• SarahL on January 13, 2026

  I bought this book after a trip to Morocco, and it transported us right back. The book is comprehensive, and filled with great information about the building blocks of Moroccan cuisine. I made a few dishes, and found that some can be simplified while still yielding good results. I’ll be using this book often!

• DKennedy on August 04, 2015

  http://www.claycoyote.com/Stovetop-Tagine-for-traditional-tagine-cooking-p/tagine.htm Paula Wolfert recommended source for tagine. In the interim, bought a tagine top from London for $18 and a friend is bringing it out to me for a test run next week. I am finding using the Kindle version of this book rather difficult. I will need to get a hard copy at some point.

Notes about Recipes in this book

• Preserved lemons

  • nutrica6 on September 25, 2023

    These are really good and I like having a jar of them on hand. They taste like salty lemon juice, a perfect accompaniment to most of the recipes in this book. It’s nice that you don’t need to go through the whole canning process as well.

• "Faux" ras el hanout 1

  • valbe on January 03, 2021

    2021/01/02: I chose one of my book recipes for Ras el Hanout with whole spices to grind and dried rosebuds/rose petals. Used long pepper instead of cubeb pepper. I am very pleased with the blend.

• La kama spice mixture

  • Dannausc on February 22, 2020

    Quick, easy, good

  • TrishaCP on March 06, 2021

    If you like warm spice blends this is for you.

• Harissa sauce

  • metacritic on May 21, 2022

    Very, very good with marguez sausages. I tend to use two tablespoons of harissa (or, as was true tonight, Turkish red pepper paste) and lamb broth. A squeeze of lemon and some salt completes this sauce.

• Tomato magic

  • senzler on November 12, 2025

    This is absolutely lovely. Used the last of my fresh tomatoes from my garden.

• Late-summer salad

  • Ganga108 on January 13, 2022

    I made an Autumn Salad inspired by the Late Summer Salad approach of Wolfert, using everything green in the garden. Cucumbers, zucchini, beans, green tomatoes, chillies, herbs etc with some home made capers and green peppercorns. Topped the delicious salad with pepitas and edible autumn flowers.

  • nutrica6 on September 25, 2023

    I chopped everything small so it was almost like a pico de gallo but with a little sweetness from the honey. Delicious with bread or meat. Could also leave vegetables in bigger pieces and make it a more traditional salad. Recommend one small red onion or half of a large.

• Fresh tomato and caper salad

  • Ganga108 on March 09, 2021

    Very nice salad. I used green and red tomatoes, cucumbers, green peppercorns, sour grapes as well. SO GOOD. P58

• Orange, romaine, and walnut salad

  • Ganga108 on February 27, 2022

    Fabulous dressing!

• Blood orange, lettuce, and toasted almond salad

  • rmardel on May 31, 2023

    Very simple salad that highlights the ingredients nicely. Will repeat. The recipe calls for a mild honey, which I did not have, so I used a more assertive chestnut honey which I loved in this preparation.

• Orange and grated radish salad with orange flower water

  • lkgrover on November 16, 2017

    This is an unusual, light side dish. The orange flower water & cinnamon combine well with oranges, and the radishes add crunch. I made this as a light side dish for a work Thanksgiving lunch, where it added color to the meal.

  • rmardel on December 31, 2023

    This is a wonderful light salad that looks really pretty as well. The orange flower water truly enhances the flavors of orange and balances the heat of the radishes. The radishes also add a pleasingly crisp component.

• Orange salad with rose or orange flower water

  • lkgrover on January 23, 2019

    Very good orange salad with a light, refreshing flavor. Would be appropriate for an appetizer, side dish, or a fruit dessert. I used rose water rather than orange flower water.

  • metacritic on January 12, 2026

    Excellent, light dish that could be a salad or a dessert. I used orange flower water. Will try with rose water another time.

• Crushed olive salad

  • nutrica6 on September 25, 2023

    I love this. Perfect for a before dinner spread. Has some spice from the cayenne pepper. Jarred green olives are so creamy and wonderful, this makes them even better.

  • metacritic on January 12, 2026

    A fantastic dish when serving mezze. The marmalade blends beautifully with the preserved lemon. Double if serving more than 4 people.

• Grated cucumber salad with orange flower water

  • vinochic on July 30, 2012

    This was just okay for me. A little too sweet maybe...

  • Ganga108 on March 22, 2021

    Delicious!

• Grated cucumber salad with oregano

  • adrienneyoung on October 22, 2016

    Made this as a throwaway add-on to go with the lamb tagine. Unlike the tagine, this was DEFINITELY a keeper. Yum!

  • Ganga108 on March 22, 2021

    A great salad, surprisingly good. Extended it with some tart tiny tomatoes from the garden and soft beans from the garden. Peeled and sliced the cukes, also from the garden.

• Roasted beet salad with cinnamon

  • mziech on December 28, 2011

    As the recipe says roasting the beets instead of boiling them gives more flavor (enhancing sweetness). Is recommended.

  • br22 on July 26, 2014

    This is definitely more than the sum of the parts. The lemon juice creates a fantastic smoothness to the texture of the beets while in conjunction with the cinnamon flavors them in such a way as to seemingly eliminate any earthiness. Velvety and delicious.

  • metacritic on January 12, 2026

    Wonderfully earthy with deep flavors and just enough brightness from the lemon juice.

• Carrot salad with cumin, cinnamon, and sweet paprika

  • KarinaFrancis on August 14, 2021

    Easy and flavourful, benefits from the standing time

  • metacritic on January 09, 2025

    This is very good. I somewhat prefer the mashed version she offers but this is simple, appealing, and has a little bite, both from the chili and from steaming and cubing the carrots.

• Fresh fava bean salad

  • krista_jo on May 24, 2020

    Very easy if you have the ingredients in hand, and a nice dish for a warm day.

• Cooked "wild greens" salad

  • vinochic on June 06, 2014

    a little time consuming, but good. definitely needs the olives!

  • metacritic on January 12, 2026

    Love this whenever one has greens and/or herbs to cook down. This time I used spinach, which was a little less interesting an outcome but still warranted the effort. Better with chard or something that has a bit more dimensionality. I often throw in some dill, too, though not called for in the recipe.

• Tomatoes, preserved lemons, and sweet red peppers

  • Stephenn31 on November 12, 2022

    One of my favourite salads. Easy and so much flavour. I sometimes add capers (and a bit less preserved lemon) for another salty pop

• Grilled red pepper salad

  • metacritic on January 12, 2026

    Great. This time I used piquillo peppers, given that good red peppers are not available in winter. The swap worked perfectly.

• Eggplant zaalouk

  • KarinaFrancis on February 08, 2014

    Delicious! I was a bit nervous serving this up to a confirmed eggplant hater, but it was eaten enthusiastically. I added a teaspoon of red wine vinegar along with the lemon juice which worked. It really needs the night in the fridge to bond the flavour, don't skip this step

  • raybun on June 22, 2017

    This tastes wonderful! I made it for a picnic with the seedy crackers (from Dinner by Melissa Clark).

  • nutrica6 on September 25, 2023

    So good! It has more tomato and less creamy flavor than babaganoush. I like the acidity and spice. I could eat this with bread, crackers, or on couscous.

  • mpo on February 16, 2025

    Kind of a related note but I did not make this dish but I did make NYT version. Looked very similar. If you like this recipe, you may want to try that one too to compare. I will be trying this one myself!

  • metacritic on January 12, 2026

    Among the best eggplant recipes I know. Grilled the eggplant directly over wood and cooked with canned tomatoes. Even better with fresh tomatoes but that's only possible in the summer in these parts.

• Marrakech tagine bread

  • Dannausc on February 22, 2020

    Fairly quick and easy; pretty decent

  • exploringfood on March 22, 2024

    Loved this. Fun, simple bread to make. Crispy crust, chewy, perfect for scooping up a tagine or the tagine sauce. Wonderful sliced in half and toasted. I didn't have a stone for baking it, but baking it on a semolina-sprinkled quality cookie sheet worked well.

• Berber skillet bread

  • nutrica6 on September 25, 2023

    This reminded me of a pita or chapati style bread. Was great with salads and dips before dinner. The garlic preferment was fun to make and gave it a nutty flavor. I let it rise more than an hour before cooking and it turned out fine.

• Two-day pre-ferment with garlic

  • nutrica6 on September 25, 2023

    Worked well for the skillet bread. Smelled like fermented garlic (which I really liked). I would keep the lid of your jar slightly off as mine nearly exploded. It increased in volume quite a bit. I then moved it to a ceramic casserole dish with plastic wrap, which I think worked better. Used the bread proofing setting on my oven for it. Could half the recipe and still have plenty for at least six skillet breads.

• Bastila of Fes with chicken or quail

  • metacritic on September 17, 2020

    This is a time consuming, very good recipe. My family loved it. I liked it but it didn't quite capture the magic of my first encounter with Bastila in Fez. Even so, I highly recommend that Wolfert fans and fans of Bastila try this enchanting, slightly odd dish.

• Quick herb-flavored country cheese

  • nutrica6 on September 25, 2023

    Nice way to make goat cheese more presentable and fun. I served it with the skillet bread. Used dried zaatar and fresh thyme for it. Used the food processor to whip the cheese.

• Berber harira with leafy zegzaw

  • TrishaCP on May 17, 2012

    Zegzaw is a Moroccan green- the recipe calls for Red Russian kale as a good substitute. The kale is cooked with the following grated vegetables: tomatoes, red onion, turnip, cumin and herbs (I skipped the cilantro and used all parsley instead), and then is thickened with a barley flour paste and more cumin. You really do need to follow the cook's notes to add dried favas if you want a one-pot stew- on its own it is really more of a vegetable side than a main course. Also, the barley flavor really makes this dish- but I think you could use barley flakes or even just pearled or semi-pearled barley as a thickener instead of the flour.

• Harira with lamb, summer leafy greens, and eggs

  • Dannausc on February 22, 2020

    Good

• Butternut squash and tomato soup

  • TrishaCP on October 21, 2019

    This is a really flavorful soup. The spices are subtle but not too much so.

  • Wlow on December 25, 2019

    Aged goat Gouda or Shamrock Bouchon Cypress Grove Midnight Moon suggested substitutes for aged goat cheese.

  • sarahkalsbeek on December 10, 2020

    I took some liberties with this and left out all dairy (because we didn't have it), and it was still quite delicious. The second time I made it, I still left out the cream and cheese but took a page from Thomas Keller's book and swirled some browned butter in at the end. NEXT LEVEL! We did determine that this benefits from a splash of apple cider vinegar at the end, maybe to give it some extra dimension since we were leaving out the dairy.

• Semolina soup with aniseed

  • nutrica6 on December 11, 2023

    This is nice and versatile. I didn't add as much water as it called for, felt that would have thinned it out too much. I added granola as a topping to my bowl with the dates and honey, which was delicious.

• Couscous with seven vegetables in the Fes manner

  • Stephenn31 on February 01, 2026

    I modified the cooking a bit but kept the idea. The couscous was very flavourful

• Stone-ground corn grits couscous with shellfish, caramelized onions, and glazed turnips

  • metacritic on January 12, 2026

    A spectacular showstopper of a dish. The final instruction - pouring two cups of squid stock over the grits in the final step = means that it turns more porrige-y. Reduce to one cup to keep the integrity of the couscous.

• Charmoula

  • Dannausc on February 22, 2020

    Super easy, really good

• Marak of cauliflower with tomatoes and olives

  • vinochic on December 30, 2011

    delicious! a little time consuming but worth it!

  • JoanN on September 30, 2012

    Very tasty. Used canned Centro San Marzanos. Forgot salt; fine without. Next time slice olives to distribute flavor.

  • Dannausc on February 22, 2020

    Good

  • Stephenn31 on April 25, 2023

    Turned out well. A great side. Loved it with the preserved lemons and olives at the end

• Fried sardines, Tangier-style

  • lync on March 10, 2012

    The paste for the marinade of the sardines is out of sight. Do not need to deep fry it....I just fast seared the sardines on a griddle (a la Wolfert's earlier cookbook World of Food). Mixed the sardines with 3 other small plates: seared bay scallops w shallots, shitake & baby bella mushrooms, and asparagus.

• Kefta tagine with tomatoes and eggs

  • mziech on May 04, 2012

    One of my favorite Moroccan dishes. Used veal instead of lamb/beef. Easy recipe.

• Casserole-roasted chicken with preserved lemon and olives

  • okcook on May 29, 2012

    This turned out a little salty for our taste. The use of a whole preserved lemon makes this a very 'lemony' dish also. The pulp is used in the marinade and I think that's how it gets too salty. I did rinse the lemon well before using. The flavours were very nice.

  • Stephenn31 on February 01, 2026

    Very good. Assuming the lemon and olives would be salty I didn’t add much salt to the dish while marinating or cooking

• Lamb tagine with tomatoes and eggplant

  • mziech on January 13, 2013

    Delicious dish. Takes a while to cook (3-4 hours), and several steps, such as first frying the aubergines, than mashing them and then baking them again, but worth all the effort. Serve with something fresh such a a salad.

• Lamb tagine with raisins and almonds, Tiznit-style

  • KarinaFrancis on February 08, 2014

    Really good! I was surprised how much sauce there was considering there was hardly any liquid added. I'd love to say I'll make it again but I've bookmarked almost all the lamb tagine recipes in this book....

• Kefta tagine with herbs, spices, and lemon

  • vinochic on June 06, 2014

    very good and easy to make.

  • KarinaFrancis on November 02, 2014

    This was a real change as I'd never made this style of tagine and I loved it. Quick and easy too (especially for this book) would make again for sure

  • hirsheys on January 20, 2019

    This dish doesn't have any of the ingredients that I've come to associate with tagines (olives, dried fruit, nuts, preserved lemons) except saffron. It's basically a bunch of tiny heavily spiced meatballs that are poached in a cilantro saffron broth. (It's REALLY not photogenic, especially because I forgot to save some of the cilantro to sprinkle on top.) It was quite easy, in the scheme of things and tasty enough, but I wanted to like it more. I feel like it needs something else - maybe some of those olives or preserved lemons or dried fruit.... Still, I'm glad to have tried it and to get it out of my to try folder!

  • Countesschicklington on November 01, 2025

    Very good.. made even better by adding some vegetables.. I added zucchini and carrots in large chunks. Would probably pre-fry the meatballs next time.

• Winter squash with caramelized onions (Cassolita)

  • thekitchenchronicles on November 03, 2014

    http://www.thekitchenchronicles.com/2014/01/02/moroccan-winter-squash-with-caramelized-onions/

• Slow-cooked lamb shoulder with browned almonds

  • DKennedy on August 22, 2015

    Yum! This was an expensive meal and a lot of work but worth making again. Made this over the course of 4 days: Made the rub or the first part of this recipe 1st. Fairly easy, just mashed together using mortar and pestle and then smeared onto the shoulder. Put it back in the fridge until later. Next day, filled up the pan 1/2 way with water and put the meat, onions, garlic, and bundle in pan, turning every 30 minutes. Third day, took the meat off the bone and defatted broth. Fourth day, browned up meat in butter, fried nuts, sautéed up some red onions and dates and made a quinoa salad to accompany it (cucumbers, mint, tomatoes, scallions and a lime cumin vinaigrette). Served it with gf pita. Next time serve with yogurt sauce and salt the meat more aggressively.

  • smccandless on July 27, 2020

    Made over 4 days; salted meat ahead. Used 4 lamb shoulder chops along with a small shoulder roast that I butterflied. 6 generous servings. Preferred using chops over roast (alternatively, have a butcher cut the roast into 2 pieces). Fried almonds a day ahead, which was fine. Served with mint salad with beets and polenta with fresh corn added.

• Kefta brochettes

  • smccandless on March 12, 2016

    Excellent. Served with garbanzo bean and cilantro sauce and pita along with white bean soup for winter acres ski luncheon.

• Lamb tagine with rutabaga and sesame seeds

  • zengal on April 03, 2016

    I chose this recipe for a small dinner party of 6. (I know --cooking something for the first time for guests is brave.) After I started cooking, I realized that the root vegetables are cooked completely separately from the lamb and added together when served. That didn't sound like a "tagine". I was very concerned, but I proceeded following the directions anyway. It was great. The lamb is cooked solo, and makes a very taste braised stew of just meat with spices, diced onions, and herbs. The lamb is delicious. All the guests loved it. Note that this lamb recipe could be cooked on its own without the root veg if you like and combined with other veg. But the rutabagas and turnips were good and the whole thing went brilliantly with couscous.

  • TrishaCP on June 30, 2018

    I made the version of this recipe that uses only turnips and nigella seeds, and it was really delicious. I used cubed lamb shoulder from the freezer, and it only needed about 1 1/2 hours of cooking to get tender.

• Lamb with onions, almonds, and hard-cooked eggs

  • adrienneyoung on October 22, 2016

    Good but not great. On the work-to-deliciousness scale, it isn't a keeper.

• Fish tagine with tomatoes, olives, and preserved lemon

  • lkgrover on October 29, 2019

    Delicious fish tagine with lots of vegetables; a hint of tartness from the preserved lemon. I used halibut fillets; substituted canned diced tomatoes; doubled the parsley (no cilantro). Served over couscous.

  • smccandless on January 26, 2026

    Made with Alaskan ling cod. Omitted cilantro but added coriander to the spice blend. Used home canned tomatoes. Served with wild rice. Not the best combo but what I had and it worked. Try pureed winter squash or other grain next time.

• Chicken kedra with chickpeas and turnips

  • Dannausc on February 22, 2020

    Pretty decent

• Broiled fish with charmoula glaze

  • Dannausc on February 22, 2020

    Easy and good. Really tasty and flavorful.

• Chicken with preserved lemon and olives (M'chermel)

  • Dannausc on February 22, 2020

    Really good

• Eggplant smothered with charmoula

  • Dannausc on February 22, 2020

    Really delicious

• Chicken with caramelized quinces and toasted walnuts

  • Dolcetto23 on January 30, 2021

    This is superb - as is everything in this magnificent book I have tried so far.

• Chicken with dried apricots and pine nuts

  • Dolcetto23 on February 10, 2021

    Superb recipe. I had no dried apricots so used dried peach halves and it was wonderful. I might make twice the amount of sauce next time, and try it with pine nuts rather than sesame seeds, but this book really is something special.

  • TrishaCP on March 06, 2021

    This was flavorful but a bit too sweet for my preferences. My husband certainly enjoyed it though. I wouldn’t follow the instructions to cook the chicken (an unspecified time) until it falls off the bone. I did but my chicken came out dry.

• Lamb tagine with raisins, almonds, and honey

  • KarinaFrancis on August 14, 2021

    This was absolutely delicious! I used forequarter chops (which might be from the neck?) and they were soft as butter. The recipe calls for 450g of raisins which sounded like a lot, I cut it back to 120g and I liked the way it turned out. While it’s not a quick dish it is easy because most of the cooking is hands off.

• Semolina and almond cookies

  • exploringfood on March 22, 2024

    These are similar to Russian Tea Cakes or Mexican Wedding Cookies (author compares them to Greek butter almond cookies). I can't figure out why they are called semonlina cookies, however, when they don't have semolina in them, just pastry flour and almond meal.

• Lamb kedra with chickpeas, butternut squash, and ras el hanout

  • metacritic on January 19, 2025

    I picked this given the ingredients I had in the house. As I cooked each component, I grew worried. Squash, chickpeas, raisins, lamb, carrots, butter, and honey seemed an odd combination. Somehow they marrs to stunning effect in this dish. This is a superb dish, rivaling any that I've cooked by Paula Wolfert. I should add that I halved the honey, and I think that was the correct decision.

• Tarte Tatin with apples, raisins, and rose water

  • metacritic on January 20, 2025

    Stunning. Might bump up heat slightly during the second cook of the apples. Will make again.

  • nutrica6 on September 25, 2023

    The apples needed to be cooked on the lowest burner setting in my stainless steel skillet. The caramel got too dark after only about 20 min. It didn’t need the second cook time at all before the bake. The flavors were nice especially with vanilla ice cream. Not the prettiest dessert but enjoyable.

• Meat tagine with carrots and celery

  • nutrica6 on September 25, 2023

    This had a nice flavor and was fun to make. The carrots and celery got very tender and the meat was very moist. Would recommend checking occasionally during the cooking time as mine needed more water. I didn’t check until the end and the lamb had burnt to the bottom of the tagine a little.

• Stonesoup

  If you ever want to explore the incredibly flavoursome wonderful world of Moroccan cuisine, this book is the best I’ve read. And cooked from.

  Full review

• Food52 by Celia Sack

  Wolfert brought tagines to America, and introduced us not only to the cooking of North Africa, but the use of clay pots in cooking stews and pilafs.

  Full review

• Fine Cooking

  Wolfert draws on her 50-year love affair with the country to fill this book with an unparalleled collection of authentic recipes and first-hand culinary knowledge.

  Full review

• Boston Globe by T. Susan Chang

  I don’t advise you to turn to it for a quick weeknight supper...Yet every layer of complication corresponded to greater depth of flavor, and I finished testing a slightly better and more patient cook.

  Full review

• Los Angeles Times

  I loved every dish, every tip and trick she offered. I actually made warka, the thin pastry leaves for a proper bestila...following a new and brilliantly easy technique she learned on Arabic YouTube.

  Full review