A Wanderlust Stew

This fragrant, meaty stew will transport you to Morocco.
A Wanderlust Stew
This stew is subtly sweetened with figs, heady with harissa and redolent with ras el hanout—a North African spice blend consisting of a shop's worth of dried spices. Photo by Lynda Balslev for Tastefood
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Are you feeling a bout of wanderlust? Thanks to a long winter season, the urge to travel to a warm and far-flung destination is tantalizing. Yet, while we dream of an impulsive trip, the practicalities of daily life keep us rooted in place. So, why not improvise and bring the taste of a faraway destination home to your kitchen?

Turn to your spice cabinet and a cookbook for instant relief and cultural inspiration. It won’t be the same as a last-minute trip, of course, but at least you can stay at home in your pajamas.

Lynda Balslev
Lynda Balslev
Author
Lynda Balslev is a cookbook author, food and travel writer, and recipe developer based in the San Francisco Bay Area, where she lives with her Danish husband, two children, a cat, and a dog. Balslev studied cooking at Le Cordon Bleu Ecole de Cuisine in Paris and worked as a personal chef, culinary instructor, and food writer in Switzerland and Denmark. Copyright 2026 Lynda Balslev. Distributed by Andrews McMeel Syndication.
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