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Bakoula (warm mallow and herb salad)
Bakoula: steamed wild mallow cooked with garlic, herbs, olives and preserved lemon
When the winter rains come, bunches of khobiza, wild mallow, are piled up at Marrakech market stalls, and households turn them into bakoula: the leaves are steamed, chopped and cooked down with garlic, parsley, coriander, paprika and cumin, then finished with violet olives and slivers of preserved lemon. The result is soft, dark green and savoury with a lemony lift, a little like a well-seasoned spinach dish with more character. It is eaten warm or at room temperature as one of the cooked salads, scooped up with bread. Outside Morocco, use spinach with a handful of chard or rocket for a bit more bite. Most people go wrong by not squeezing the steamed leaves dry, which leaves the salad watery and bland. Chef's tip: squeeze the steamed greens hard in your fists before chopping; leftover water makes bakoula sloppy and dilutes the spices.
- Total time
- 50 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
- 2 ¼ lb mallow leaves (khobiza)or 800 g spinach plus 200 g chard; tough stalks removed, well washed
- 1 oz flat-leaf parsleychopped
- 1 oz coriander leaveschopped
- 4 garlic clovescrushed
- 4 tbsp olive oildivided
- 1 ½ tsp sweet paprika
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- ¼ tsp chilli powder
- ¾ tsp salt
- ½ preserved lemonrind only, finely slivered; see our recipe
- 2 ⅞ oz violet or black olives
- 1 tbsp lemon juice (optional)
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What you'll need
Spices & pantry
Fresh ingredients (4)
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Method
0/7 doneStep 1: Steam 2 ¼ lb mallow leaves (khobiza) in a steamer basket over boiling water, in batches if needed, until completely wilted and tender.
12 minStep 2: Let it cool for a few minutes, then squeeze out as much water as you can with your hands and chop it finely on a board.
Step 3: Warm 3 tbsp olive oil in a wide frying pan over a medium heat. Add 4 garlic cloves, 1 oz flat-leaf parsley and 1 oz coriander leaves and stir for 1–2 minutes until the herbs wilt and smell sweet.
2 minStep 4: Stir in 1 ½ tsp sweet paprika, 1 tsp ground cumin and ¼ tsp chilli powder, then add the chopped greens and ¾ tsp salt.
Step 5: Cook over a medium-low heat, stirring and pressing with a wooden spoon, until all the moisture has evaporated and the oil glistens through the greens.
12 minStep 6: Fold in ½ preserved lemon and 2 ⅞ oz violet or black olives and cook for 2 more minutes to warm them through. Taste and add 1 tbsp lemon juice if you want it brighter.
2 minStep 7: Pile into a dish, drizzle with the rest of 1 tbsp olive oil and serve warm or at room temperature with bread.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 170 kcal
- Protein
- 6 g
- Carbs
- 11 g
- Fat
- 13 g
- Fibre
- 6 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does bakoula (warm mallow and herb salad) take?
- About 50 minutes in total: 20 minutes to prepare and 30 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of flat-leaf parsley?
- Curly parsley or coriander, same amount.
- What can I use instead of garlic cloves?
- ½ tsp garlic paste or ⅛ tsp garlic powder per clove.
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