This easy recipe for Lamb or Beef Tagine with Apricots uses classic Moroccan seasoning of saffron, cinnamon, ginger and pepper, and explains how to prepare the dish in a pressure cooker, conventional pot or clay or ceramic tagine. Although the recipe calls for lamb or beef, goat meat is more popular in some regions of Morocco.

The dried apricots used in this recipe are just one of a number of fruits which can be added to Moroccan tagines, either alone or in combination. Raisins, dates, prunes, pears, and quinces are examples of some others. These fruit tagines typically call for more meat than budget-stretching meat and vegetable tagines, and for that reason many families reserve making them for special meals or when entertaining.

Photo © Christine Benlafquih

A variety of dates are native to Morocco and North Africa, including the highly regarded Medjool dates. It's no surprise, then, that this naturally sweet, nutritious fruit has made its way into Moroccan tagines.

Lamb or Beef Tagine with Dates is an easy, savory main dish to put together for a family dinner or when entertaining. Prepared in a manner very similar to that of the more famous Meat and Prunes Tagine, the tagine with dates is a sweet and spicy mix of meat, fruit, cinnamon, saffron, ginger and pepper. Because the dates are sweeter than the prunes, I like to make the seasoning a bit spicier with the additions of white pepper and a little Ras el Hanout.

Toasted unhulled sesame seeds and fried almonds are traditional garnishes and add nutty, crunchy contrast. I like to use both the sesame seeds and the almonds, but some Moroccans consider it more proper to use one or the other as a garnish, but not both on the same dish.

Photo © Christine Benlafquih

Lamb or Beef Tagine with Cardoons is one of my favorite Moroccan dishes, and one of the seasonal recipes I most look forward to making. Preserved lemon and olives combine perfectly with Moroccan spices to yield a tangy, lightly spicy sauce that complements the cardoons.

Cleaning the cardoons, which look like giant stalks of celery, will seem like a nuisance if you've never done it before. They fresh stalks have to be lightly pared, then quickly rubbed with lemon juice to prevent browning. Once prepped, the cleaned cardoons will keep well for several days.

Because cardoons take so long to cook, I always use a pressure cooker when preparing Tagine with Cardoons. Pressure cookers are also useful for making other tagines when you don't have time for traditional slow-cooking, and I use them to make Harira as well.

Photo © Christine Benlafquih

I've been preparing more Moroccan sweet dishes than I usually do, and this very easy Moroccan Sweet Potato Salad is one of them. The sweet potatoes are cooked with honey, cinnamon, pepper and a bit of saffron until they're sitting in a thick, syrupy sauce. Raisins can be added for extra sweetness and texture.

Sweet potatoes are also outstanding in Moroccan Couscous with Seven Vegetables. Use them in place of the pumpkin or simply add them to the list of ingredients. If you haven't cooked sweet potatoes before, be aware that they turn tender very quickly so test frequently. To avoid overcooking them and pumpkin when making couscous, cook them early on and then remove them from the sauce until serving time. The sweet potatoes and pumpkin can then be returned to the pot to heat through.

Photo © Christine Benlafquih

Most Moroccan tomato sauces are zesty, but in Chicken Tagine with Tomatoes and Honey the sauce is sweetly flavored with saffron, cinnamon and honey. It may sound like an unusual combination, but it's surprisingly savory and satisfying.

Most tagines are eaten with Moroccan bread for scooping everything up, but this particular dish could work well as an entree served with a fork. That's how I ate the leftovers the next day. Had there been more, I would also have liked to try it on a bed of rice.

Photo © Christine Benlafquih

This savory Tagine of Onions and Raisins was our family lunch the other day. As the name suggests, it features beef (or lamb) stewed in a cinnamon-infused sauce with sliced onions and golden raisins. It's quite easy to make, and a great choice when in the mood for a sweet and spicy tagine.

I served the tagine with Deep Fried Spicy Potatoes and Tomato and Roasted Pepper Salad. If you're short on time, though, don't fret about sides since many tagines work well as a complete meal. Simply serve lots of Moroccan bread to scoop everything up.

Photo © Christine Benlafquih

Onions are called bisla in Moroccan Arabic. This is fairly close to the Standard Arabic of basal.

Onions are used extensively in Moroccan cooking. Most tagines call for at least one onion, and many Moroccan dishes call for more, such as Quince Tagine K'dra and Chicken Bastilla.

When making Roasted Chicken with Preserved Lemon and Olives, I slice the onions as thinly as shown in the photo. In other recipes, though, the onions might be chopped, thickly sliced, or grated.

The glossary listing for bisla links to even more recipes which call for onions.

Photo © Christine Benlafquih

Eggplants, or aubergines, are called a number of different things in Morocco. Early on, these Arabic words sounded so similar to my untrained ear that I thought they were a single word which I couldn't remember correctly. In print, though, it's easy to see the differences.

Danjal seems to be the most popular word in darija for eggplant, followed by badanjal, which my in-laws favor.

Some Moroccan also use danjan, or even the Standard Arabic of badanjan.

Moroccan Fried Eggplant was the first Moroccan eggplant recipe my mother-in-law taught me. My whole family likes them, and I usually serve them as part of a Moroccan Fried Fish Dinner.

Other Moroccan Eggplant Recipes on the site include:

• Zaalouk
• Moroccan Eggplant Puree
• Sweet and Spicy Moroccan Eggplant

Photo © Christine Benlafquih

Quinces are called safarjal in Arabic, and they make a sweet, sublime addition to a spicy Moroccan stew. I find fruit tagines among the easiest to make, and aside from the fact that quinces are a bit challenging to core, this Tagine of Meat and Quinces Recipe is no different.

The meat gets cooked in one pot while the quinces are cooked separately. The quinces are then simmered a second time in a rich butter, honey and cinnamon syrup before getting arranged around the meat.

Cookbook author Paula Wolfert's Okra and Quince Tagine Recipe calls for glazing the quinces in the syrup to give them added color. Although quinces already take on an appealing pinkish color as they cook, I think the glazing is a brilliant touch, and I'll likely try that myself the next time I make Quince Tagine.

Photo © Christine Benlafquih

Atay is the Moroccan Arabic word for tea. In Morocco, green tea is usually steeped in a berrad (Moroccan teapot) with lots of mint (na'na') and then sweetened with generous amounts of sugar.

The resulting drink is Morocco's famous mint tea, or atay bi na'na. The Moroccan Mint Tea Recipe tells how to make it, and you can see more Moroccan tea recipes in the glossary listing for atay.

Photo © Christine Benlafquih