Maghreb cuisine Salt-preserved lemons (l'hamd mrakad) and so-called "oil-cured" olives are distinctive elements of the cuisine. The best-known Maghrebi dish abroad is couscous, made from wheat semolina. The tajine, a cooking vessel made of clay of Berber origin, is also a common denominator in this region, although the dishes and preparation methods vary widely. For example, a tajine in Tunisia is a baked quiche-like dish, whereas in Morocco it is a slow-cooked stew. Pastilla is also an important Arab-Andalusian dish of the region. Maghreb cuisine Maghreb cuisine is the cooking of the Maghreb region, the northwesternmost part of Africa along the Mediterranean
African cuisine the arrival of the Romans. From the 7th century onwards, the Arabs introduced a variety of spices, like saffron, nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger and cloves, which contributed and influenced the culinary culture of North Africa. The Ottoman Turks brought sweet pastries and other bakery products, and from the New World, North Africa got potatoes, tomatoes, zucchini and chili peppers. Most of the North African countries have several similar dishes, sometimes almost the same dish with a different name (the Moroccan "tangia" and the Tunisian "coucha" are both essentially the same dish, a meat stew prepared in an urn and cooked overnight