Sardine

At the thought of Morocco, the mind tends to wander to the teeming heart of Marrakech; but the windswept coastal city of Essaouira, with its whitewashed buildings and heaping displays of glimmering fish (which you can have grilled on the spot), offers another sort of paradise. We can't supply Essaouira's particular perfume of sea and smoke, but the simplicity and clean flavors of this lemon-infused dish will take you there in spirit.

In French, the term tartine can refer to a buttered slice of bread that's topped with a spread, or an open-faced sandwich, such as the one here. Piment d'Espelette, a dried red pepper from the French Basque region, can be found online at surfasonline.com. If you can't find fresh sardines, use trout or branzino fillets instead.

This combination is inspired by the creamy sauce for vitello tonnato, but uses sardines rather than tuna for a more lively fish flavor.

Active time: 15 min Start to finish: 15 min

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

A quick version of the traditional Sicilian dish pasta con le sarde. Accompany it with herbed focaccia topped with goat cheese, as well as a salad of roasted red bell peppers. Finish the meal with a fresh fruit tart. This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less. Frying the lime wedges gives them a pleasing golden color and enables the juice to squirt out with the slightest pressure.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Insalata Pantasca Insalata pantasca is the potato and tomato salad of Pantelleria, a small, poor island near Sicily, which is famous for its capers. Big, fat capers, full of flavor and packed in salt. Like any local recipe, this has as many variations as there are cooks. The fish that you would find in the Pantelleria salad, however, is something you can't locate in this country. I like sardines in it; you might try something different, such as smoked trout. You wouldn't find yellow-fleshed potatoes on the island, but I love their flavor in this salad. The more traditional choices would be whites, or red-skinned — something on the waxy side.

These five-ingredient sardine toasts make the perfect party snacks to pass around during cocktail hour.