The Moro Cookbook

Moro joins the starry ranks of beautifully presented London restaurant cookbooks such as The River Café Cookbook and Momo that have excelled in delivering the tastes of the Mediterranean to our colder climes. Both the cookbook and the restaurant are the realisation of the dreams of Samuel and Samantha Clark, chef-owners and now writers. Their passion for the intense flavours of the cuisine of Spain, North Africa and the Eastern Mediterranean follow the saffron-cinnamon connection; the robust style of Spanish cooking balancing the lighter, more exotic dishes of the Muslim Mediterranean.

Tapas favourites such as tortilla, pimientos del piquillo (sweet peppers), boquerones (anchovies), sardines and chorizo share the table with familiar mezzes like grilled chicken wings with tahini, baba ghanoush and tabbouleh. But the joy of Moro is that it balances such favourites with rarer fare and new inventive recipes with traditional ingredients, such as the colourful and deliciously rich carcuteria cecina with beetroot and almond sauce and grilled quail with rose petals. If you thought you knew what to expect from paella, try monkfish paella with saffron or pork, chorizo and spinach, or Chicken, artichokes and oloroso sherry. All of which might not leave much room for the bitter chocolate, coffee and cardamon coffee cake or the Malaga raisin ice-cream.

If some of the ingredients leave you a trifle bewildered, Moro ends with an appendix of suppliers from specialty ethnic shops to local supermarket fare and a terrifically handy almanac of vegetables and fruits in season. Like its other restaurant cook books, Moro also serves up a feast for your eyes and belongs on your coffee table as well as in the kitchen, splendidly extending and deepening our appreciation for these too often over-looked cuisines. --Fiona Buckland

View other editions of The Moro Cookbook.
View books by Samantha Clark, Samuel Clark.

souvenir chef-book - Rated
This must be for people who have already eaten at Moro or in Andalusia - despite being a good cook I cannot make these recipes taste good. There are far better (but less trendy) Spanish/Moroccan books by any of the following food writers (as opposed to chefs-of-the-moment): Elizabeth Luard, Penelope Casas, Paula Wolfert; all keepers, unlike this one! In its favour, the reference section is reasonably helpful & the pics are intermittently charming. The paper stock stains & dissolves very easily - not great for a bone fide cook book, eh?

Yes but - Rated
I've eaten at the restaurant a couple of times, and loved it. I love Spanish food, and Moro's take on it is a real winner. And there are some recipes in here we come back to time and again (the carrot, cumin and coriander salad is just sensational and I never tire of it).

So why three stars? Well, just because we only ever cook three or four things. We've tried a couple of recipes that just didn't really work - they didn't go wrong, they were just, well, fine. But a lot of trouble for just fine. And a load of others I've just thought "oh, I can't be bothered". Which isn't to say it's complicated, just a bit off putting.

The mezze/tapas dishes are great though, the yoghurt cake not to my tastes but everyone we've made it for has raved about it, the liver with cumin wonderful, and the patatas pobres lovely). Have a look through it before buying, and see how many you're really likely to cook though.

Not authentic Moroccan dishes - Rated
I was very disappointed when I received this book. The national dish of Morocco is tagine with couscous. This book only sport ONE tagine recipe and included a lot of recipes with ham and sherry which is not part of the main Moroccan diet as they are majority Muslim. I bought a tagine pot in the hope to use it but will have to put it off until I get a better book. With all the good reviews I was hoping that the dishes would be more authentic but I am afraid not. I have not tried any of the recipes. I am pretty sure it will taste good but probably no different to any other book or recipes. The book seemed to have a Spanish feel to it. If you are after authenticity then I recommend you look elsewhere.

Original, fresh, simple, fabulous cooking! - Rated
I love this cookbook! Though presently suffering under a self imposed ban on cookbook buying - I could NOT resist this... I picked it up in a friends house and read page after page of delicious and different recipes for things like carrots with coriander, beetroot and garlicky yoghurt, patatas bravas, chicken baked in harissa, pork cooked in milk etc.
There is also guidance on where to buy sherry and what types work best with different food (a drink I have ALWAYS hated but am happily being won over.) There is a slight over dependence on London suppliers and speciality shops in the references given but... I have not bought a book in years that I have loved as much or produced food that has elicited so many compliments from friends. Plus the pictures are pretty!

kitchen treasure - Rated
I think I can safely call this my favourite cookbook. It has spent as much time on my beside table as in the kitchen, and has inspired a fair few trips to Andalucia with my family. This is proper cooking, and although some recipes I don't dare try because I lack the confidence, I'm glad they're included for that day when I just might take the leap. The rest of the recipes, however, are those that make me want to stay at home and prepare as much as possible of this remarkable and distinctive food. If you're not lucky enough to live near a Spanish food shop, there is a very useful directory in the back for mail-order companies. And if you're ever in London, make a pilgrammage to the restaurant (if you can get a table!).