North African

Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are excerpted from Paula Wolfert's book The Slow Mediterranean Kitchen. Wolfert also shared some helpful cooking tips exclusively with Epicurious, which we've added at the bottom of the page. In Morocco, this thick puree of greens with herbs and olives is made with a local mallow leaf called baqqula. My equivalent is a combination of greens: spinach or chard, celery, cilantro, and parsley, cooked down to a luscious, thick, dark jam perfumed with spices and heady with smoky tones. In Morocco, our housekeeper, Fatima, prepared this jam in a shallow clay tagine set over charcoal embers. As a result, the greens developed a smoky flavor. I use readily available Spanish pimentón de la Vera to infuse a similar smoky quality. The greens are first steamed over boiling water to preserve flavor and color, then they're slowly fried in a skillet until all the moisture has evaporated. Greens cooked this way become quite delicious. The addition of some chopped oily black olives improves the texture. The jam will keep for up to 4 days. When you wish to serve it, simply thin to a spreadable consistency with water and olive oil and use as a spread or dip. It goes especially well with an earthy flavored semolina flatbread baked on stone or cast iron.

This spicy stew is no garden-variety meal. Healthy eating is easy when Mother Nature cranks out plenty of nutrient-packed produce. Chef Shawn McClain of Chicago's Spring restaurant created a vegetarian dish using a variety of veggies in a tagine, a flavorful Moroccan stew. We can't think of a tastier way to help get your five-a-day.

One of Morocco's major grains, barley brings a malt-like flavor to this surprisingly light bread. Nigella seeds add a pleasant crunch and just the faintest hint of onion. To order the barley flour and nigella seeds, visit kalustyans.com.

Ann Gillespie of Alexandria, Virginia, writes: "Because I'm balancing graduate school and a family, I try to cook things that don't take a lot of time. But I love experimenting with ingredients, so most of my recipes are easy to make and use interesting flavor combinations. The olives and cinnamon in this stew give it a nice Moroccan flavor. This dish balances sweet and savory with tangy Kalamata olives and golden raisins.

A little blanching and sautéing is all it takes to tenderize the collard greens for this easy Moroccan-inspired dish.

Slightly sweet, tangy, and spicy all at once, the easy sauce doubles the flavor of quick-cooking thin-sliced chicken breasts.

Julie Fendrich of Denver, Colorado, writes: "My husband and I love going to Brix in Denver's Cherry Creek neighborhood. We are absolutely crazy about the Moroccan chicken. Any chance the restaurant might share the recipe?" Harissa, a spicy sauce from North Africa, adds heat to the marinade and tastes great drizzled over both the chicken and the couscous. The chicken needs to marinate overnight, so plan accordingly.

Any kind of flatbread or crusty roll is perfect with this Moroccan concoction. You could also use the dip as a salad dressing or sauce for fish.

Goes great with: Couscous flavored with chopped mint, toasted slivered almonds, and grated lemon peel. What to drink: Australian Shiraz or red Faugères from the Languedoc in France.

This delicious bread, which has been part of Egyptian cuisine since the time of the Pharaohs, gets beautiful color and vibrant flavor from dukka, a blend of spices and nuts widely used in the Middle East.

The spicy North African condiment called harissa is often mixed with olives or served with salads, couscous, or tagines — meat or poultry stews.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Cinnamon, cloves, ginger and cayenne pepper enhance this North African-style dish. Serve the stew over the Saffron-Cardamom Rice or plain basmati rice.

A colorful, aromatic rice that is good with the Spicy Lamb Stew with Apricots and Cardamom, or with broiled chicken, fish or vegetables.

This fragrant stew is great over couscous.

This vibrant, aromatic Moroccan spice blend makes an excellent addition to lamb burgers or roasted chicken.

A blend of cumin, chili powder, and cinnamon gives this dish its Moroccan flair.

Chermoula Chermoula is a traditional North African marinade for fish, especially in Morocco where, surprisingly, it's often used with shad. It has become very popular recently with North American restaurant chefs as a quick and easy (and cheap!) way to add lots of flavor to bland fish. Many old-fashioned recipes don't call for cilantro and parsley at all, but the fresh flavor of the green herbs adds a great deal to the preparation. Instead of shad, which is hard to find even when it's in season, and very difficult to bone, I use salmon steaks or fillets. You could substitute many other kinds of fish, including swordfish, halibut, haddock, and even fresh-water fish, such as catfish and perch.

These rolls are based loosely on b'stilla — a phyllo-crusted "pie" of shredded chicken that's been simmered with Moroccan spices and then mixed with egg and nuts. The egg lends the filling an almost custard-like richness.