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1
Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a full boil, then add the mallow (or the spinach, parsley, and coriander together) and blanch for 3–4 minutes. Drain into a colander and refresh briefly under cold water. When cool enough to handle, gather the greens into a tight ball and squeeze with both hands, repeatedly and forcefully, so that every last trace of water leaves the mass — if moisture remains, the greens will steam rather than braise in the pan and the texture will never tighten; the compressed ball should feel almost rubbery and hold its shape.
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2
On a large chopping board, chop the squeezed greens very fine, working the knife across the mass until it approaches a coarse paste with no visible leaf structure remaining, so the final dish coheres as a unified mass rather than a tangle of separate pieces. This takes patience — keep rocking the knife and regathering the pile until the texture is consistent throughout.
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3
Warm the olive oil in a wide, heavy pan over low heat, add the garlic, and cook gently until softened and fragrant but not coloured, because garlic that browns here will turn bitter and chase through every bite of the finished dish. Add the cumin and sweet paprika, stir once, and cook for 30 seconds until the spices bloom in the oil and the pan smells toasted and warm.
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4
Add the chopped greens and stir thoroughly to coat them in the spiced oil. This is where the dish lives or dies: reduce the heat to the lowest possible setting and braise the greens, stirring frequently, for 30 to 45 minutes, so the mass darkens slowly and the raw bitterness cooks out entirely — it should never fry or spit, only murmur. At the end of the braise the greens will have collapsed into a dense, deeply savoury mass that pulls cleanly from the sides of the pan.
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5
In the final 10 minutes of braising, stir in the pitted Moroccan olives so they warm through and meld with the greens without losing their identity. Their brine should be detectable in the pan's aroma as they settle in.
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6
In the final 5 minutes, stir in the preserved-lemon rind, adding it late so the concentrated brine does not over-salt the dish as the liquid reduces during the long braise. Taste: the salad should be savoury, assertive, and balanced between the earthiness of the greens, the warmth of cumin and paprika, and the sharp salt-acid of the preserved lemon.
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7
Remove from the heat, squeeze the lemon juice over the surface, and stir once. Transfer to a serving dish and allow to cool completely to room temperature, or refrigerate for up to 24 hours, since the flavours integrate further and the dish genuinely improves as it sits and the spiced oil works back through the mass. Before serving, drizzle the argan oil across the surface; the finished bakoula should read as a dense, almost paste-like mass, dark olive-green, with the preserved-lemon rind and olives visible as distinct texture anchors.