Ras El Hanout

Pronuonced "raas el ha newt", Ras el Hanout may be the ultimate exotic blend and is Morocco's spicy answer to India's complex curries. If you love Moroccan cuisine, then this is one spice blend that must be in your spice cabinet. In most Moroccan kitchen’s this is not considered an everyday spice blend but is instead reserved more for specialty dishes.

Ras el Hanout translates to “top of the shop” and for Moroccan spices merchants (called souks in Morocco) it is a badge of honor to have the region’s most sought after version of this blend. Some versions have been known to have as many as 100 individual spices and there are stories of some of the most sought after spice merchants creating custom blends of Ras el Hanout for distinguished and discreet customers with ingredients that included Spanish fly and even hashish. 

Our version of Ras el Hanout skips the Spanish fly and hash but does have traditional ingredients like cubeb pepper, lavender, long pepper and rose petals. A top quality Ras el Hanout is an impressive representation of how a carefully crafted mix of diverse spices can be married to create a spice blend where the sum is much greater than the individual spices.

If you’re not familiar with Ras el Hanout it might be easier to describe it as a bit like a curry but with a floral aroma, a spicy kick (but not necessarily hot) and subtle layers of complex flavors. 

Ras el Hanout is a very versatile seasoning used to add color and captivating flavor to chicken or vegetable tagines, add ½ - 1 teaspoon to a cup of couscous or rice, use as rub on your favorite barbeque meat (especially good with beef, chicken or lamb) or create a marinade by mixing with olive oil and lemon juice. 

Our Ras El Hanout is hand blended from smoked sweet paprika, brown mustard, black pepper, cumin, grains of paradise, turmeric, coriander, long pepper, nigella, caraway, anise, cardamom, mace, ginger, korintje, lavender, cubeb, ajwain and rose petals.