My first experience with how the fennel, orange, and onion play together in this salad was in Morocco, but the second was with a similar version in Israel. This is just one notable example of the similarity in these regional cuisines. The most challenging task when making this salad is segmenting the oranges away from any pith.

I took two cooking lesson in Marakesh, Morocco learning how to cook in a tagine, the traditional cooking vessel with a tall conical lid. The lid allows the condensation of juices from the food to self-baste and intensify the flavors. You don’t have to own a tagine to make Moroccan recipes, though.

I started making this dish in a Turkish cooking class a few years ago. People were skeptical about how it would taste because of the abundance of spices, but it turned out to be one of the most requested recipes I have. It’s a beautiful dip for vegetables or toasted bread or pita. It’s not only packed with flavors, it’s very healthy and good for you!

Tagine is a class dish from north Africa. It is a stew that cooks slowly, usually in a vessel called a tagine. It is an earthenware pot with a conical lid designed to lock in moisture and flavors. When I was in Morocco, we cooked with a clay tagine that required a diffuser on top of the stove to prevent foods from scorching.

In the port city of Essaouira, I cooked with a woman named Alison at L’Atelier Madada. We spent the morning shopping in the spice souk for ingredients to prepare a fish dinner and ghriba (almond cookies) for dessert. We purchased plump almonds which we ground into flour for the dough scented with orange blossom water. After the meal, Alison wrapped the remaining cookies in paper and sent them with me for the long ride back to Marrakesh.

A tagine is a not only a cooking vessel from Morocco, but it’s also the name of the actual dish that’s cooked slowly, and flavored with lots of spices and flavorful liquids. This tagine dish is made with marinated chicken, preserved lemons, and olives. I make my own preserved lemons, but if you can’t find them, you can add some lemon zest at the end of the cooking process. It won’t taste exactly the same as preserved lemons, but will have a brighter citrus flavor that is still delicious. Serve this dish over couscous or buttered rice. Although, in Morocco they would simply eat it with crusty bread.

One of my favorite flavor combinations is orange and cardamom. They just seem to go together perfectly, especially with cream, which is why this ice cream is so refreshing. Moroccan summers are hot, and often unbearable. I first had orange ice cream at a small café near the souk in Marrakesh, and it was perfect relief from the heat.

Pastilla is one of the most glorious dishes in the Moroccan kitchen. It’s often served for special occasions and is similar to chicken pot pie. But the filling can also be made with seafood, quail, and pigeon. It may sound odd to read the ingredients that include both sweet and savory, but once you bite into this labor of love, you’ll understand why this golden pastry is so special. Don’t let the long recipe deter you. It is worth the time and effort and is a pièce de resistance.

Every morning at the Riad La Sultana in Marrakesh, I ate breakfast in the courtyard surrounded by tropical flowers and towering palm trees. By the third morning of my stay, the waitstaff knew to send me a plateful of beghrir, spongy pancakes covered with tiny holes resembling a honeycomb. On my last day, I was asked if I’d like to meet the chef and learn to make Beghrir in the hotel kitchen. I eagerly accepted the offer and followed my server to the pristine kitchen where four female cooks were busily prepping the day’s menu.