Please, sir,I want some moor

Pasteis marroquinos

Pastilla, also spelt Bastilla is a savoury-sweet Moroccan meat pie made by filling a thin flaky pastry shell with a mixture of tender braised poultry, eggs, and fried almonds. At first glance, a pastilla could easily be mistaken for a dessert, since it’s generously dusted with powdered sugar and cinnamon, but the sweet crispy exterior belies the spicy, savoury mixture on the inside. Traditionally made with squab ( pigeon) and warka pastry, I’ve adapted these pastillas with ingredients that are more readily available and easier to work with.I made two variations on the theme - chicken with Ras -al hanout cous cous and a second version with spicy minced beef and vegetables."Warka is for the obsessed and the mad".So I heeded this advice and simplified matters by opting not for phyllo which would be the next best thing,but for ready rolled and pre-cut pastry discs.
Every refrigerator should be permanently stocked with a packet of these.I really don´t know what I did before I discovered these, but believe me for recipes like this pies are made in minutes.

As you bite into a crisp buttery pastilla, the sugar and cinnamon activates your sweet taste receptors, but the sweetness quickly fades as the savoury filling hits your tongue. The tender chicken and onions flood your mouth with an umami rich burst of flavour that carries with it, notes of ginger, turmeric and cardamom and whatever other spices you include. It´s quite amazing how magnificent these humble pastries can be, and they leave your guests crying out for moor.

Pasteis marroquinos
makes 16

2 soup spoons of olive oil
1 onion chopped
450g minced meat( preferably lamb)
2 cloves garlic crushed
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 heaped teaspoon chilli flakes
1 teaspoon sweet smoked paprika
1 teaspoon cinnamon powder
1 cup of meat stock
1 soup spoon regular flour
1 cup frozen peas
a small assortment of vegetables diced very small,carrots new potatoes
2 soup spoons chopped coriander leaves
1 teaspoon cinnamon powder
1 heaped soup spoon tomato purée
Heat the olive oil in a frying pan over a medium flame.Cook the vegetables and onion for about 10 minutes,until soft and transparent but not browned.Add the meat and cook stirring constantly until browned all over. Add the crushed garlic and the spices.Mix in well and cook for another minute.Add the flour mixing it in well and cook for another minute,Stir in the tomato purée followed by the meat stock and season with salt and pepper.Cover with a lid and lower the heat.Cook for 10 minutes or until the mixture is thickened and has formed a paste.Add the peas and cook on a simmer for 5 more minutes or until peas are tender.Mix in the coriander leaves and allow to cool.
Divide the mixture in teaspoonfuls between the discs. brush the edges of the discs with beaten egg and fold over the pastry disc pinching it together to seal in a crescent shaped parcel.Brush the pastillas lightly all over with beaten egg and transfer to a baking tray lined with parchment paper and store in the refrigerator till ready to use.Heat oven to 200c and cook the pastillas for around 20 minutes or until golden.
Serve with yoghurt cucumber and mint raita.
For the chicken variation:Dry fry a small onion in a pan with a soup sponn of Ras al hanout
until fragrant then stir in  a soup spoon of olive oil follwed by 65g cous cous and 125ml of hot vegetable stock.Leave for 5 minutes then fluff up with a fork.Mix in some shredded chicken, quail or duck meat and fill the pastillas as above.

Moorish skewers

Pinchitos morunos and a glass of Pedro Ximenez

Europe's first kebabs were brought by the Arabs from Africa. Pinchitos morunos are extremely popular as a tapa, particularly in Andalucia. Though nowadays they are made of pork, rather than lamb,they are still marinated in a Moorish spice mix and usually grilled outside and over charcoal or wood; however, they also cook beautifully on a griddle or on a heavy griddle type pan inside, during the cooler months.Great finger food for friends - or you can increase the quantities and make them a meal or part of a barbecue.

• 500g lean pork fillets, lean lamb fillets or skinless chicken breasts
• 8 pre-soaked wooden skewers, about 15cm long, OR
• 4 metal skewers, about 25cm long

MARINADE

• 1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds, roughly ground
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds, roughly ground
• 1/2 teaspoonfennel seeds, roughly ground
• 1 -2 teaspoon sweet smoked paprika (Pimenton)
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed with
• 1/2 teaspoon Flor de sal 
• 1 pinch saffron threads,infused with
• 2 tablespoonsboiling water
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano or 1 teaspoon dried oregano 
• 1bay leaf, crumbledor finely chopped
• 2 teaspoons sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar 
• 2 teaspoons olive oil

1. Cut your choice of meat,chicken lamb or pork into cubes about 1" in size. Flatten them slightly with the palm of your hand.
2. Place the meat in a large bowl and add the dried spices, garlic & salt, saffron infused water, oregano, bay leaf and vinegar - mix thoroughly.
3. Add the olive oil - mix again thoroughly, cover with cling film and leave in the fridge for between 2 & 12 hours, so the flavours mingle and marinade into the meat.
4. Light the barbecue about half an hour before cooking and allow the charcoal or wood to flare and then glow.
5. If cooking inside, turn the grill up to high, or use a smoking hot griddle or griddle pan.
6. Thread the meat on to the skewers.
7. Grill for about 5 minutes on each side, or until the outside is charred and the inside is still juicy but cooked. (NOT pink for pork and chicken - but pink for lamb).
8. Season well with salt and pepper and sprinkle with chopped flat leaf parsley or fresh coriander (Cilantro), serve with a selection of salads, flat breads, pickles and of course a glass of sherry or Tempranillo.

One for all or all for one...

Not dissimilar to Provençal Ratatouille and Mallorcan Tumbet, this delicious Moroccan tomato and green pepper stew/salad is wonderfully versatile.Taktouka is a cooked salad made from vine-fresh tomatoes and roasted green peppers. If you have both vegetarian and meat eating guests at your table this dish could bail you out of a tight corner and save you lot of time and extra work. One dish serves all here..You'll need to roast and skin your green peppers before you use them in the recipe. If you've never done this, How to Roast and Skin Peppers will show you how.The finished dish is thick enough to spread on bread, so makes a fantastic choice for inclusion in a Mediterranean mezze starter, or as an innovative sandwich filling.It is perfect as part of a collection of small salads to accompany tagines or barbecues.
So here is how you keep everybody sweet. 

TAKTOUKA
Serves 4
4 green peppers
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 kilo (2lb) ripe vine tomatoes, skinned seeded and chopped
1tablespoon tomato purée
1 taespoon caster sugar
3 garlic cloves,chopped
1 teaspoon pimenton dulce ( sweet paprika)
2 teaspoons ground cumin
salt, cayenne pepper
fresh parsley sprigs to garnish
Grill the green peppers close under a pre-heated grill, turning frequently until blackened and blistered all over.Put them in a plastic bag and knot it. Leave to cool enough to handle, then peel off the skin. Remove the stem and seeds and cut the peppers into strips.
the strips should be about thirds of each pepper.Reserve.
Heat the olive oil in a frying pan and add the tomatoes, tomato purée, sugar and garlic. Cook for about 10 minutes, stirring and mashing the tomatoes down, until they form a sauce. Now add the peppers, paprika, cumin,salt and a touch of cayenne pepper.Continue cooking, stirring frequently to prevent burning, until all the watery juices have evaporated and the mixture is starting to fry again in the oil - about 15 minutes, depending on the heat. taste and adjust the seasoning and then turn the mixture into a bowl or on to a shallow dish and leave to cool.This is the dish in its basic form that can be eaten by everyone and delicious it is too.
For the trick, while it is cooking, roast some chicken breasts in the oven. When ready to serve, remove half the pepper and tomato sauce to another pan and stir through the chicken roughly sliced and chopped up into large pieces.
And there you have it dinner for vegetarians and carnivores alike.If you have any left overs which I very much doubt, fill some foccacia or soft rustic bread and pack them into the kids lunch boxes. Those lunch boxes will be the talk of the school refectory.

Coming back for Moor

"Next month, when my lemons are ready, I will post a recipe for one of the most renowned Moroccan dishes containing preserved lemons, Djej Makali ( Tagine of chicken, preserved lemons and olives).By this time I will have returned from my up and coming trip to London with a tagine, or two under my arm.I have travelled the length and breadth of Portugal, and can I find a decent tagine shop, can I heck.The Moroccan influence in Casa Rosada will then be all set to kick in."

I keep my promise and here it is. The lemons are ready and delicious they are too.
London alas didn´t come up trumps on the tagine front. They were beautiful but not large enough for the job Casa Rosada had in mind.
The Moroccan tagine is directly descended from the Persian khoresht stew,

Traditionally a tagine is a robust stew consisting of meat, fowl or fish, vegetables or fruit, and spices slowly simmered in an earthenware pot with its distinctive conical lid.  The shape of the lid draws the steam upwards, while its unglazed underside absorbs the steam, concentrating the savoury juices in the bottom of the pot.If you don’t have a tagine, a heavy-lidded casserole is a decent substitute.I cooked this subtle dish of semi-stewed, semi steamed chicken in a heavy cast iron casserole. In theory therefore it was not a tagine but a pot-roast. What a pot roast it was, politely spiced with ginger, cumin turmeric and saffron with the salty tang of the preserved lemons and fleshy succulent olives.The resulting plate of gorgeousness was reminiscent of a coq au vin. The meat had cooked down sufficiently to just fall off the bone and await the moisture of the sauce it had been cooked in to be poured over.

Djej Makali

Tagine of chicken, preserved lemons and olives
Serves 4

1 large free range chicken

1teaspoon ground turmeric

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground cumin

4 garlic cloves crushed

1 onion grated

2 chicken livers

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

300ml(1/2 pint) water

pinch of saffron threads

1 preserved lemon

110g pinky red and green olives ( if you can´t get kalamata can be a substitute)

salt and freshly ground black pepper
Trim the flaps of excess fat from the chicken at the opening of the cavity, and remove any other excess fat. Truss the legs and tuck them into the cavity. Rub the turmeric, ginger and cumin all over the chicken, and then smear over half the garlic.Season lightly with salt and pepper, then cover and set aside for up to 12 hours ( covered in the fridge).

Put the remaining garlic, onion, chicken livers, olive oil and water into a casserole , saucepan or tagine large enough to take the chicken.Stir and bring to the boil.Now, add the chicken and reduce the heat so that the liquid barely simmers.Cover the pan, leaving just a small gap for steam to escape, and cook for 11/2 - 2 hours,turning the chicken frequently so that the flesh is partially steamed and partially simmered to a melting tenderness.Meanwhile soak the saffron in a tablespoon of hot water.Scrape the pulp out of the lemon and discard. Cut the skin into strips, rinse thoroughly, drain and reserve. Rinse the olives. Bring apan of water to the boil, add the olives and blanch for 1 minute, to remove excess salt. Drain Thoroughly.
When it is done, take the chicken out of the pan and keep warm. Retrieve the livers, quarter them and reserve them with the chicken.Stir the strips of preserved lemon, the olives and the saffron into the remaining sauce in the pan, then simmer for 2-3 minutes.Taste and adjust your seasoning.Serve the chicken with the sauce spooned over and around it, scattering the bits of liver in amongst the olives and lemon.
And a suggestion for a starter.

Sabzi khordan, or soft herb salad. This is simplicity itself—a bowl of unadorned fresh mint, coriander, flat leaf parsley, dill, tarragon and basil, for example, along with some feta-like crumbly white cheese and warm flat bread.

It is difficult to convey how stimulating it is to crunch through such a kaleidoscope of flavors, tempered by a neutral mass of bread and cheese. Naturally, the mixture of herbs depends on availability and can also include radishes, spring onions and chives. But whatever the combination, it is a revelation to have such a fresh and simple start to a meal.

Citrus hit- like a right lemon

Bottled lemons not to be confused with preserved lemons

Back in October 2010 I posted the first of what was intended to be several posts under the label "The Moroccan Kitchen." Well I´ve taken my time, being sidetracked along the way, but here is the second instalment - Preserved lemons. The Casa Rosada lemon tree has been less than fruitful these past few months. It has now come into its own and providing me with all the lemons the kitchen needs. Today I´ve busied myself bottlin booty. I started with bottled lemons, a way of infusing oil with a lovely taste and aroma.After two months you can remove the lemons, dice them and add to salads,soups or stews.Select smaller lemons, as they will be easier to fit into jars.Wash and dry the lemons.Put the lemons into jars and fill with enough olive oil to cover them completely. Keep them submerged the whole time they are `pickling.´Leave them for two months before using.
TROUBLESHOOTER: Watch out for bubbles that sometimes form when lemons have been in oil for a week or so- this is just the air coming out as they start the `pickling ´process. If this happens you must let the air out every day or two to avoid the fizzing that may occur when you do eventually get around to opening them.Store the jars in a cool place and only use the best unblemished lemons.

Preserved Lemons

FILLS A 1LITRE (13/4 pint) PRESERVING JAR

8 unwaxed lemons

50-75g (2-3oz) 

coarse sea salt

2 bay leaves optional

Sterilize a 1litre (13/4 pint) jar and allow to cool, covered with a clean tea towel. when you are ready to go, sprinkle a heaped tablespoonful of the salt over the base of the jar.

Take a lemon and with a sharp knife, make two cuts through the lemon at right angles,keeping the lemon intact. Start from the stem end and finish about 1 cm (1/2in)short of the other end.Open the fruit out a little and sprinkle the insides with a generous helping of salt, then re-shape the lemon. Pack it down firmly in the preserving jar. Sprinkle with more salt.

Repeat with another four lemons, pressing each one down firmly, so that they all squish into the jar, releasing some of their juice under the pressure of your hand.

Now add the juice of the remaining 3 lemons, and enough water to cover the semi-quartered salted lemons completely. If you are using the bay leaves tuck them down the sides of the jar. Now cut two lengths of strong wooden skewer slightly longer than the diameter of the opening of the jar.Using patience, and a little brute force( but not too much or you will snap the wood9, push them down under the rim of the jar, at right angles to each other, so that they force the lemons to remain submerged in the lemon juice and water.Seal the jar tightly and leave for 1 month before using.

When you need a lemon for a recipe, remove it from the lemon brine with a wooden spoon( not a metal one, which would discolour and taint the remaining lemons).Separate the quarters, cut away the the inner pulp and discard.Cut the peel into strips, or as described in the recipe. The brine is excellent too in salad dressings or marinades, particularly for fish.

Next month, when my lemons are ready, I will post a recipe for the most renowned Moroccan dish containing preserved lemons, Djej Makali ( Tagine of chicken, preserved lemons and olives).By this time I will have returned from my up and coming trip to London with a tagine, or two under my arm.I have travelled the length and breadth of Portugal, and can I find a decent tagine shop, can I heck.The Moroccan influence in Casa Rosada will then be all set to kick in.

Posh Spice at top shop

Recently I have been bringing some Moroccan influences and ingredients into the dishes I have been producing here in the Al-Gharb, at Casa Rosada. Saffron, cous cous, pomegranates, dried apricots, chermoula, preserved lemons and ras el hanout.
Literally "top of the shop", ras el hanout is a Moroccan spice blend that can contain more than 30 ingredients.The spices I use are supplied by Algarvespice. Hartmut Meuschel and Ruth Bhuiyan have top quality spices and some that I have never even heard of. On a recent occasion buying spices from them at a local Autumn fair, I noticed their bagged up ras el hanout contained 26 ingredients!!!- I prefer to make my own blend. It is a streamlined version of the traditional mixture and includes most of the main spices.For the spice merchants in the Souks it is a point of honour to have the most sought after version of the blend. These spice merchants are reputed to have created custom blends of ras el hanout for prestigious clients,(Victoria whats your secret? ) including ingredients such as hashish and even Spanish fly. Our guests enjoy their dinners at Casa Rosada but I dont think we should be providing add-ons such as stimulants in the food!!!!-God help us we dont want a rude awakening of a night!!! Ras al hanout may sometimes contain floral scents such as lavender and rose buds.  A first class ras el hanout, when found, is one of the finest examples of how well a diverse variety of spices can be combined to to create an ingredient that is greater than its individual components. Ras el hanout is curry-like with a spicy kick, a sometimes floral fragrance and subtle nuances within an overall robust flavour. It is extremely versatile, adding a golden colour and an enticing aroma to a variety of dishes. A teaspoon stirred into rice or cous cous while cooking will lift  it to a higher level. It can be used as spice rub for lamb chops.
Here is my streamlined version:(11 components)

1 teaspoon ground cumin 
1teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander seeds
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

And while on the Moroccan spice trail....  
Coming up soon
Roast pork tenderloin with pears, dried apricots and ras el hanout
Preserved lemons
Mediterranean cous cous
Chermoula lamb leg steaks
Moroccan cooked tomato and green pepper chicken