The Moroccan Pantry: Ras el Hanout, Preserved Lemon, Smen

Specialised

⚠ RAS EL HANOUT IS NOT A RECIPE, IT IS A MERCHANT’S SIGNATURE. The name means "head of the shop" and it is whatever that spice seller’s best blend is — commonly a dozen to thirty components, typically including cinnamon, ginger, turmeric, cumin, coriander, black and long pepper, cardamom, clove, nutmeg, mace, allspice, galangal, rosebud, lavender and cubeb, with historic blends containing items now restricted or abandoned. ⚠ ANY SYSTEM PRESENTING ONE FIXED INGREDIENT LIST AS "THE" RAS EL HANOUT IS WRONG BY CONSTRUCTION, and this row records variation as the defining property. PRESERVED LEMON (hamd marakad): lemons quartered, packed in salt and their own juice, and left for weeks until the rind goes soft and the flavour turns from sour to something else entirely — the rind is the part used. SMEN: butter salted, sometimes herbed, and aged in a sealed crock for months or years until it is pungent and cheese-like; ⚠ SMEN, CLARIFIED BUTTER AND FRESH BUTTER ARE THREE DIFFERENT INGREDIENTS and substituting one is not a small change. Also CHERMOULA, the coriander, cumin, garlic, paprika and lemon marinade of the coast; HARISSA, which is more Tunisian than Moroccan and is recorded as such; olives cured every way; and orange-flower and rose water.