Ahriche — Khenifra, Morocco

Ahriche is a skewer built from lamb offal, typically liver, heart, lung and a piece of caul fat, cut into pieces and wound together with a length of intestine around a stick, then grilled slowly over hot coals. Its name comes from the Berber word for stick, a direct reference to the way it is cooked. The dish is reported among the Zayane tribes of the Khénifra region, in the Middle Atlas of Morocco, where it is prepared at markets and family gatherings, particularly around occasions when a sheep is slaughtered and its offal needs using promptly. To prepare it, the offal is cut into bite-sized pieces and seasoned simply, usually with salt, cumin and crushed garlic. The pieces are threaded onto a stick of oak, and a strip of intestine is wound around them to hold everything together as it cooks. The skewer is then set over hot embers and turned regularly for fifteen to twenty minutes, until the outside is charred and the offal inside is cooked through. Ahriche belongs to a broader family of Moroccan grilled offal dishes, alongside preparations such as boulfaf, where liver is wrapped in caul fat rather than wound with intestine. It is usually eaten hot off the stick, torn apart by hand, and shared straight from the coals with bread.