North African

MOROCCAN COOKS USUALLY MAKE this tasty salad with Swiss chard, but I have seen it also with beet leaves. Eaten all year round, it is prepared by Moroccans on Rosh Hashanah for their Sephardic Seder, when they say a series of blessings over squash, leeks, dates, pomegranates, black-eyed peas, apples, the head of a fish or a lamb, and Swiss chard and beet greens.

I call this herb and spice rub North African because, besides the classic oregano and rosemary, it contains Tunisian and Moroccan spices such as caraway, cumin, and turmeric. In addition, it is spiked with harissa, the ubiquitous hot pepper paste that is to Arab North Africa what chile oil is to Asia. Use the same spice mixture to rub poultry, beef, or pork two to three hours before grilling and leave at room temperature. Or you can mix 3 tablespoons of this rub with 3 tablespoons yogurt and baste chicken breasts or legs or skewered lamb and pork before grilling. Better yet, leave in the spicy yogurt marinade in the refrigerator overnight.

There's character to spare in this layered flatbread, called msemmen in Arabic. The dough is rubbed with spiced oil, rolled into a spiral, flattened, and then cooked on a griddle, for a flakiness that's surprisingly substantial. Zadi likes pairing the flatbread with an acidic dish, which is why we recommend it with the <epi:recipelink id="241504"" target="_new">shrimp charmoula</epi:recipelink>; but, as he points out, the bread actually goes well with the entire meal, so plan on leaving it on the table from Start to finish.

The fact that Algeria shares culinary traditions with Spain, Italy, and France is evident in many of its dishes, like this skabetch (which is quite similar in spirit to Spanish escabeche). The shrimp is pickled in a gently tangy spice mixture for a subtle play of flavors. Charmoula refers to the North African combination of ingredients in the marinade—though every country, town, and even family that makes charmoula creates its own special blend.

"There is no typical tagine of Algeria—the country is too big, and the cooks are all too opinionated to agree on a typical dish," says Zadi. Still, this version epitomizes the spirit of Algerian cooking, with many flavors in perfect balance and no single ingredient overwhelming the others. And we found the savory, juicy meat (simmered with blood-orange preserves and apricots) and the spiced toasted pine nuts to be an absolutely delicious combination.

"Ingredients are considered 'spices' in Algerian cooking," says Zadi, and this slaw illustrates his point, with olives contributing saltiness, carrots and sun-dried tomatoes adding sweetness, and fennel and parsley lending an incredible freshness. In the dead of winter, when vegetables are scarce, the clean flavors of this salad are as close as you're likely to get to a summertime farmers market.

Turnips are appreciated in Algeria not only for their faithful ubiquity but also for how their characteristics change throughout the winter—sweet and mild at the beginning and assertively earthy toward the end. Here, to emphasize their natural nuttiness and complexity, they're gently glazed with butter, then sprinkled with garlicky toasted bread crumbs and abundant poppy seeds.

An easy marinade of garlic, lemon, thyme, and a dollop of the North African hot sauce harissa make these green olives memorable. If you can, prepare the olives ahead—they improve with age.

Lightly garlicky and herbed, Moroccan-inspired carrots are versatile enough to accompany almost any meal.

Common ingredients create a Moroccan meal.

The North African hot sauce called harissa lends this soup its beautiful brick-red color, as well as a deep, spicy warmth that isn’t the least bit aggressive. For a supper that’s both robust and rejuvenating, chard, chickpeas, and noodles go into the pot, too.

In Morocco, toasted cumin is served right beside salt and pepper as a standard seasoning at every meal. Judging by the way it amplifies the taste of the roasted eggplant in this dish, the Moroccans have got the right idea.

Preserved lemons are perhaps most at home in Moroccan dishes, but we love their complex, bright flavor and aroma in all kinds of soups, stews, and salads. We've adapted Mediterranean-food authority Paula Wolfert's quick method and made it even faster by blanching the lemons first. If you manage to find Meyer lemons, this is a great way to capture their unforgettable taste and perfume.

This well-balanced stew is intense yet mellow. The prunes soak up the fragrant spices, and long, slow cooking turns the lamb fork-tender.

These savory pies are filled with fish instead of the traditional squab.

Merguez, the spicy lamb sausages of North Africa, are popular throughout France. These nearly labor-free patties are a quick way to re-create them in your kitchen. The sweetness of the raisin couscous contrasts nicely with the meat's deep spice.

Like cinnamon in this country, cardamom plays a starring role in Algerian sweets. Paired with star anise in a gingery syrup, it gives clementine slices an irresistible aroma, but the syrup would be just as wonderful over any kind of sliced fruit.

Each of these incredibly tender golden puffs is like a warm little gift—break one open and be rewarded with the aroma of oranges and rose water. They're typically a yeast-leavened street food; Zadi's use of a choux paste "is a special touch, more for home cooking," he says. "And almond sugar belongs in the Algerian pastry lexicon."

Ground lamb is a natural choice for a barbecue—its distinctive taste really stands up to the smoke of the grill. These burgers get an extra boost from charmoula, a North African spice mixture.

The strong aromatics in this dish infuse the potatoes with a spirited Moroccan style.

Though there are plenty of chiles in this paste, they don't overpower it. The aromatic bite of coriander, the earthiness of cumin, and the licorice trace of caraway seeds create a pleasingly complex flavor. This paste is also delicious with pork.

Moroccan hospitality, always gracious, begins with mezes, the enticing little dishes set out to welcome guests before the meal. Cumin and mint are a classic combination, and they work particularly well with roasted beets — the cumin underlines their earthiness, and the mint freshens their undeniable sweetness.

Brik The old joke is that brik turns into a brick if the pastry (in Tunisia, malsuqa) is not thin enough. We found spring-roll wrappers had just what the dish required — they are delicate but sturdy enough for the eggy stuffing.

You can barely take a step in the markets of Marrakech without tripping over fresh mint, or at least without being offered a glass of hot, sweet mint tea.