Credit: Susan Bell
Stylist Loves
Recipes from Moro Easy, the cookbook celebrating 25 years of a much-loved London restaurant
By Stylist Team
3 years ago
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2 min read
Moro in Clerkenwell is a London culinary institution, and new cookbook Moro Easy showcases its recipes at their most relaxed.
The year was 1997. Tony Blair had just become prime minister on a wave of Cool Britannia optimism; Oasis, Radiohead and the Spice Girls were topping the charts; and on Exmouth Market in east London, a restaurant called Moro opened its doors for the first time.
Run by husband-and-wife duo Sam and Sam Clark, Moro helped pioneer a vibe that is now familiar to restaurant-goers all over the UK. With a constantly changing menu blending influences from Spain, north Africa and the eastern Mediterranean, the atmosphere was – and still is – warm and relaxed, with chic battered furniture and a buzzy open kitchen serving spectacularly flavoursome but unfussy dishes.
After Moro opened, it quickly became one of the capital’s trendiest places to eat (perhaps most significantly, it was one of the first major UK restaurants to put sourdough bread front and centre on its menu). And in the intervening 25 years, it’s built up a reputation as nothing more or less than one of London’s best-loved culinary institutions.
Moro’s success enabled the Clarks to open acclaimed tapas and meze bar Morito next door in 2010, and they later launched a bigger version of Morito in Hackney (deliciously, Boris Johnson reportedly got booed out of the latter restaurant in June).
Credit: Ebury Press
Now, the Clarks are publishing a new cookbook to celebrate 25 years of the restaurant that made their names. Moro Easy focuses on flavours and ingredients from North Africa and southern Spain, featuring simple, no-fuss recipes organised into nine accessible chapters (think “easy toasts”, “easy one-pot” and “easy desserts”). The dishes are inspired in part by the first Covid-19 lockdown, when the Clarks were forced out of their professional kitchens and had to focus on home cooking.
During that surreal time, the chefs “didn’t want to spend more time on [cooking] than was absolutely necessary”, they write in the introduction to Moro Easy. Instead, they prioritised “simple recipes… with not too many ingredients and uncomplicated methods”. The results are spectacular.
Credit: From Moro Easy by Sam and Sam Clark (Ebury Press). Photography: Susan Bell
Below, we’ve got three recipes from Moro Easy for you to try at home. Make the most of seasonal courgettes (at their best in the UK from June-October) with the courgette, lemon, basil and manchego salad. The labneh, sweetcorn, coriander and paprika is a surprising yoghurty dip with flavour-packed toppings, perfect for scooping up with flatbreads or pittas. And the roast squash, sweet vinegar, garlic and rosemary is a beautiful side dish perfect for autumnal Sunday lunches. Enjoy.
Labneh, sweetcorn, coriander and paprika
Sam and Sam say: “Corn on the cob is best for this, but do not underestimate tinned sweetcorn. It works really well too! For more smoky complexity (and when you have more time), grill the cobs (husks on) on the barbecue. This is also delicious as a side to pork or chicken.”
Serves 4
Ingredients
- 2 corn on the cob or 250g tinned sweetcorn
- 75g butter
- 3 spring onions (white and green parts), finely chopped
- 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon roughly ground coriander seeds
- 4 sun-dried tomatoes, finely chopped (we use the dehydrated ones and rehydrate them in a bowl of just-boiled water until soft)
- 5 tablespoons chopped coriander
- ½ level teaspoon hot paprika
- 150g cream cheese
- 500g strained Greek yoghurt
- 2–4 flatbreads or pittas, warmed
Method
Boil the whole sweetcorn in unsalted water until tender (about 5 minutes). Or barbecue the corn in their husks for a few minutes on each side until tender and slightly charred in parts.
When cool enough to handle, slice the kernels off the core.
Melt the butter in a saucepan over a medium heat and stir until it starts to caramelise (the white bits of whey will turn golden), about 3–5 minutes.
Add the spring onions, garlic and coriander seeds, stir together and cook for 3 minutes over a medium heat until soft and sweet.
Stir in the sun-dried tomatoes, fresh coriander and paprika, fry for 1 more minute, then add the sweetcorn and season.
Purée a quarter of the mixture, adding a splash of water to loosen it if the mixture is very thick.
To make the labneh, combine the cream cheese and yoghurt, season with salt to taste and spread out on a large plate. Spoon the hot sweetcorn over the labneh.
Serve with warm flatbreads or pittas.
Courgette, lemon, basil and manchego cheese
Sam and Sam say: “We ate this salad in a small café in the campo (countryside) near Vejer de la Frontera on the west coast of Andalucia. Courgettes fresh from the huerto (garden) were sliced super thin, salted and left to soften. Then they were dressed with lemon, olive oil, basil and shavings of manchego. It was a revelation! We often make this in the summer at Moro.”
Serves 4
Ingredients
- 500g small to medium courgettes, pale/thin-skinned if possible
- 1 heaped teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1½ tablespoons lemon juice
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 heaped tablespoons mint, chopped
- 3 heaped tablespoons basil, roughly torn
- 50g manchego cheese or other hard sheep’s cheese, such as pecorino, shaved with a peeler
- 4 tablespoons roughly chopped roasted, salted almonds
Method
Top and tail the courgettes and slice them very thinly (1–2mm) with a sharp knife or mandolin.
Place in a colander and toss well with the sea salt (massage so the salt has a chance to ‘cook’ each slice). Leave for 20 minutes over a bowl or sink.
Squeeze the courgettes gently to get rid of excess water, then place in a bowl.
Add the lemon juice, olive oil, half the mint and basil, and toss well.
Arrange on a plate. Scatter over the cheese, almonds and the rest of the herbs.
Without the cheese, this salad is also delicious as a side to cooked fish or ceviche.
Roast squash, sweet vinegar, garlic and rosemary
Sam and Sam say: “The sweetness of the squash contrasts beautifully with the vinegar. Delicious with labneh, fish, chicken or lamb, like [our] Maghrebi slow-roast shoulder of lamb or tomato bulgur with lamb and cinnamon yoghurt.”
Serves 4
Ingredients
- 1 large butternut squash or sweet potatoes, approx. 800g, peeled, deseeded and cut into 3cm chunks
- 5 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 3 tablespoons finely chopped rosemary
- 3 tablespoons aged, good-quality red wine vinegar like cabernet sauvignon, or sherry vinegar + pinch sugar if not sweet
- 1–2 teaspoons finely chopped red chilli (to taste)
Method
Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/gas 6.
Toss the squash with 2 tablespoons olive oil, the cinnamon, salt and pepper.
Lay on a large roasting tray and roast in the oven for 20 minutes, until soft and caramelised. Check for seasoning.
Meanwhile, heat the remaining olive oil over a low to medium heat.
Add the garlic and rosemary and fry gently for 2–3 minutes until the garlic is golden, then add the vinegar, taking care it doesn’t spit too much, and simmer for 30 seconds.
Spoon the vinegar mixture over the squash and serve with the chilli on top.
From Moro Easy by Sam and Sam Clark (£30, Ebury Press), out 8 September
Photography: Susan Bell
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