No, bakkoula is not, as is often said, a "Moroccan-style spinach salad". While steamed mallow leaves do have the same consistency and colour as spinach, the comparison doesn't go much further, as the taste is quite different.
Relatively easy to make, it's on Moroccan tables throughout the spring. And if you don't have any mallow to hand, you can replace it with spinach leaves (rather young, and taking care to remove the bitter central part).
I'm making an exception here to my 'editorial line', which is not to talk about Moroccan recipes. Others do it much better than I do, simply because it's so good!
Bakkoula salad, Moroccan mallow salad
Equipment
- 1 Sauté pan
- 1 Couscoussier or
- 1 Steam basket
Ingredients
- 2 bunches Bakoula (Mallow)
- Olives
- 1 Preserved lemon
- Salt
- Pepper
- ½ cup Parsley
- ½ cup Cilantro
- 4 cloves Garlic
- 1 tsp Cumin
- 2 tbsp. Olive oil
- 1 Lemon juice
- 1 tsp Sweet pepper
Instructions
Pre-cook the mallow by steaming
- Finely chop the stems and the bakoula leaves a little less finely.
- Steam for about 20 minutes, either in the basket of the couscoussier, or in a steamer basket over a large pan of water (the volume of the leaves will decrease very quickly).
Prepare the seasoning
- Finely chop the parsley and coriander.
- Crush the garlic cloves.
- Separate the flesh of the preserved lemons from the skin. Cut the peel into small pieces.
- Heat the olive oil in a frying pan, add the spices and herbs (except garlic) and leave in the hot oil for a few minutes (5 maximum).
Finishing the bakoula
- Once the mallow leaves are soft, return the pan to the heat and add the garlic, mallow leaves, lemon juice and preserved lemon flesh.
- Mix and sauté for 10 minutes.
- Serve in a large dish, adding the olives and pieces of preserved lemon peel as decoration.