Bakoula, Moroccan Braised Greens
Bakoula is the Moroccan cooked-greens salad, traditionally made from mallow leaves but just as good with chard, spinach, or a mix, braised down with a fistful of parsley and cilantro until dark and thick. It is served cool as one of the small salads that open a Moroccan meal, alongside zaalouk and taktouka. The character comes from preserved lemon, a whole lemon cured in salt for weeks, and that cured rind is why this dish carries a little sodium where most on this site carry none. Rinse it and use only the peel, then lean on garlic, cumin, and fresh lemon for the rest.
Ingredients
- 8 cups Swiss chard, chopped
- 1 cup Flat-leaf parsley, chopped
- 1 cup Cilantro, chopped
- 4 cloves Garlic, minced
- 1 tsp Cumin seed, toasted and ground
- 1 tsp Sweet paprika
- 1/2 whole Preserved lemon, rind only, rinsed and minced
- 2 tbsp Lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp Aleppo pepper, salt-free
Method
- Pile the chard, parsley, and cilantro into a wide pot with a splash of water, cover, and wilt over medium heat until fully collapsed, about 8 minutes. Greens cook down to a fraction of their volume, so start with what looks like far too much.
- Uncover, add the garlic, cumin, and paprika, and keep cooking, stirring often, until the water has gone and the greens turn dark and jammy, 15 to 20 minutes. Bakoula is meant to be reduced almost to a paste, its flavor concentrated by the long cook.
- Stir in the minced preserved lemon. Rinse it well and use only the rind, discarding the soft flesh where most of the salt sits, so the ferment gives its perfume without much sodium.
- Finish off the heat with the lemon juice and Aleppo pepper. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Nutrition
Estimated per serving: 90 calories, 5 g protein, 5 g fiber, 200 mg sodium. Computed from USDA FoodData Central reference values for the main ingredients. This is an approximation, not a laboratory measurement. How these are computed.
Cost per serving is estimated from US national-average retail prices for cheap staple forms, using BLS dried-bean prices and USDA produce prices. Prices vary by store and season, so treat it as a guide, not a receipt. How this is computed.
