Morocco

Crisp, golden triangles of paper-thin pastry filled with a fragrant almond paste, then dipped in warm orange blossom honey. They are sweet, nutty and lightly floral, and are best eaten the day they are made.

A whole fish marinated in a bright, spiced chermoula, then layered into a tagine with potato, tomato, and onion, topped with lemon and chile, and simmered until everything comes together into one dish. Classic Moroccan fish tagine, traditionally made with sea bream or another firm white fish, built almost entirely from pantry spices and whatever vegetables are at hand.

Kefta briouats, also known as briouates de kefta, are small, crisp Moroccan pastries built around seasoned ground meat — usually beef or lamb — wrapped in paper-thin warqa pastry and folded into tight triangles before frying until deeply golden. They're a fixture of Moroccan appetizer spreads and Ramadan tables, most often served simply, though one distinctive regional style finishes them with a dusting of cinnamon and powdered sugar for a sweet-savory contrast.

Pastilla — also spelled bastilla, pronounced that way in Morocco since Arabic has no "p" sound — is one of the country's most celebrated dishes: a round pie of paper-thin warqa or phyllo pastry wrapped around a richly spiced chicken and egg filling, topped with almonds, and finished with a dusting of cinnamon and powdered sugar for a striking sweet-and-savory contrast. It was traditionally made with pigeon; chicken is now the everyday substitute almost everywhere outside Morocco's most traditional kitchens.

Few dishes bring people together quite like a bubbling pan of shakshuka. Originating from North Africa and deeply loved across the Middle East, this vibrant one-pan meal is a celebration of simple, bold flavors.