Roasted peppers with preserved lemons on pita coins

I was curating a Moroccan dinner and was searching for a recipe highlighting the essence of ingredients and flavour from the region. Preserved lemons are one of the quintessential Moroccan ingredients, so I stumbled upon this recipe.

Preserved lemons go back to ancient times when there was a need to preserve fruit for the winter months as a source of Vitamin C to prevent scurvy and other diseases. They are common throughout North Africa but seen most commonly in Morocco. Of note is that this dish has made its way to India to Hyderabad and can be seen as "dhoop limboo" or sunned limes. This is because of the trade and marriages between the Moroccan kings and the Nizam's family.

This is a lovely recipe. The roasted peppers are sweet and earthy, and the addition of the extremely tart and salty preserved lemons compliment the dish beautifully. I like to serve it as small coins topped with the mix, but this can also be a dip. Be careful, your guests will want to fill up on this dish.

This is a fantastic cookbook for Moroccan cuisine from a chef who is a master of the art. Mourad has won a Michelin star and is considered by many to be the originator of contemporary Moroccan cuisine. Bon Appetit has rated this cookbook as one of the world's best in 21011, and it remains one of my favourites. The recipes can be complex, except for a few like this one, but each is divine. I have had dinner at his wonderful restaurant, Aziza, in San Francisco several times, and each time, the experience has been a delight, and the food is outstanding.

For more recipes from this fabulous cookbook, click here.

Ingredients:

6 coloured peppers, red, yellow and green

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 preserved lemon, minced

Olive oil

Salt, to taste

1 teaspoon pepper

2 tablespoons cilantro, minced

1 tablespoon olive oil

15 garlic cloves

Pita coins

Heat the oven to 375° F.

Char the peppers in the oven until they are very soft and the skin can be easily removed, about 25-30 minutes. Peel and deseed the peppers. Chop into small bits. 

Mix the peppers with the rest of the ingredients—taste for salt and tartness. 

Cut the pita bread into small circles or squares. Bake briefly for 1-2 minutes to warm them up. Serve the pita coins garnished with cilantro on top.