Orange Blossom & Honey: Magical Moroccan Recipes from the Souks to the Sahara

I've browsed the first couple of sections of both of this author's books that I bought (Orange Blossom & Honey: Magical Moroccan recipes from the souks to the Sahara and Saffron in the Souks) and I don't know how much of any of his recipes I would be willing to try, aside from maybe some simple salads. These books were written for a British audience and everything is geared to the metric system. Plus, he has a breezy style about him that suggests he is more a travel writer than a cook. I'm not sure I trust these recipes, and don't want to make things that aren't going to work. I'm especially suspicious of some of his filled breads and pastries, and flatbreads. In my experience, ethnic filled breads and pastries and flatbreads are some of the hardest things to make if you didn't grow up watching your mother make them and learning at her knee. Yet he just breezes through these recipes as though they were no big deal. I'm doubtful. If I were still within the refund period, I would ask for my money back on these books. I'm leaving the same review for both, as my impression of both of them is the same.

This is a beautiful cookbook. Some of the recipes call for ingredients that are not readily (if at all) found in New York stores or even on Amazon. But, there are enough delicious recipes in this book to make you a happy chef.

My daughter requested a book of Moroccan Recipes and was very VERY happy with the book.

very good book. well written, editted, recipes well done and photos excellent.

This book is fantastic. The pictures are gorgeous and the recipes phenomenal. Clearly authentic and easy to use.Thank you for this exciting book.

Found this at a library and had to own it. Positively delicious!

I found this book quite disappointing as a cookbook, left me wondering if the author really does cook, or if perhaps this was written by two people, one doing the travel story and the other slapping together some recipes.The stories and descriptions of various cities and regions in Morocco are wonderful, as are the accompanying photographs. The recipes themselves don't quite come up to snuff. They're a combination of exotic names and pictures, and rather mundane preparations -- I began wondering whether the author thinks using cumin magically makes a dish wonderfully special and particularly Moroccan.Take for example the recipe for Artichoke and Beef Tagine (I prefer the spelling tajine): sounds wonderful, right? But what you get is a recipe where you slow-cook some beef with onions, preserved lemons, ginger, black pepper, and saffron. That's a tajine?Instead I started with a recipe from "Mediterranean Hot and Spicy" by A. Kremezi (out of print, but you can find a used copy), and prepared a lovely fragrant tajine that was much more satisfying than travelogue photos.It's not that the book has zero value: it suggests recipes that could be the starting point for creative ventures in the kitchen. The Berber frittata for instance (eggs, olives, tomatoes, hot peppers, spices, cilantro, cheese) looks like something I'd enjoy preparing and eating. But there just aren't enough of these recipes for me to make this one of my go to cookbooks.

I absolutely LOVE this cookbook. It is filled with gorgeous photos and an excellent selection of recipes, most of which offer a modern take on traditional Moroccan cuisine. The flavors just jump off the pages and every recipe screams "make me!" Okay, maybe not the lamb's liver ones so much, but pretty much everything else.The first recipes I tried which, alone, are worth the puzzlingly low price of this book, are:-- Chicken, Preserved Lemon & Olive Salad (in my photo) - an absolute, hit-it-out-of-the-park salad of broiled, marinated chicken thigh slices atop sliced fennel, red onion, and chickpeas. The aroma that filled the kitchen while the chicken was broiling was amazing. This salad easily ranks as one of the best salads I've ever, ever made and became an instant favorite in my house. This is the kind of dish that will have people begging for the recipe. Seriously delish.-- Good Morning Marrakesh Orange & Dates - this turned out to be an absolutely lovely and different way to top my morning yogurt.-- Chermoula Spiced Chicken - I cheated with this a little, using chicken parts instead of roasting a whole chicken, and had great success. The separate recipe for the chermoula uses readily available ingredients. It is a flavor explosion. If you are looking for an entirely new and delicious way of making roast chicken, this could be it.The directions are so clearly written and easy enough to follow that even an inexperienced cook would get much enjoyment out of making these recipes. There are very easy recipes with which to wet your feet before diving into the more complex ones, but really none of the recipes is that complex, except in terms of flavor.There are ingredients specific to Moroccan food that might not be standard pantry items for most, but can be found in most specialty shops. I can pretty much guarantee that anything purchased for one of the recipes here will end up being used for many more. Ingredients such as z'atar, harissa and ras al hanout (meaning top shelf, best in the house - and for good reason) are popping up in Whole Foods and Trader Joe's, if not regular supermarkets.Preserved lemons are still hard to find, although one wonders why, because they are such a great addition to so many dishes. They are not difficult to make (the author provides an easy recipe that is more clearly written than any other recipe I've used to make these) but do require a little forethought because they must be made at least a month ahead of time. Trader Joe's used to carry them and Kalustyan's in NYC has them, but they are easy and cheap to make, so why buy them? I predict they will start becoming more widely available as more cooks realize the flavor they add and how versatile they are.Bottom Line: I was expecting this book to be interesting and that I would learn a bit more about a cuisine that I know very little about beyond tagines, but it turned out to be one of the most appealing cookbooks I've read this year. I'm looking forward to trying many more of the recipes. The flavors are intoxicating and the recipes are so, so good!

I very rarely write reviews, but felt I had to for this book. It's just great. Having made only a few dishes so far it's already firmly at the top of the pile of cook books in my kitchen. Really easy to follow recipes and so far all absolutely mouth wateringly delicious. I already have the author's other books (Mighty Spice and Mighty Spice Express) so I knew this book was going to be a winner. I've not been disappointed.

This is an absolutely super book with the authors personal narrative and insights into the history and culture of morocco, recipes. With fabulous rich images throughout this book is a must for anyone who wants to go beyond a Kefta Kebab,nam bread, salad and Mint/Chilli sauce and produce truly memorable meals for their friends and family. Would be popular with students, and Girl night in folks instead of ordering in Chinese/ Indian/Pizza take away sample the dishes in this book, it will probably workout better economically.

This is a great book , we started with the recipes that were in the times on the Saturday , Sunday evening ordered this book every 2/3 days since . Having not known of Gregory-smith before all l can say is thank you great book & prompted us to clear out all those old jars of spices & replace with fresh and get some extra dried beans to make the most of the flavours .

Loved this cookbook, although must say I am a fan of North African cooking altogether. The author gives an introduction to each section with interesting detail on lifestyle and social customs, which was very good. The actual recipes are mouth watering, and he has adapted some recipes to make them easier for European cooks, where ingredients used were found in a local area and not in all regions. Highly recommend this book, both recipes, commentary and photos.

Lovely book and purchased on the strength of an interview the author did on BBC Radio London with Jo Good. He had taken some orange water or some such biscuits in to the studio with him and they sounded fab- as did the recipes discussed and the story behind them. However, I think I’m right in saying the biscuits didn’t appear in the book which is mightily disappointing. But nonetheless it’s a great book.