Story and taste
In the cedar forests of the Middle Atlas, Amazigh families have hunted wild rabbit for centuries - it was the everyday protein before chicken became cheap. The tagine of rabbit with olives is the dish of Sefrou's spring festivals, when the apple orchards bloom and families gather to mark the season's turn. There is a Sefrou tradition: a young hunter's first rabbit is not eaten by him but gifted to the eldest grandmother, who cooks it for the whole family. She is the one who decides which olive blend (green picholine from the trees near the river, red olives cured in salt) goes into the tagine. The dish is considered the truest test of a cook's patience, because rabbit must be slow-cooked gently or it becomes tough and stringy.