north african

These carrots made with homemade harissa make the perfect side for meat, chicken, fish, or egg dishes.

Harissa Spiked Carrots

caraway seeds

cumin seeds

coriander seeds

garlic

red peppers

chiles,

red fresno chiles

extra virgin olive oil,

lemon juice lemon

salt

black pepper

carrots

Kosher salt

Chickpeas bring nuttiness (and protein) to Jill Dupleix's sweet, spicy little carrot cakes. Serve them with harissa yoghurt and watercress or a crunchy green salad.

Carrot cakes with harissa yoghurt

(600 grams) carrots, sliced

can chickpeas, rinsed, drained

coriander leaves

cumin

coriander

egg, lightly beaten

harissa (see note)

low-fat Greek-style yoghurt

olive oil

bunch watercress, sprigs picked

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Morocco's very own version of the pasty - spiced meat and apricots are wrapped in crisp filo pastry and finished with cinnamon sugar

Chicken & almond pastillas

butter

red onion

ginger

cinnamon

cardamom pods

turmeric

chicken thighs

plain flour

chicken stock

tbsp clear honey

ground almond

orange

apricot

almond

parsley

feuille de brick or filo pastry

icing sugar

Heat 1 tbsp butter in a large casserole dish, add the onion, ginger and garlic, and cook for 5 mins until soft. Add the cinnamon, the cardamom seeds and the turmeric. Stir around the pan for 30 secs until aromatic, then add the chicken and flour. Stir to coat the chicken pieces, then add the chicken stock and season. Stir, cover with a lid and leave to simmer for 45 mins.

Remove the lid from the pan and lift the chicken pieces onto a plate. Add the honey and almonds to the cooking liquid and turn up the heat. Bubble the liquid until thick and reduced by about half. Meanwhile, finely shred the chicken with 2 forks. Return the chicken to the sauce and stir in the orange zest, apricots, flaked almonds and parsley – the mixture should be quite thick. Leave to cool.

Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Unwrap the pastry, keeping any you’re not working with under a damp tea towel, so it doesn’t dry out. Taking one piece at a time, brush all over with the melted butter, and around the edges with the beaten egg. Put roughly a sixth of the chicken filling in the top right-hand corner in a triangular shape. Fold the opposite side of the pastry over to cover the filling. Keep flipping the encased filing down the pastry, brushing between the layers with butter as you go, to give you a triangular parcel, like a large samosa. Repeat with the remaining pastry and filling until you have 6 pastillas. Put the pastillas on a baking tray and brush the tops with egg. Bake for 25 mins until the pastry is crisp and golden.

For an authentic finish, mix together the remaining cinnamon and icing sugar, and dust the pastillas just before serving.

A North African medley of fragrant spices to be used in tagines, as a marinade and much more - add rose petals for extra authenticity

Ras el hanout spice mix

½ tbsp cumin seed

coriander seed

tbsp ground cinnamon or 1 cinnamon stick

tsp black peppercorn

tsp turmeric

½ tsp cardamom pod (seeds from about 10 pods)

saffron (optional)

Toast the whole spices in a small pan until they are aromatic and have turned a shade or two darker. Don’t be tempted to skip this stage, as it really enhances the flavours.

Tip into a spice grinder (or use a pestle and mortar), then add the ready-ground spices and dried herbs if required, and crush to a fine powder. Store in a sealed jar for up to six months.

A deceptively easy weeknight chicken dish (as long as you have cooked or canned chickpeas around) with much of the exotic spicing that makes North African cuisine so enjoyable. With the added chickpeas and vegetables, it’s also very nearly a one-pot meal; just serve it with rice or—more in keeping—couscous (page 526) and you’re all set.

Chicken Thighs with Chickpeas

chicken thighs,

Salt and black pepper

cardamom

cayenne,

extra virgin olive oil

zucchini

cooked (page 431) or canned chickpeas

tomatoes (drained canned are fine)

chicken stock,

lemon juice,

cilantro leaves

Epicurious

Remove the skin from the chicken. Combine the salt, pepper, cumin, cardamom, cinnamon, and cayenne and rub this mixture all over the meat.

Put the oil in a deep skillet or flameproof casserole, preferably nonstick, with a lid. Turn the heat to medium-high and wait a minute or so, until the oil is hot. Add the chicken, smooth side down, and brown it lightly, rotating and turning the pieces as necessary, about 10 minutes.

Add the zucchini. Raise the heat to high and cook, stirring occasionally, until the zucchini begins to brown, about 10 minutes. Add the chickpeas and tomatoes and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes; do not let the mixture dry out completely.

Add the stock and bring to a boil; turn down the heat, cover, and cook for about 20 minutes, or until the thighs are tender and cooked through. Season with lemon juice, salt, and pepper; taste and adjust the seasoning, then garnish and serve.

Vibrantly colored, mouth-watering collard-peanut pesto adds flair to this zucchini recipe that brings out the best of zucchini and other squashes.

Oven-Roasted Zucchini

collard leaves

peanuts

white miso paste

olive oil,

zucchini (about 11/2 pounds total), cut into 1/2-inch dice

Forks down, my favorite way of preparing summer squash is grilling. When that method isn’t convenient, I use this simple oven-roasting technique instead. Good olive oil, salt, and pepper are enough to bring out the best of garden-fresh zucchini and other squashes, but I created a vibrantly colored, mouth-watering collard-peanut pesto to add a little flair to this dish. Rather than tossing the zucchini in the pesto, however, I simply add dollops of it to the bowl for people to incorporate as much as they like into their individual servings. This recipe is inspired by courgettes avec des arachides (French for “zucchini with peanuts”), a classic dish from the north-central African country Chad, but feel free to experiment with other summer squashes (pattypan, crookneck, zucchetta)—dealer’s choice.

In a food processor, combine the collards, peanuts, miso, and garlic and blend until it forms a chunky paste. While the food processor is running, slowly pour in the olive oil through the feed tube, adding more if needed to reach your desired consistency. Season with salt, pepper, and additional lemon juice to taste. Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 450°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. 
In a large bowl, toss the zucchini with the olive oil and salt, then spread the zucchini over the baking sheet in one even layer. Roast until the zucchini is brown around the edges, 18 to 20 minutes. To serve, transfer the zucchini to a bowl and give it a few turns of pepper. Next, drop in a few heaping dollops of pesto so that people can scoop as much as they’d like when serving themselves, adding more pesto to the bowl as needed. Pile the peanuts in a small serving bowl and present alongside the zucchini.

For any leftover pesto, pour a thin layer of olive oil over it, cover, and refrigerate for up to 1 week.

This simple soup, which comes from the Amazigh, or Berber, community of North Africa, perfectly demonstrates how just a few ingredients can create a wholesome and comforting meal. Pearl barley has a distinctive taste and texture that once cooked, naturally thickens soups and gives them a creamy consistency. The sweetness of the paprika and tomatoes against the boldness of the thyme and pearl barley give this soup its special flavor and appeal. The dried thyme is added at the end of the cooking process to preserve its aromas. Feel free to customize your t’chicha by adding your choice of chopped vegetables such as eggplant or zucchini and proteins such as cooked chicken or beef. 

T’chicha (Barley and Tomato Soup)

yellow onion, diced into ¼-inch pieces

pearl barley

tomatoes

garlic cloves, grated

sweet paprika

fine sea salt

vegetable stock (or water)

thyme

Add the olive oil to a large pot over medium-low. Add the onion, cover the pan, and cook stirring occasionally, until the onion is soft and translucent, about 7 minutes.

Add the pearl barley, canned tomatoes, garlic, sweet paprika, salt and stock. Bring to a boil over high. Reduce the heat to low, cover with a lid and leave to simmer for 45 minutes or until the barley is fully cooked. At this stage of the cooking process, you might need to add more water progressively to the pot to achieve a soup consistency. 

Stir in the dried thyme, taste, and adjust the seasoning with salt if necessary. Serve immediately with a generous drizzle of olive oil and a couple of fresh thyme sprigs, if desired.

Toss green beans with tons of olive oil and aromatics and surrender the whole thing to your oven for an hour or two until it becomes impossibly soft and caramelized.

Slow-Cooked Green Beans

harissa paste

kosher salt

Tbsp. sherry vinegar

Bon Appétit

Place a rack in middle of oven and preheat to 350°. Toss green beans, garlic, oil, harissa, cumin seeds, and salt in a shallow 2-qt. baking dish to combine.

Turn garlic cut side down, then roast vegetables, tossing 2 or 3 times, until golden brown and very tender, 60–70 minutes. Let cool slightly, then add vinegar and toss to coat.

A tasty one-pan roast chicken supper with lemon, cumin, paprika, coriander and other North African flavours

Chicken, red pepper & almond traybake

boneless, skinless chicken thigh

red onions

small red potato

tsp each ground cumin, smoked paprika and fennel seeds

lemon

whole blanched almond

tub 0% Greek yogurt

Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Place the chicken, onions, potatoes and peppers in a large bowl and season. in another bowl, mix together the garlic, spices, oil, and lemon zest and juice. Pour this over everything and spread the mixture between 2 baking trays.

Roast for 40 mins, turning over after 20 mins, until the chicken is cooked through. Add the almonds for the final 8 mins of cooking. Serve in bowls with a big dollop of Greek yogurt and some chopped parsley or coriander.

I love Moroccan and North African food as a whole. It's sweet, savory, smoky, spicy, warm. This Cornish game hen tagine with olives, dried apricots, chickpeas, preserved lemons, harissa, and a lot of warm spices feel special. Everything cooks together beautifully right on the stovetop, but this could also go into the oven as well. Serve this over some couscous and you are set!

Cornish Game Hen Tagine

Cornish game hens, spatchcocked (optional)

Diamond Crystal kosher salt,

smoked paprika

yellow onion, sliced

garlic cloves,

ginger, minced

lemon,

apricots

Castelvetrano olives, pitted

saffron threads,

chickpeas,

lemon, thinly sliced

dill,

mint,

Prepare the hens: Pat the hens dry with paper towels. If desired, spatchcock the hens by removing the backbones with a pair of kitchen shears and pressing down on the breastbone so that the hens lay flat. This will help them cook more evenly. Season generously with salt, pepper, smoked paprika, coriander, turmeric, and cumin. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and massage the spices into the hens.

Sear the hens: Heat the olive oil in a tagine or large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the hens skin-side down and sear until golden brown, about 3 minutes. If the hens are browning too quickly, reduce the heat slightly. Remove the hens and set aside.

Sauté the aromatics: Reduce heat to medium. Add the onion to the pot and cook until softened, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the garlic and ginger and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute more.

Bloom the spices: Add the smoked paprika, coriander, cumin, and turmeric to the pot and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

Build the tagine: Stir in the preserved lemon, apricots, olives, saffron, chickpeas, and chicken stock. Stir to combine. Reduce to a gentle simmer. Taste for seasoning and adjust with salt and pepper as needed.

Return the hens: Return the hens: Nestle the hens into the sauce. Spoon sauce over the hens and evenly place the slices of lemon. Cover the tagine or pot and cook until the hens are cooked through and the sauce has thickened, about 30 minutes.

Serve: Transfer the hens to a platter and spoon the sauce over them. Garnish with sprigs of fresh dill and fresh mint leaves. Finish with an extra drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. Serve hot with either a side of couscous or rice.

Top 10 north african recipes from across the web

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Top Tags

Harissa Spiked Carrots

Carrot cakes with harissa yoghurt

Chicken & almond pastillas

Ras el hanout spice mix

Chicken Thighs with Chickpeas

Oven-Roasted Zucchini

T’chicha (Barley and Tomato Soup)

Slow-Cooked Green Beans

Chicken, red pepper & almond trayba...

Cornish Game Hen Tagine

Top 10 north african recipes from across the web

The most viewed north african recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engineic_arrow_forward_48px

Top Tags

Harissa Spiked Carrots

Carrot cakes with harissa yoghurt

Chicken & almond pastillas

Ras el hanout spice mix

Chicken Thighs with Chickpeas

Oven-Roasted Zucchini

T’chicha (Barley and Tomato Soup)

Slow-Cooked Green Beans

Chicken, red pepper & almond trayba...

Cornish Game Hen Tagine

The most viewed north african recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine