Ren Behan - Author Wild Honey and Rye

Food Writer

Review: New Edition Moro Cookery Book Collection (Giveaway now closed)

If you are a fan of Spanish food with a splash of North African and Eastern Mediterranean influence, then you’ll love the Moro collection of cookery books. In fact, these stunning books are a treat for any foodie, willing to take a culinary adventure and perhaps embark on an experiment or two in the kitchen. There is no doubt, that these books will blow your culinary boundaries, each one offering a unique treat for the taste buds, adding a really special dimension to your cookery book collection.

If you grow your own food or are an allotment keeper, you’ll particularly enjoy the third book, Moro East, with recipes that are taken from the plots and keepers of Manor Garden Allotments, which sadly no longer exist because they were paved over by the Olympics Committee.  If you are fan of the food of Yotam Ottolengi, Skye Gyngell, Simon Hopkinson or Nigel Slater I think you’ll love cooking from these books too. The recipes are very rustic and once you begin to understand some of the flavours (lots of spices, fresh produce and fresh herbs) and methods of cooking used, such as grilling, braising, crushing and the more general throwing together) you’ll be hooked.

If you are new to the Moro books then all you need to know is that Moro is one of the most successful Spanish restaurants in London. The restaurant opened in 1997 and is known for it’s amazing Moorish cuisine. At the helm are husband and wife team, Samual & Samantha Clark, who have an equally infectious passion for alluring food. Their recipes now span three cookbooks, which have recently been re-published in paperback by Ebury Press. The word ‘Moro’, meaning ‘Moor’ in Spanish, inspires a mix of Arabic and Hispanic dishes, where tapas sit alongside mezze. The Spanish flavours offer boldness and richness, the Muslim Mediterranean, including food from Morocco, Turkey, Egypt and Lebanon, bring lightness and fragrance to the table with equal gusto.

Here’s a taste of what’s on offer –

Moro the Cookbook (Book One)

Imagine Grilled chicken wings with tahini, Spiced labneh, Pinchitos morunos – Moorish skewers. A Feta salad with spinach, crispbread, sumac and pine nuts. Cod baked with tahini sauce. Roast shoulder of lamb with saffron rice. End with Churros con chocolate or a Seville orange tart. This book introduces us to some of the restaurant’s most popular recipes and is truly mouthwatering. I can’t wait to get stuck into this one. 

The Moro Cookbook

 

Casa Moro (Book Two)

Named after their house in Andalucía, Casa Moro explores the personal philosophy of food that Sam and Sam Clark encountered on their three-month honeymoon. Meat stews are slow-cooked, wild food, such as Rabbit rice with almond and rosemary, ancient ways of cooking are revealed, simple mountain and village food, including Turkish village soup with bread and caraway are brought to a new audience. My favourites also include Potato cakes stuffed with minced lamb and and pine nuts, Swordfish with pomegranate sauce, Roast lamb with quince purée, Fried aubergines with honey, Turrón and coffee ice-cream. Basically, this book makes me want to go travelling, now!

 

Casa Moro

 

Moro East (Book Three)

The third book has an even more interesting story to tell. The food is still essentially based on Muslim Meditarrenean cooking, but are from a little closer to home, from an allotmenet in the East End of London! Manor Garden Allotments was home to a large community of Turks, Cypriot, Greeks and Italians who cultivated the land and cooked an extraordinary range of recipes and dishes from the food grown on their allotments. Much of this food inspired the food at Moro and so the third book follows a year on the allotment. Very sadly, Manor Garden allotments, established in 1900, were bulldozed by the time the book was first published, in 2007, to make way for the 2012 Olympics!   Crops included wild plums, rhubarb, figs, herbs, British staple vegetables as well as the more exotic, such as artichokes, kholrabi and chillis. Despite a huge campaign and opposition to save the site and have it incorporated into the Olymic gardens, the Olympic Committee decided to use the land as a pathway between stadiums. The recipes were saved and make up this beautiful third book with stories from neighbouring allotment keepers as well as from Sam & Sam’s own plot.  

Moro East

 

As it is impossible to chose a favorite and so I am pleased to offer one lucky reader the complete set, just in time to inspire you for Christmas!

 

******************GIVEAWAY NOW CLOSED********************

Here’s how to enter –

1. Follow Sam&Sam Clark  (@MoroSams) on Twitter and/or Ebury Publishing for a bonus entry and leave a comment to tell me you have done so

2. Follow Fabulicious Food on Twitter, Facebook, Network Blogs or Google Friend Connect (receive a bonus entry for each follow, just let me know by leaving a comment)

3. Copy and Tweet the following “I would love to win the new edition Moro cookery book collection via @RenBehan on #FabuliciousFood”

You can enter this competition via any or all of the ways described above. A winner will be chosen by an online randomiser.  No details of any of the entrants will be passed onto anyone else. I will be able to see your email and contact you if you have won, but your email will not be visible to the public and will NOT be passed on. The books will be sent out by Ebury Publishing.

This giveaway is open to UK residents only. 

Closing date: Thursday 17th November 2011, the winner will be contacted by email or via twitter on the same day.
 
******************GIVEAWAY NOW CLOSED******************* 
 
The winner is Janice @serialcrafter as per announcement post

 

Thank You to Ebury Publishing for sending me this beautiful collection to cook from.  

 

 

About Ren

Ren Behan is a British-born food writer of Polish descent. She is a mum to three young children (13, 10 and 5) and spends lots of time with them in the kitchen. Ren writes about seasonal, family-friendly food on her blog www.renbehan.com. She also contributes recipes and articles to online and print food publications, such as Food52.com, GreatBritishChefs.com, Huff Post Food and JamieOliver.com. She holds a Diploma in Food Journalism with Distinction and has completed a Food Styling course at Leiths School of Food and Wine.

Ren’s cookbook, Wild Honey and Rye: Modern Polish Recipes, draws upon her Polish heritage and regular travels to Poland.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  86. i have liked your facebook page and followed everyone you asked !

    i have tweeted your message as well!

    twittername @baudsley

    Reply

  150. I’ve been lusting after the first book since I saw it at a friend’s a few years ago, but have somehow managed to resist. Had no idea there were more. Now of course I want the lot! Followed the story of the allotment loss at the time – having an allotment of our own, I was really upset by it.

    I’ve tweeted

    Reply

  180. I already follow you on Twitter
    I like your FaceBook page Fabulicious Food.
    I’m following @MoroSams and Ebury publishing
    AND – I’ve tweeted the sentence: I would love to win the new edition Moro cookery book collection via @RenBehan on #FabuliciousFood

    Reply

  202. Following @morosams & Ebury Publishing
    Following Fabulicious Food on twitter & facebook & blog
    Tweeted @lebeeuk

    Reply

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