This will stay by my cooker. It’s brimful of great uncomplicated ideas, intense flavours and loads of colour. And the recipes really are easy.”– Diana Henry

Moro Easy – Moro

What I made:Labneh, Carrots, Caraway and Pistachios and Roasted Aubergines with Tomatoes and Tahini. This will stay by my cooker. It's brimful of great uncomplicated ideas, intense flavours and loads of colour. And the recipes really are easy. Diana Henry This is a beautiful book, its inspiring, greed-inducing recipes full of big flavour but requiring little effort. Just gorgeous!" - Nigella Lawson Post-pandemic, it was difficult to get things fully up and running again; restaurants are about momentum. “But then we’d have customers coming up to the pass and literally crying, they were so happy we were open again,” says Sam. “That’s what all the hard work is for.” But what about their relationship? If running a celebrated restaurant for 25 years is a huge achievement – restaurants in London change more often than the weather – it is surely a miracle that they’ve done so without winding up in the divorce courts (they met when they were both working at the Eagle, just down the road from Moro, in Clerkenwell). “Well, I got told off the other day, didn’t I?” says Sam. Samuel takes up the story. “She was late, and I had a new chef to settle in, and I was doing a hot section myself, and we had a lot of people booked.”Everyone loves toast. But there is toast and… toast. In Moro Easy, a new cookbook by Sam and Sam Clark, there are no fewer than 10 recipes for things on toast. Some are straightforward, almost austere: I can’t imagine the person who wouldn’t be able to rustle up a few slices of their tomato and jamon toast (the secret lies with a grater and just the right amount of garlic). Others are luxuriant: imagine a crisp oval of sourdough topped with a thin tortilla and aioli – a breakfast treat they first ate in Barcelona’s Boqueria market – or with crab warmed in butter and Oloroso sherry and lightly seasoned with fresh chilli and thyme. This is a beautiful book, its inspiring, greed-inducing recipes full of big flavour but requiring little effort. Just gorgeous! Nigella Lawson What happened? Was there an explosive row? Apparently not. “I just worked twice as hard,” says Sam. For the team, some of whom have been at Moro for a long time, this kind of thing usually passes – according to Samuel – as light entertainment: “There can be a slightly comical hissing at one another.” In the end, though, they tend not to let things simmer. Marital stew, it seems, is one dish best removed from the heat as soon as possible. Fish tagine with potatoes, peas and coriander (pictured above)

Moro Easy | Brand-new Spanish, North African Cookbook, 2022

Wilt the washed spinach in a wide dry pan (30cm) in two to three batches over a medium heat. When soft, transfer to a colander to drain and cool. Squeeze out any excess water and roughly chop. The subtle use of mixed spices and preserved lemon gives a distinctive flavour to this Moroccan fish stew. I love every recipe. They’re glorious – delicious, exciting, inspiring, and really easy.” – Claudia Roden

From the book: Moro Easy

years of delicious Moorish cuisine. For fans of Moro: The Cookbook (135k TCM), Persiana (205k TCM) and Ottolenghi SIMPLE (335k TCM). For a more substantial meal, serve this on toast with a dollop of soft goat’s cheese on top to melt into the warm, sweet spinach. This recipe is endlessly compatible. Another beautiful Moro book, full of mouth-watering, beautiful recipes to pull us greedily into the kitchen. What a treat!” – Thomasina Miers Blitz all the marinade ingredients together in a food processor or with a hand blender and season with salt. Smear the marinade all over the meat and leave for a minimum of 30 minutes or overnight.

Fish tagine, spinach and pine nuts, chocolate almond cake

Trailblazing chefs Sam and Sam Clark bring the evocative flavours of Southern Spain and North Africa to everyday cooking. Moro Easy is the new cookbook from Sam &Sam Clark, with a focus on home-cookingpaired with their signature use of flavours andingredients from North Africa and SouthernSpain. Moro Easy contains simple, no-fussrecipes which will have wide appeal for thehome cook. Using a hand blender or food processor, blitz everything except the potatoes, peas and fish. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to a wide, deep pan with a tight-fitting lid, add the potatoes and put over a medium to high heat. Bring to a simmer, pop the lid on and cook for 5 minutes. Another beautiful Moro book, full of mouth-watering, beautiful recipes to pull us greedily into the kitchen. What a treat!" - Thomasina Miers

Method

Who are the authors?: Sam and Sam Clark share a passion for the food of Spain and North Africa and their esteemed London-based restaurants, Moro and Morito, were born out of a desire to cook and share vibrant food inspired by these culinary traditions. They are the authors of four previous cookbooks, which, alongside their restaurants, have been showered with awards, accolades and endorsements. This is a beautiful book, its inspiring, greed-inducing recipes full of big flavour but requiring little effort. Just gorgeous!”– Nigella Lawson Add the peas and fish, replace the lid and cook for 5-8 minutes, until just cooked through. Remove from the heat, turn the fish and leave to rest for 5 minutes. My friend Sara Fanelli baked this gluten-free cake for us. We love it, especially with a little sea salt sprinkled on top. Put the olive oil and butter into a large frying pan (30cm) over a medium heat, and when the butter starts to foam, add the garlic and fry gently for a minute until very lightly golden. Add the potatoes to the pan and stir well. Season with a little more salt and pepper, then fry gently for 10-15 minutes, turning occasionally and taking care the garlic doesn’t burn, until golden and crisp on all sides.

Moro Easy by Samuel and Samantha Clark - Penguin Books Australia Moro Easy by Samuel and Samantha Clark - Penguin Books Australia

In the end, they measure themselves only by their own standards, in the restaurant as well as when it comes to writing: “Within the first two years of Moro opening, we were approached to sell the brand. We just said: no, no, no, we’re here to stay. We’re the cooks, and we like doing that, and it’s what we’re here for – and we’ve stayed true to it. We’re still in the kitchen now. We’re in it for the long haul.” Boil the potatoes in salted water for 7-10 minutes, until just tender, then drain in a colander and spread out to dry and cool. Rough up the edges of the potatoes with a fork. Another beautiful Moro book, full of mouth-watering, beautiful recipes to pull us greedily into the kitchen. What a treat! Thomasina Miers Place a large (30cm) heavy ovenproof casserole pan with a tight-fitting lid over a medium heat, and add the oil and butter. When the butter begins to foam, add the leeks and bay leaves and a good pinch of salt, and fry for 10 minutes or until the leeks are soft and sweet, stirring occasionally. When you are ready to roast the meat, wrap it tightly in tin foil and place it on a roasting tray. Slow-roast for 3 hours, then remove from the oven and let it rest for 20 minutes.

Put the chunks of chocolate into a bain-marie (a heatproof bowl set over barely simmering water). Once melted, remove from the heat and stir in the butter to melt. Stir in the caster sugar, ground almonds and a small pinch of sea salt. The Clarks’ first book – Moro, the Cookbook – came out in 2001, four years after their influential restaurant, its menu inspired by their travels in north Africa and the eastern Mediterranean, opened in 1997; instantly hailed as a classic by Nigella Lawson and Claudia Roden, it remains much loved (though they’ve since published several more). Is it hard to write in its shadow? “It’s good having a bit of distance between the books,” says Sam. “But, though we’re proud of the first one, we’ve never quite been able to understand its success. The other books have recipes that are just as good. It kind of became part of the culture for a while, didn’t it?” Recipes we love: Labneh, Carrots, Carraway and Pistachio. Fried Aubergines, Pomegranates and Pistachios. Monkfish Stew with Green, Beans, Potatoes and Alioli. Lemon Crème Brûlée.