North African

This recipe is an accompaniment for <epi:recipe link="" id="107089">Cinnamon-Roasted Chicken with Harissa Sauce</epi:recipe>.

For a great one-dish meal, serve this rich stew over rice. If you want to make it even more authentic, use couscous, a small grain-shaped pasta that is often found in North African and Middle Eastern cooking. It's available at many supermarkets and specialty foods stores.

Begin preparing this a day ahead.

Preserved lemons are a staple Moroccan condiment that can take up to 2 weeks to make in the traditional manner. Added to various foods, they impart a tangy brininess similar to that of olives but with the unique perfume of lemon. In most Moroccan dishes only the peel is used, the pulp being scraped away and discarded. However, the pulp is not wholly without value, making a delicious addition to Bloody Marys, and to salad dressings — wherever a salty-sour taste is welcome. The recipe below is an effort to approximate preserved lemons without having to plan a week or more in advance.

The popular North African chili paste known as harissa is featured in a braised-chicken dish from Laura Dewell, chef-owner of Pirosmani restaurant in Seattle.

This dish is delicious over couscous, which will absorb the flavorful broth.

This fragrant mélange mixes starchy tastes with sweet. The dish is like a stir-fry, only it's done in the oven—a great, no-fuss way to cook a slew of vegetables.

Call them galettes sucrees, mandelbrot, or biscotti — I love these Moroccan cookies, made by Rosette Toledano of Netanya, who, as her daughter says, "puts her heart in her cooking."

This dish is a characteristic Moroccan Jewish preparation. North Africans, Jews and non-Jews alike, are particularly skilled at cooking fish because the long coastline yields so much. Dried chickpeas, a staple starch in the Mediterranean, traveled with the Jews when they emigrated.

For some appropriate side dishes, dress shredded carrots with a cumin, cilantro and lemon vinaigrette, and add almonds and raisins to couscous. Top it all off with pistachio ice cream and mint tea.

Preserved lemons, sold ready-made in Moroccan souks, are essential to that country's cuisine. The peel, pulp, and juice squeezed from the lemons can all be used. Sometimes, however, the juice and preserving brine can be bitter; use fresh lemon juice in that case.

Robert Colombi of Paris, France, writes: "My mother was Sicilian and my father, Corsican, but I was born in Morocco and lived there for many years. As I became older, I developed a stronger interest in cooking, especially after I moved to France and got married. I guess I started to feel very nostalgic about the country of my childhood, and it became more important for me to remember and re-create those tastes for my French friends and family." Reminiscent of lightly fried pita bread, this rustic treat is good for breakfast. It is named after the first inhabitants of North Africa.

This Moroccan-style dipping sauce would also be delicious on grilled chicken or fish. Active time: 20 min Start to finish: 1 hr

Moroccan Turkey Pie Traditionally, Moroccan b'stilla is a pie made with minced squab.

This frittata-like preparation, called maakouda, can be made with meat, chicken, fish or vegetables. Served hot or cold, it is a standard Tunisian hors d'oeuvre, but is also great for brunch, lunch or supper. The eggplant is broiled, not fried, so it does not absorb a lot of oil.