and marinated purple olives for the table.
Practical tips
- 1
Cook with unpitted olives if you can — more flavour and firmer texture than pre-pitted.
- 2
Taste before buying; olive barrels vary wildly in salt and bitterness.
- 3
Rinse or blanch sharp green olives so they don't turn a tagine bitter.
- 4
Store olives in their brine or under oil in the fridge — they last for weeks.
- 5
Add olives near the end of cooking so they warm through without going soft or bitter.
Frequently asked questions
What olives are best for a chicken tagine?
Firm, meaty green olives — picholine-type or any good firm green cracked olive that holds its shape and stays savoury through braising. Rinse them first if they are very salty.
What are beldi olives?
Beldi are Morocco's dark, wrinkled, slow-cured olives — soft, oily and intensely flavoured. They shine on the table and in salads but can turn mushy and overpowering if cooked in a tagine.
Should I use pitted or unpitted olives?
Unpitted, where practical — they keep more flavour and a firmer texture in cooking. Just warn diners about the stones, or pit them yourself just before serving.
Try the recipes
Put the tip into practice with these free step-by-step recipes: