Dunlap, author of New Tapas
, focuses here on the cities of Marrakech, Fez, Tunis, Carthage, La Goulette and Tripoli, going deeper than the average traveler to explore the kitchens of seven women and one man. The collection thus represents the home cooking of the region with refreshingly uncomplicated techniques, short lists of ingredients and the comforting, elemental flavors of various spices and seasonings. A Fez-style salad of carrots, cinnamon, orange juice and orange blossom water is a sweet, fragrant puree, served cool, while Mechmachia, a Tunisian simmer of lamb, pumpkin, dried fruit and caramelized onion makes a golden, mouth-melting delight quick enough to prepare on a weeknight. There are, of course, plenty of tagines, the iconic slow-cooked stews of Morocco, made with a range of different spice mixtures and regional variations. Yet the recipes also reveal plenty of other global influences: there are the pickled vegetables and salads of Kemia, the Tunisian-Jewish version of mezze, and French-influenced crepes with Seville orange marmalade. Balancing out the meaty gravies and densely packed pots of couscous are delicate pastries like Samsas with almond and sesame. A section in the back is devoted to North African basics: how to make chili paste and what spices are used to create the Tunisian mix called tabel. A list of recommended restaurants in each city is also included. Dunlap's recipes are easy to follow, and full-color photographs evoke the spicy, sumptuous flavors of the region. (Feb.)
