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Cavatelli molisani con broccoli
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Cavatelli molisani con broccoli

Cavatelli with broccoli

In the hill villages around Campobasso, cavatelli are still made by hand on Sunday mornings: a plain dough of durum wheat semolina and water, cut into little nuggets and dragged under two fingers so each one curls into a hollow shell. In winter they are cooked in the same pot as broccoli until the florets collapse into a green, garlicky sauce flecked with chilli; in summer the same pasta gets a simple tomato sauce. The pasta is chewy and rustic, the sauce soft and peppery. Chef's tip: keep the dough firm and a touch dry, so the cavatelli curl neatly instead of sticking to the board.

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10 minHong KongDrinksGluten free
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Zagorska juhaPotato and mushroom soup

The green, hilly Zagorje north of Zagreb, in Croatia, is known for castles, vineyards and filling soups like this one, served in country inns before roast duck or as a meal on its own on chilly days. Potatoes and wild or chestnut mushrooms are simmered with paprika and marjoram, then finished with sour cream and a dash of vinegar, so the broth turns velvety with a gentle tang. Some versions add smoked bacon or sausage; this one is vegetarian, with dried porcini for a deep, woodsy flavour. Serve with dark bread. Where most people go wrong is boiling the soup after the sour cream goes in, which makes it curdle; warm it through and keep it below a simmer. Chef's tip: strain the porcini soaking liquid through a paper towel and add it to the pot; it is half the flavour.

45 minBalkanSoupsGluten free
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Zalai dödölleFried potato dumplings

Zala county, in the green hills of south-west Hungary, is so proud of dödölle that villages hold festivals for it. Potatoes are boiled, mashed with flour into a stiff dough right in their pot, then scooped into little lumps with a spoon dipped in hot fat and fried with plenty of onion until crisp and brown on the outside and soft inside. The old way is to fry them in lard; this version uses oil, so it is vegan, though a knob of butter is lovely if you eat dairy. Eat them as a side, or as a main with sauerkraut, cucumber salad or a mushroom stew. A common mistake is drying the dough out with too much flour, which makes heavy, gluey lumps; it should be thick but still a little sticky. Chef's tip: dip the spoon in the hot oil before every scoop, and the dödölle slide off smooth.

50 minHungarianSidesVegan
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Zamarod palawSpinach rice with lamb

Herati cooks call this rice zamarod, emerald, for its colour: long-grain rice steamed with a purée of spinach and herbs so that every grain is tinted a soft green, with pieces of lamb tucked inside that have been braised until they fall from the bone. It is served at family gatherings and for guests in spring when spinach is sweet, piled on a platter with yogurt, salad and pickles on the side. The rice tastes gently grassy and savoury, rounded out by the lamb broth and a little cumin. Cooking the spinach too long dulls it to khaki, so wilt it briefly and blend it straight away. Chef's tip: use a generous handful of fresh coriander and dill with the spinach; they make the green brighter and the flavour more lively.

105 minAfghanRice & GrainsGluten free
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ZeamăSour chicken noodle soup

In the Republic of Moldova, zeamă is the soup of weddings, christenings and Sunday lunches, and a pot of it is said to cure everything from a cold to a hangover. A homegrown chicken gives a golden broth, thin homemade egg noodles go in, and it is soured with borș, the fermented wheat-bran liquid sold in bottles at every market from Chișinău to Bălți, then scented with a big bunch of lovage. The taste is clean, bright and tangy, with the green, celery-like note of lovage on top. It is eaten piping hot, often with a raw onion or a hot pepper on the side. A common mistake is cooking the noodles in the broth for too long, which clouds it; boil them only until just tender. Chef's tip: if you cannot find borș, use the juice of 1 lemon instead, adding it at the end and tasting as you go.

90 minRomanianSoups
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Zeeuwse bolusCinnamon sugar spiral bun

Zeeuwse bolussen are the sticky spiral buns of Zeeland, the delta province in the south-west, brought there, it is said, by Portuguese Jewish bakers in the 17th century: a soft yeast dough rolled in dark brown sugar and cinnamon, twisted into a coil and baked until the sugar caramelises into a sticky, dark crust. Middelburg bakeries sell them with butter. A common mistake is rolling them in too little sugar; they need a thick coat for the caramel. Chef's tip: twist the sugared rope tightly before coiling it, so the sugar is trapped in the folds.

65 minDutchBaking
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ZelňákSauerkraut yeast pie

Out in the Moravian wine villages, when bread was baked in the communal oven, the last of the dough went into zelňák: a flat yeast base spread with sour cabbage and fried onion and baked until the edges blister. It is still sold in bakeries around Brno and Hodonín and eaten warm in slices with a glass of buttermilk or new wine. Old recipes fry the onion in lard or add crackling; this version uses oil and butter and is vegetarian. The topping is tangy, sweet from the onion and scented with caraway, over a soft, bready base. Where it often goes wrong is using wet sauerkraut straight from the jar, which turns the base soggy. Squeeze it well and fry it first. Chef's tip: a thin layer of sour cream under the cabbage keeps the base moist and stops the topping drying out.

120 minCzechBaking
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ŽemlovkaApple and bread pudding

Thrifty Czech kitchens never throw away a stale roll, and žemlovka is the delicious proof. Slices of yesterday's rohlíky or žemle are soaked in sweet vanilla milk and egg, layered with cinnamon apples and raisins, and baked until the top is crunchy and the inside set like a soft custard. It is a favourite Bohemian Sunday afternoon pudding in autumn, when the orchard apples are in, and it often appears in school canteens as a sweet main course. Serve it warm, dusted with icing sugar, with a glass of cold milk. A common mistake is drowning the bread in milk, which makes a soggy, heavy pudding; dip the slices quickly so they are moist but still hold their shape. Chef's tip: use tart cooking apples and keep the top layer bread, buttered, so it bakes to a golden crust.

60 minCzechDesserts
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ŽganciBuckwheat spoonbread

Before coffee was cheap in rural Slovenia, breakfast on farms in Gorenjska and Dolenjska was a bowl of ajdovi žganci with a mug of milk, or a scoop of them beside a ladle of sauerkraut or bean soup at lunch. Buckwheat flour is dropped into boiling salted water as a single lump, steamed through a hole poked in the middle, then broken up with a fork into small, crumbly, nutty lumps, a little like an earthy couscous. Traditionally lard and crisp pork cracklings (ocvirki) go over the top; this vegan version uses sunflower oil and deeply fried onions instead. Serve with sauerkraut, beans or a mushroom sauce. Buckwheat is naturally gluten free, but check the flour is labelled so. Stirring the flour in like polenta is where it goes wrong: leave the heap alone so it steams, or you get sticky gruel instead of crumbs. Chef's tip: keep the drained cooking water; it loosens leftovers and makes a good base for soup.

40 minBalkanRice & GrainsVeganGluten free
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Zhal-zhayaPressed boiled brisket

Zhal and zhaya are two prized cuts from the Kazakh feast: zhal is the band of fat from the crest of a horse's neck and zhaya the meaty rump, salted, sometimes smoked, then boiled, pressed and sliced thin to serve cold beside kazy at weddings and Nauryz. They are traditionally horse meat; this recipe uses beef brisket with its fat cap, which gives the same layered slices of meat and fat, as the site does not use horse. A common mistake is slicing it warm, which crumbles the meat and smears the fat. Chef's tip: press it overnight under a weight in the fridge; it sets into a firm block that slices into neat, thin layers.

210 minKazakhMeatGluten free
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Zharkoye v gorshochkakhBeef and potato pot roast

Clay pots of zharkoye, each with its own lid, are pure Russian comfort food: a dish from the old wood-fired stove that city kitchens now make in the oven for Sunday lunch or a cold-weather dinner party. Browned beef, onion and carrot go into each pot with potatoes, mushrooms and a little stock, then bake slowly until the meat falls apart and the potatoes drink up the gravy. It smells of bay and black pepper and tastes deeply savoury. Serve straight in the pots with pickles and rye bread. The usual slip is skipping the browning step, which leaves the beef grey and the sauce thin; take time to sear it well. Check the beef is fork-tender before serving. Chef's tip: seal the lids with a strip of simple flour-and-water dough for the old-fashioned way; it keeps every drop of steam inside, though then the dish is no longer gluten free.

120 minRussianMeatGluten free
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ŽinčicaSoured whey drink

Hikers walking past a salaš, a Slovak shepherds' hut, are often offered a mug of žinčica, the cool, sour whey left over from making bryndza and hrudka cheese. Shepherds heat the whey until fine flakes of cheese float up, then leave it to sour, and drink it with boiled potatoes or on its own on a hot afternoon. It is thin, refreshing and tangy, a little like a light buttermilk. At the salaš it is often made from raw sheep's milk, so at home make it only from the whey of cheese made with pasteurised milk (the korbáčiky recipe gives you plenty) and vegetarian rennet. The common slip is leaving it to sour somewhere warm for too long, where it turns cheesy and harsh; a cool room and 12 hours is enough. Chef's tip: a spoonful of cultured buttermilk gives a clean, reliable sourness every time.

15 minCzechDrinksGluten free
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ZivaCheese and olive pastry

Ziva is a Tel Aviv café and bakery invention built on Yemenite malawach dough: flaky layers wrapped around salty white cheese and olives, baked until golden and served with grated tomato, zhug and a hard-boiled egg. You find it at weekend brunch in Jaffa and in the Yemenite Quarter, eaten with knife and fork. The pastry should shatter into buttery flakes against a soft, salty, melting centre. Feta and Bulgarian-style white cheeses are often made with animal rennet, so choose one labelled vegetarian if that matters to you. The usual mistake is overfilling, which makes the cheese leak and the base soggy. Chef's tip: use frozen ready-made malawach rounds straight from the freezer; they are much easier to fold while still firm.

50 minIsraeliSnacks & Starters
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Žloutkové věnečkyChoux rings with yolk cream

"Little wreaths" are the jewel of a Czech wedding cake table, where trays of sweet pastries are handed out to every guest, and they are a staple of old-style patisseries in Prague. Rings of choux pastry are split and piped with a yolk-rich custard cream that is golden, silky and buttery, then dipped in a white sugar glaze. They taste of vanilla, egg and butter and are best within a day. Where most people go wrong is a custard that is not cooked enough: it must bubble for a minute so it sets and the yolks are fully cooked. Beat the cream only once the custard and butter are both at room temperature, or it splits. Bake the rings until properly dry so they keep their crisp shape. Chef's tip: a large star nozzle gives the rings a ridged surface that holds the glaze beautifully.

120 minCzechDesserts
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Zuger KirschtorteKirsch meringue sponge cake

The Zuger Kirschtorte was created in 1915 by the confectioner Heinrich Höhn in Zug, a lakeside town at the heart of Swiss cherry country, and it is still sold in the town's cake shops: two crisp almond meringue discs sandwiching a light sponge soaked in kirsch syrup, all held together with pink-tinted buttercream and coated in toasted almonds and icing sugar. This cake contains alcohol (kirsch, a cherry brandy); for an alcohol-free version, use the cherry juice swap in the ingredient note. A common mistake is soaking the sponge until soggy; it should be moist but hold its shape. Chef's tip: bake the meringue discs until dry and crisp, so they stay crunchy against the soft buttercream.

100 minSwissBaking
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ZserbóWalnut and apricot layered pastry

At Christmas and at every family name day, a Hungarian grandmother cuts zserbó into neat diamonds: three layers of walnut and apricot jam between four thin sheets of rich yeast pastry, crowned with dark chocolate. It was created at the Gerbeaud café on Vörösmarty tér in Budapest, and the name is simply the café's French name spelled the Hungarian way. The pastry bakes short and tender, the jam stays sharp and fruity, and the chocolate adds a firm, glossy snap. A common mistake is rolling the sheets unevenly, so the slices come out lopsided; weigh the dough into four equal parts and roll each to the size of the tin on baking paper. It tastes even better the next day, once the jam has soaked in. Chef's tip: use a tart apricot jam and stir a squeeze of lemon into it if it seems very sweet.

120 minHungarianBaking
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Zubaidi mashwiGrilled pomfret

Ask anyone in Kuwait for the national fish and they will say zubaidi, the silver pomfret, which is at its best from late summer and fills the grills of seaside restaurants in Salmiya. It is cooked whole, slashed and rubbed with turmeric, garlic, chilli and lemon, so the skin crisps and the fine, sweet flesh stays moist. Serve it with white rice, daqqus and lemon wedges. The common mistake is grilling it on a cooler heat for too long: pomfret is thin and dries out quickly. Chef's tip: cut slashes right down to the bone so the marinade seasons the fish all the way through and the thick part cooks as fast as the edges.

30 minGulf ArabianFishGluten free
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Zupa brzadowaSweet-sour dried fruit soup

Kashubian farmhouses near Kartuzy and Kościerzyna dried their pears, apples and plums over the stove every autumn, and the dried fruit, called brzad, went into this soup through the winter. It surprises newcomers: warm, sweet and gently sour, smelling of cloves and cinnamon, with tender fruit and little spoon-dropped dumplings, sometimes served with boiled potatoes as a full meal. In the past a meaty version existed too; this one is meat-free. A common mistake is sweetening it like compote; it should taste fruity first, with only a little sugar and a clear sour edge. Chef's tip: soak the fruit overnight if you can, and cook it in its soaking water for the best flavour.

60 minPolishSoups
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ZurbiyanLayered rice with chicken or lamb

Zurbiyan is Aden's wedding and Eid rice, cooked in huge pots in southern Yemen and shared by whole streets, and it shows the city's long links with India in its yogurt marinade and layering. Meat is marinated in yogurt and spice, cooked with crisp fried onion and potatoes, then layered with half-cooked rice, saffron and rose water and left to steam until each grain is separate and fragrant. It is rich, perfumed and gently spiced, served with a cooling tomato salad and green chilli sauce. The common mistake is cooking the rice fully before layering, so it turns soft and broken. Chef's tip: boil the rice only until it bends but still snaps in the middle; the steam does the rest.

120 minGulf ArabianRice & GrainsGluten free
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Tunisian samsaAlmond pastry triangles

Tunisian pastry shops in the old medina stack samsa in neat pyramids at Eid and weddings, and families make trays of them at home before the feast. The triangles are folded from malsouka, a paper-thin pastry also used for brik, around a filling of ground almonds and toasted sesame scented with orange zest and orange-flower water, then baked or fried and dropped into a lemony syrup. They are shatteringly crisp at the corners, sticky and nutty in the middle, and go with a glass of mint or pine-nut tea. Spring roll pastry, brick pastry or filo can stand in for malsouka. Chef's tip: dip hot pastries into cool syrup, never hot into hot; that contrast keeps them crisp instead of soggy.

75 minTunisianDesserts
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BouzaSorghum and hazelnut cream

On the morning of Mawlid, the Prophet's birthday, Tunis families make large bowls of creamy pudding and send small ones to neighbours, and bouza made from sorghum flour with roasted hazelnut paste is one of the best loved. The sorghum gives a fine, slightly earthy cream; the hazelnuts make it taste almost like praline. It is poured into glasses, left to set and decorated with a thick layer of chopped nuts, pistachios and sometimes sugared almonds. Make it the day before so it chills firm. Chef's tip: whisk the sorghum flour into cold liquid before it goes near the heat, or it seizes into lumps you cannot whisk out.

60 minTunisianDesserts
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BsissaRoasted barley flour with olive oil

A tin of bsissa sits in many Tunisian kitchen cupboards, from Tunis flats to farmhouses in the south: a finely ground flour of roasted barley, roasted chickpeas and spices such as coriander, fennel and aniseed. In the morning a few spoonfuls are worked with olive oil and something sweet into a nutty, crumbly paste, or stirred with water into a thick drink, and it keeps you going until lunch. Travellers and pilgrims once carried it for the road. Roasting your own flour takes 15 minutes and makes a jar that lasts weeks. Sugar and dates keep it vegan; some families use honey. Chef's tip: roast the flours separately over a low heat and stir constantly; the moment they smell like toasted biscuits and turn light tan, tip them out of the pan.

25 minTunisianBreakfast & BrunchVegan
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CitronnadeWhole lemon cooler

Café terraces in Tunis serve citronnade in tall glasses on hot afternoons and through Ramadan evenings, and it is nothing like clear lemonade: whole lemons, peel and all, are blended with sugar and water, then strained, giving a cloudy, pale-yellow drink that tastes of the zest as much as the juice. A drop of orange-flower water rounds it off. It should be sharp, sweet and very cold. Use unwaxed lemons with thin skins. Chef's tip: let the cut lemons sit with the sugar for 10 minutes before blending; the sugar draws out the fragrant oils from the peel.

15 minTunisianDrinksVeganGluten free
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Omek houriaMashed carrot salad with harissa

Nobody quite agrees why this salad is called mother of Houria, but every Tunis household knows it as one of the small dishes that open a meal, set out with bread, olives and brik during Ramadan or at a Sunday lunch. Carrots are boiled soft, crushed with a fork rather than puréed, and seasoned boldly with garlic, ground caraway, harissa, vinegar and good olive oil, so the sweetness of the carrot sits under a garlicky, warm heat. It is finished with black olives and wedges of hard-boiled egg and eaten at room temperature, scooped up with crusty bread. This version is vegetarian; some cooks add tuna on top. Chef's tip: dress the carrots while still warm; they soak up the oil and vinegar far better than cold ones.

30 minTunisianSaladsGluten freeSpicy
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Kaak warkaAlmond-filled pastry rings

The hill town of Zaghouan, south of Tunis, is famous for two things: its Roman water temple and kaak warka, delicate rings of very thin, crumbly pastry wrapped around almond paste perfumed with rose geranium or rose water. They are a celebration sweet, bought in boxes for weddings, circumcisions and Eid, and should stay white when baked, with a fine sugary crumb and a soft, fragrant centre. Making them takes patience: the dough is rolled thin, wrapped around ropes of almond paste and shaped into rings. Chef's tip: bake low and short; the moment the bases colour, they are done, as any browning on top ruins their famous pale look.

105 minTunisianBaking
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ZrirSesame, nut and honey paste

When a baby arrives in a Tunis family, visitors who come to see mother and child are offered zrir, a dense, glossy paste of toasted sesame, hazelnuts and almonds bound with butter and honey, believed to give strength to the new mother. It is served in tiny bowls or shaped into a mound and studded with nuts, and a spoonful is plenty. The taste is like a very rich halva with honey and toasted nuts. It keeps for a couple of weeks in a jar. Chef's tip: grind the sesame while it is still slightly warm; the oils release more easily and the paste turns smooth rather than sandy.

45 minTunisianDessertsGluten free
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Pine nut tea

Order tea in a Tunis café, especially in the cafés of Sidi Bou Said overlooking the bay, and it often arrives with a spoonful of pale pine nuts bobbing on top. The tea itself is brewed strong and very sweet, green with mint or dark black tea boiled until syrupy, and poured from a height into small glasses so it froths. The nuts soften slightly in the heat and you eat them at the bottom of the glass, buttery against the bitter-sweet tea. It is drunk after meals and through the evening. Chef's tip: toast the pine nuts lightly in a dry pan; just a hint of colour brings out their butteriness without making them sink.

12 minTunisianDrinksVeganGluten free
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BoulfafGrilled lamb liver skewers

On the first day of Eid al-Adha, while the rest of the sheep hangs to rest, Moroccan families light the brazier on the roof or in the courtyard and make boulfaf from the fresh liver. The liver is seared whole, cut into cubes, rolled in cumin, paprika and salt, wrapped in lacy caul fat and grilled until the fat crisps and melts into it. Each bite is rich, smoky and soft, and the skewers go round with mint tea. Liver from your butcher works just as well on any day, and caul fat can be ordered. Chef's tip: wrap each cube snugly, not in a loose sheet; tight wrapping melts into a thin crisp shell instead of flaring up.

40 minMoroccanMeatGluten free
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MechouiSlow-roast lamb shoulder

Under the arcades by the Marrakech spice square, mechoui sellers lift whole lambs out of clay pits sunk in the ground, where they have roasted since dawn, and sell it by weight with a twist of paper holding cumin and salt. A home oven cannot quite reproduce the pit, but a bone-in shoulder rubbed with garlic, paprika and cumin and roasted low and slow gets you close: crackling-crisp outside, tender enough to pull apart with fingers inside. It is festival and wedding food, and also a Sunday treat, eaten with bread and nothing more than the salt-cumin dip. Many cooks baste with butter; olive oil keeps this version dairy free. Chef's tip: leave the lamb uncovered for the last 30 minutes at a higher heat; that short blast is what gives the bark-like crust.

290 minMoroccanMeatGluten free
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TridSaffron chicken on pastry sheets

Before pastilla became the showpiece, Fez and Marrakech made trid, a dish so old it is sometimes called the grandmother of rfissa. Sheets of dough are stretched until you can read through them, cooked briefly on an upturned pot, then layered on a platter and soaked with the cooking juices of chicken simmered with onions, lentils, saffron and a whisper of fenugreek. The pastry softens into silky, almost noodle-like folds, the sauce is golden and peppery, and the chicken sits on top in big pieces to be shared by hand. It is served at family lunches, for guests, and to women after childbirth. Chef's tip: oil your hands and the work surface generously when stretching the dough; it is the oil, not flour, that lets it go paper-thin without tearing.

150 minMoroccanChicken
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Couscous with gueddidCouscous with dried spiced lamb

Gueddid is the strips of salted, spiced lamb that Moroccan households dry after Eid al-Adha, and on Ashura, a month later, many families bring out the last of it for a couscous. A few pieces go a long way: they give the broth a deep, almost smoky savour, turn tender as they simmer, and sit on the mound of grain with chickpeas, turnip, carrots, courgette and pumpkin. This version makes a small batch of gueddid the safer way, marinated for 24 hours in the fridge, then dried for about 4 hours in a low oven that takes the meat above 71 °C; it keeps 2 weeks in the fridge or 3 months frozen. Because it is a home-cured meat, any gueddid eaten without cooking in the broth is not for pregnant women, young children or anyone with a weakened immune system. Chef's tip: rinse the gueddid and soak it for 30 minutes before cooking, or the broth will be far too salty.

435 minMoroccanRice & Grains
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KhliiSpiced dried preserved beef

Once made in late summer from the Eid al-Adha meat, khlii was marinated, hung on rooftop lines in the Fez medina sun, then simmered in beef fat and olive oil and packed into earthenware jars for the year. It is deeply savoury and chewy, scented with coriander seed, cumin and garlic, and the fat it sits in is as prized as the meat, for frying eggs, enriching lentils or folding into couscous. This home version swaps the rooftop for the fridge and a low oven: the meat marinates for 24 hours in the fridge, dries for about 6 hours at a temperature that takes it well above 71 °C, then confits for about 90 minutes and goes back into the fridge, where it keeps for up to a month under its fat. Because it is a home-preserved meat, it is not for pregnant women, young children or anyone with a weakened immune system. Chef's tip: slice the beef with the grain into long strips no thicker than your little finger; thicker strips stay wet inside and spoil.

520 minMoroccanMeatGluten free
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Eggs with khlii

Old Fassi households keep a jar of khlii in the cold for exactly this: a spoonful of its spiced fat warmed in a small pan, a few strands of the dried beef crisped in it, then eggs cracked straight on top. The whites set lacy and savoury from the cumin and coriander in the fat, the yolks stay soft, and the beef shards turn chewy-crisp like the best bacon bits. It is eaten on a weekend morning or on a cold day with warm khobz or msemen torn into the pan, alongside mint tea. Use khlii made by our safer oven-dried, fridge-stored method, and if you cook for anyone pregnant, very young or vulnerable, fry the eggs until the yolks are firm. Chef's tip: warm the khlii fat gently before the eggs go in; too hot and the meat burns bitter before the whites have set.

13 minMoroccanBreakfast & BrunchGluten free
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Djaj mhammerSaffron butter roast chicken

Mhammer means reddened or browned, and that final colour is what sets this Rabat and Fez favourite apart from a tagine. The bird is first poached in a little water with butter, garlic, saffron, cumin and paprika, so the meat soaks up the spices and stays juicy, then it goes into a hot oven to crisp and turn burnished while the cooking liquid reduces into a rich, buttery sauce. Moroccan families serve it at weddings and on Eid with olives, preserved lemon, fried or roasted potatoes and bread. Chef's tip: keep the poaching liquid at a gentle shiver, not a boil; boiling tightens the meat and the skin splits before it ever browns.

100 minMoroccanChickenGluten free
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RfissaChicken with shredded flatbread and lentils

Ask anyone in Rabat or Salé when they last ate rfissa and the answer is often a birth, a naming day or a big family Friday: it is the dish brought to new mothers, because fenugreek and lentils are believed to restore strength. Torn strips of msemen, the flaky square pancake, are steamed until soft and piled high, then drenched in a broth of chicken, onion, ras el hanout and fenugreek that is warming, earthy and a little bitter-sweet. The chicken crowns the mound and everyone eats from the shared platter. Use homemade or bought msemen; day-old is best. Chef's tip: steam the shredded msemen over the simmering broth before saucing it, so it swells and softens instead of turning claggy.

120 minMoroccanChicken
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Seafood pastilla

The sweet pigeon pastilla belongs to Fez; along the northern coast, from Tetouan to Tangier and down to the Atlantic towns, the savoury seafood version is what turns up at weddings and Ramadan dinners. Thin warqa pastry wraps a filling of prawns, white fish and squid, rice vermicelli and plenty of chermoula, the lemony herb, garlic, cumin and paprika marinade, and the pie is baked until it shatters at the touch. Inside it is juicy, tangy and a little spicy. Serve it hot, cut into wedges, with a green salad. Filo works if you cannot find warqa or brick pastry. Chef's tip: drain the cooked filling in a sieve for 10 minutes before you fill the pie; wet filling is what makes a soggy base.

120 minMoroccanFish
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BabboucheSpiced snail broth

After dark in Marrakech's great square, the babbouche stalls are recognisable by their steaming cauldrons and the toothpicks laid out by every bowl. Small land snails simmer in a dark broth of liquorice root, aniseed, thyme, caraway, bitter orange peel, chilli and a bundle of herbs that sellers say has fifteen ingredients, believed to soothe the stomach and warm you on a cold night. You pick the snails out with a toothpick, then drink the peppery, herbal, faintly sweet broth. At home, buy live snails sold for cooking, already purged by a reputable seller, discard any with broken shells or that do not move or retract when touched, and cook them through for at least 45 minutes. Chef's tip: keep the spices in a muslin bag; the broth stays clear and you avoid crunching on seeds.

90 minMoroccanSoupsGluten free
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Sardines stuffed with chermoula

Walk past the fish stalls by Essaouira's harbour and you smell this before you see it: sardines opened flat, smeared with a green-red paste of herbs, garlic, cumin and paprika, pressed together in pairs, dusted with flour and fried until the edges crunch. The fish stays moist and rich inside, sharpened by lemon and a little chilli. In Safi and Agadir homes they appear at lunch with a tomato and onion salad and bread, or tucked into sandwiches from street carts. Chef's tip: ask the fishmonger to butterfly the sardines and remove the backbone; it saves a fiddly 20 minutes and they lie flat.

45 minMoroccanFish
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MrouziaLamb with honey and raisins

Families make a big pot of mrouzia in the days after Eid al-Adha, partly as a treat and partly as a way to keep meat: cooked down with honey, smen and spices until almost confit-like, it keeps for days, and in the past for weeks. The lamb is very tender and dark, coated in a thick, sweet-spiced sauce heavy with ras el hanout, cinnamon and saffron, with plump raisins and fried almonds on top. Serve small portions with bread and a sharp salad to balance the richness. The usual mistake is adding the honey too early, so it catches and turns bitter before the lamb is tender. Chef's tip: add the honey only once the meat is tender; added early, it scorches on the base during the long cook.

150 minMoroccanMeatGluten free
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Chicken kdra with almonds

Kdra takes its name from the tall copper pot it was cooked in, and in Fez it is a festive dish for weddings and family gatherings rather than an everyday tagine. The sauce is the point: kilos of onion melted down with smen, saffron, white pepper and cinnamon until it turns pale gold and creamy, with no tomato or paprika at all. Soft chickpeas and almonds simmered until tender go into it, and the whole thing is scooped up with bread. Expect a mellow, perfumed, buttery richness rather than heat. Chef's tip: soak and simmer the blanched almonds with the chicken; they lose their crunch and become creamy like the chickpeas, which is how Fassi cooks like them.

95 minMoroccanChickenGluten free
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DafinaSlow-cooked Shabbat beef and chickpea stew

Dafina, meaning buried or covered, is what Moroccan Jewish families from Casablanca to Meknes set to cook before sundown on Friday, so a hot lunch is waiting after synagogue on Saturday without lighting a fire on the Sabbath. Beef, a marrow bone, chickpeas, potatoes, sweet potatoes and dates go into one big pot with whole eggs in their shells and a cloth bag of wheat berries, all seasoned with paprika, turmeric, cinnamon and a little honey. Overnight the eggs turn creamy and brown, the wheat becomes sticky, and the broth is sweet-savoury and deep. There is no pork in it, and kosher cooks use kosher beef. Chef's tip: wrap the wheat berries loosely in a cloth bag or a roasting bag with holes; packed too tight, the grain cannot swell and stays hard.

760 minMoroccanMeat
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Tanjia marrakchiaSlow-cooked beef with preserved lemon

Marrakech men's dish par excellence, tanjia is packed into a tall clay urn on a Friday morning, sealed with paper and string, and carried to the furnace man of the local hammam, who buries it in the warm ashes all day. Nothing is browned and almost no water goes in: the beef shin collapses in its own juices with preserved lemon, a whole head of garlic, cumin, saffron and smen into soft, sticky strands with a sharp, salty, lemony sauce. It comes to the table in the evening with bread and nothing else. At home, a lidded casserole in a low oven gives the same result. Chef's tip: wrap the lid of the pot in foil before closing it; a tight seal keeps in the steam that braises the meat without adding water.

375 minMoroccanMeatGluten free
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ChraimeFish in spicy garlic paprika sauce

Friday night in Moroccan and Libyan Jewish homes, from Casablanca to Tripoli and now Paris and Tel Aviv, often begins with a plate of chraime before the main course. Thick fish steaks simmer in a brick-red sauce built from a frightening amount of garlic, sweet and hot paprika, chilli, caraway and cumin, loosened with oil and a squeeze of lemon. It is spicy, garlicky and very savoury, and the oily sauce begs to be mopped up with challah or other good bread. It is also eaten cold the next day. Chef's tip: cook the spices in the oil over a low heat until they smell toasty but not dark; burnt paprika tastes acrid and you cannot rescue it.

40 minMoroccanFishGluten freeSpicy
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HergmaLamb trotters with chickpeas

Sticky with gelatine and warmed by cumin and ginger, hergma is the winter comfort food of Rabat's working kitchens and the dish families make from the trotters after Eid al-Adha. The feet cook for hours with chickpeas, whole wheat berries, garlic and a warm mix of paprika, cumin and ginger, until the gelatine melts into a sauce so sticky it glues your fingers together. Some cooks add raisins for a sweet edge. Eat it hot with bread, picking the tender meat and soft cartilage from the bones. A butcher who sells halal or Mediterranean cuts will clean, singe and split the trotters for you; ask for that. Chef's tip: blanch the trotters and throw away the first water; it carries off the scum and gives a clean-tasting sauce.

260 minMoroccanMeat
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