Tagine de Cœurs d'Artichaut et Petits Pois

When the first good artichokes arrive with fresh peas, don't wait too long. This is a market dish, green and quick by Moroccan measure, the kind you cook when spring is sitting right there in the basket and you don't want to bury it under heaviness.

The artichoke hearts need enough time to turn tender, but the peas need less. That is the whole judgment of the dish. Add the peas late so they stay sweet and bright, then let the preserved lemon wake the sauce at the end. Fresh lemon will give you acidity, yes, but not that salted depth. Use preserved lemon here.

This tagine belongs in the middle of the table with khobz for the sauce, not tucked beside something as decoration. Meatless does not mean missing anything. It is la cuisine du lien, the cooking of connection, because a shared dish of vegetables can hold a table open as surely as lamb.