|
Welcome to Maroque's latest newsletter. As you can see we have a new format for my newsletter including pictures! I hope you like it. June already! How can this be, two minutes ago I was thinking this winter is going on forever. I hope you have enjoyed using the little orange cook book, I have a new entertain section to tempt you with, Maroque's afternoon tea, a little more on that later. I'm taking a quick look at Rose, the queen of flowers in Morocco which is widely used in cooking and body products. Our Get the look section online has had a revamp, with some lovely new ideas to hopefully inspire you, including a Moroccan seaside theme. |
  |
|
Rose Rose in Morocco has long been associated with love and beauty, it is predominately grown in the Dades Valley in Morocco, also known as the Valley of the Roses, where the fragrant rose oil and rose water is produced for the country. The landscape at certain times of the year is a sea of pink Persian roses. The process to extract rose oil uses approximately three thousand kilograms of rose petals to extract a litre of rose oil. Rose in Moroccan cooking turns up time and time again, most often as rose water, both in savoury and sweet cooking, carrot salad with rose water is a classic. But dried rose petals are used in spices as well as the very sweet rose syrup in desserts and drinks. In body products the oil is used both as a massage oil and as a scent for bath oils and body products, producing a delicate and relaxing fragrance. One of the recipes in my new afternoon tea selection is a rose-tinted recipe, Marrakech kisses - rose petal meringues with rose cream, please find the recipe below in the afternoon tea section. |
|
Afternoon tea - Maroque style There is something genteel and oh-so-English about the tradition of afternoon tea. Perhaps it's the luxury of taking time in the middle of the afternoon to relax, sip tea, eat fancy nibbly bits and enjoy people's company. I thought it would be quite fun to add a Moroccan twist to the English tradition: the Moroccans have the most divine sweet pastries, and mint tea is an excellent alternative to Earl Grey. I hope you enjoy my choice of Maroque-style afternoon tea.
A glass of Champagne
Briouates of goat's cheese, sundried tomato and coriander
Baby gazelle's horns The menu above is designed to be a selection from which to pick and mix, rather than a comprehensive list, unless you have several days spare. |
  |
|
Recipes Palmiers with a touch of harrisa These moreish nibbles need just a little bit of heat: you can add more if you're serving them as-pre dinner nibbles, but for afternoon tea I find it's best to keep the spice on the light side.
250g puff pastry (the ready rolled makes life even easier) 1. Pre heat the oven to 200C, gas mark 6. Unroll the pastry on to a lightly floured surface and trim to a 20cm x 25cm rectangle. 2. Combine the harissa, oil and cheese to form a paste. Brush 3/4 of the paste all over the pastry to give an even coating. 3. Fold both long sides of pastry in to meet in the middle, spread over a layer of the remaining paste and fold the pastry in half lengthways. Press down firmly. You should have a long thin sausage shaped pastry. Wrap in cling film and pop in the fridge for 30 minutes. I find it makes cutting them easier. 4. Using a sharp knife cut into 24 thin slices and transfer, cut side down, to two greased baking sheets. 5. Bake for 10 minutes and turn over and bake for a further 3 to 4 minutes until the pastries are crisp and golden. Cool on a wire rack: best eaten the same day. Makes about 24 Marrakech kisses - rose petal meringues with rose cream
For the meringues: 1. Preheat the oven to 140C. Line a couple of baking trays with non stick silicone baking parchment. 2. Tip the egg whites into a large mixing bowl. Beat them on medium speed with a electric hand whisk until they stand in stiff peaks when the blades are lifted. 3. Pour in about half the sugar and whisk until the mixture becomes very thick, firm and shiny. Add the remaining sugar and whisk again until thick firm and shiny: all the sugar needs to dissolve. Stir in the rose petals. 4. Carefully spoon the meringue into a piping bag and pipe onto your lined baking sheets, 20 rounds about 5cm across and 3 layers high. They will spread a little as they cook, so leave enough space between each one. 5. Bake the meringues for 30 minutes, turn the oven down to 120C and bake for a further 30 minutes. 6. Remove from the oven, they should easily peel away from the parchment and cool on a wire rack. They can be stored in an air tight container for up to a week. Makes 20 kisses (40 meringue halves)
For the rose filling: 1. In a bowl add the cream and rose syrup and whisk to form soft peaks. 2. Sandwich two halves of the meringue together with cream and serve. |
  |
|
Moroccan ceramics And with the promise of a long hot summer with lots of opportunity for eating outside you may want to take a look at our comprehensive range of Moroccan ceramics guaranteed to brighten any table. Get the look Our get the look section has had a revamp with some new ideas to inspire you, including a Moroccan seaside theme, and a classical theme. If you haven't looked in a while, please have a browse. Thank you for your continued support. If you have any comments, ideas, or suggestions I would love to hear from you. Please email info@maroque.co.uk Kind regards
Julie Woodard |
