Africa & Middle East recipe collection

Green pepper, tomato, spinach and peanut butter make a unique quick and easy side dish.

Hubbard squash and yams simmer in coconut milk with cinnamon and cloves for a lightly sweetened West African side dish ready in 25 minutes.

A spicy vegetable stew - easy to make. Some find that the flavors of the vegetables don't stand out unless you put in a lot of tabasco. But not everyone likes it hot. Just add enough to make the stew seem spicy to you.

Alton Brown's homemade gyro meat: ground lamb processed to a paste with onion, garlic, and herbs, baked and pressed dense so it slices thin, served on pita with cool homemade tzatziki, tomato, and feta.

Pearl barley and green lentils simmer with onions and mint in this traditional Iranian soup where turmeric and gentle spices create warming, earthy comfort in every spoonful.

Pearl barley simmers in chicken stock with carrots, turmeric, and lime juice, then gets finished with sour cream in this Persian-inspired soup that's both hearty and surprisingly bright.

Aush is a hearty Afghan noodle dish layered with split peas, kidney beans, spinach, spiced lamb keema, and tangy mint yogurt. Handmade noodles meet bold Central Asian flavors in this soul-satisfying one-bowl meal.

Moroccan mechoui: paprika and garlic-rubbed leg of lamb roasted over a bed of carrots, onions, tomato and celery. Simple North African feast served straight from the roasting pan.

Sliced bananas bake with citrus juices, brown sugar, and toasted coconut in this quick West African dessert that's incredible with vanilla ice cream.

Chickpeas simmered in creamy coconut milk with tomato, garlic, and golden turmeric. Six ingredients, one pot, and deeply fragrant. Vegan African-inspired comfort over rice.

Middle Eastern beef kibbe patties made with bulgur wheat, pine nuts, cinnamon, cayenne, and fresh lemon juice. Pan-fried until golden and served with cool yogurt on the side.

Moroccan beet appetizer salad with herb-flecked beets and potatoes dressed separately in a chili-spiked olive oil vinaigrette. Composed with diced tomato, onion, and black olives. Vegan and bright.

Roast onion, garlic, ginger, and whole spices until fragrant, blend with olive oil and lemon juice for a potent Ethiopian marinade that transforms tuna, pork, or beef.

This is the hot and exotic spice mixture that give Eritrean and Ethiopian cooking its characteristic flavor.

Silky eggplant slices fried golden, then chilled in a spiced tomato bath with cinnamon, mint, and red pepper flakes. This Afghan salad tastes bright, tangy, and just a little bit dangerous.

Golden half-moon pastries stuffed with garlicky leeks and a hint of chili, crimped into little crescents and fried until they shatter. Afghan street food that's vegetarian, crunchy, and completely addictive.