Ras El Hanout

Ras El Hanout is a Moroccan spice blend, it often includes up to 40 different spices, including cardamom, turmeric, nutmeg, allspice, cumin and cinnamon, with some blends claiming to use more than 100 – making it perhaps the most complicated and diverse Moroccan spice blend. There are no hard and fast rules as to how many spices Ras El Hanout should contain and which recipe to use.

Each blend is unique to its region, family or maker. No two are alike. Some blends may add more exotic and rare ingredients, such as ash berries, grains of paradise, dried rosebud, monk’s pepper, and Spanish fly.

Ras El Hanout means “the head of the grocery store” in Arabic, which means “top shelf” and literally implies that these are the best spices that the store or spice merchant has to offer. This flavorful spice is rich, colorful and aromatic and used to season a number of savory dishes, such as tagines, meats, vegetables and stews.