Sbiba (Moroccan Spinach Sauté)

Sbiba is the humble weeknight vegetable of Moroccan homes, the dish a cook makes when there is nothing else in the house but a bunch of spinach, garlic, and cumin. The word itself means 'small dish' in Moroccan Arabic, distinguishing it from the more elaborate slow-cooked vegetable tagines. There is no grand fable attached to sbiba because it is the food of every day, but Moroccan grandmothers say: 'A house that smells of garlic and cumin is a house at peace.' The dish is the first thing a young cook learns to make - it teaches the most important Moroccan lesson: a few good ingredients, treated simply, become something greater than themselves. The cumin is what makes it Moroccan rather than Mediterranean; the coriander at the end is what makes it fresh rather than heavy. Sbiba is served alongside tagines and couscous, but also on its own with bread, as a light supper when the day's cooking is done.