• TrishaCP on February 28, 2016

  I love this book. I would agree that the dessert section seems more problematic than other parts in terms of guidance. I would also say this is NOT a book for beginners- I think it is less that recipes are poorly written than that there isn't as much anticipation of what home cooks might need to know versus what a chef just knows as in certain other books, like Zuni. (I understand that some people will view that as poor writing.) Issues that I have found are explained in my notes below, so my love for this book is not blind! However, I am astounded almost every time I cook from this book (not as often as I would like due to time) because there is either a new technique or revelatory flavor, or recreation of a familiar flavor but just a better version of it. That certainly warrants not just a place on my bookshelf but also time spent cooking in my kitchen!

• kateastoria on April 29, 2015

  The anecdotal sections of this book are lovely, and made me want to go straight back to Morocco again for the wonderful food. Unfortunately the recipes are generally poorly written out - the instructions are often confusing and convoluted, and some don't feel as though they've been tested at all (eg, lavender-almond roulade). I'll be treating this more as an inspirational food writing book, and less as a recipe collection.

• vinochic on November 13, 2012

  Though I have not cooked anything from this book yet, I attended a cooking demonstration/dinner last night that Chef Mourad hosted. Everything was from the book, and everything was absolutely delicious!! Crostini with tomato jam and fresh cheese, lentil soup with date balls, couscous with meyer lemon and parsley, berbere crusted scallops with cauliflower couscous (my favourite of the night) , basteeya, salt crusted fish with beets, grapefruit and olive puree, and finally the almond cookies. It looks like quite a few of the recipes may be a little time-consuming, and some techniques and ingredients are a little different, but I will definitely be cooking from this book often!

Notes about Recipes in this book

• Ras el hanout

  • nikki_js1zbl on March 01, 2026

    Taste is spectscular

• Preserved lemons

  • sherrib on November 25, 2014

    This was the most comprehensive recipe I found for preserving lemons. Despite the amount of detailed technique given, the brilliance of this recipe is that in front of each ingredient, he writes "about" before giving you the amount. The measurements are approximate (which made sense when I was making them - it really depends on the size and juiciness of your batch of lemons!) I followed his directions, waited the (very long) month and ended up with a fantastic batch of briny, lemony goodness. They are EXACTLY what they were meant to be, and despite the lack of measuring ingredients, they are perfectly balanced in flavor.

  • blintz on November 25, 2014

    Recipe online at : http://www.claycoyoteblog.com/2012/01/mourad-lahlous-preserved-lemons/

• Red charmoula

  • Rinshin on May 03, 2014

    Fantastic sauce with deep, deep flavors without the heat. I/ve found the ultimate sauce I may like more than Mexican salsas, Korean ssam sauces, or Argentinian chimichurri sauces. I served the sauce with simply grilled coho salmon and that worked really well. Made couscous with the addition of this sauce too and it was outstanding. I plan on serving this sauce with grilled burgers tonight.

• Green charmoula

  • TrishaCP on June 10, 2013

    This is a potent umami-packed sauce that is amazing with grilled fish. Fresh herbs (mainly parsley and cilantro), garlic, preserved lemon, olive oil, and anchovies mainly- I did add extra herbs and some lemon juice to get the flavor profile I wanted (it was too salty otherwise). This will probably be my go to sauce for grilling this summer...but then again I haven't tried the Red Charmoula yet...

  • blepharisma on October 09, 2013

    This was delicious! I used it as a marinade on baked lamb chops, and added a bit more (uncooked) when serving. I used about half of the anchovies, but otherwise followed the recipe closely. Can't wait to try it on fish!

• Piquillo-almond spread

  • TrishaCP on May 22, 2012

    For a "cheffy" cookbook this was a fairly straightforward and absolutely delicious twist on muhammara- creamy (from beans and almond meal), smoky (smoked paprika and other peppers), barely sweet (molasses of all things), and savory. Great for pita chips but would also be delicious with eggs. I do confess to a few shortcuts though- I used canned beans and instead of sauteeing garlic in oil (per his "Garlic Puree" recipe)- I used a full head of roasted garlic instead. I did use piquillo peppers since I had them on hand, but you could definitely just use ordinary roasted red peppers instead. Will absolutely make this again- great dip.

  • TrishaCP on April 20, 2014

    Two years later- I am still in love with this dip!

• Corona beans with tomato sauce and feta

  • TrishaCP on September 14, 2013

    This recipe involves multiple steps and will take quite a while to complete-though most steps can be done in advance (cooking the beans, making the tomato sauce, breadcrumbs, and caramelized onions). However, the flavors are outstanding and this is great comfort food. We made this as a side dish rather than an appetizer- served with chicken sausage. The recipe underestimates the time needed to get the cheese melted and casserole bubbling- add another 20 minutes and that should be about right.

• Beets with avocado puree and pumpkin seed crumble

  • TrishaCP on November 09, 2012

    I haven't tried the whole recipe yet, but when the CSA brings me beets, this is how I like to pickle them for salads later in the week.

  • pluralcow on March 07, 2013

    The most difficult part about this recipe is getting the scale correct. The list of ingredients is scaled for a large number of servings--with a total of 36 beets. I made this with four beets and it was enough for two people, but getting the ratios right on the avocado puree and the pumpkin seed crumble was a challenge when making 1/9 of the recipe. When all of the components are put together it makes a very flavorful salad, and it's worth the trouble of making each part.

• Berbere-crusted scallops with cauliflower couscous and vadouvan foam

  • TrishaCP on February 26, 2016

    This recipe is truly delicious. Vadouvan is heavenly with cauliflower and scallops. (I used my own vadouvan and berbere rather than the book's, since I already had some on hand.) I think this is best as an appetizer rather than a main course (the book says either)- it is simultaneously light and rich and just seems more appropriate as a starter when you want a few delicious bites. Most of the components can be prepared ahead- you really just need to cook the scallops at the last minute- so I think that would work. (Use your judgment on how long to cook the scallops- the book's instructions were not long enough for my large scallops.) I have never made cauliflower couscous before and I definitely would again- it was very easy and the technique was spot on. The puree was thinner than I wanted, but that can be rectified by holding back some of the cooking liquid before blending it. My butter never foamed, but not a big deal to the end result. Delicious!

• Prawn-kumquat skewers

  • TrishaCP on February 14, 2014

    A light and flavorful main course. I didn't have as many skewers as needed, and possibly due to loading up too many ingredients per each, had to cook them for much longer than specified. The kumquats became nicely charred, which tamed the bitterness, but kumquat haters won't be convinced by this recipe.

• Roast chicken with preserved lemons and root vegetables

  • TrishaCP on February 28, 2016

    The flavors of this recipe are delicious, but I had some concerns with the cooking times and temperature. I first have to comment on the marinade for the chicken- it was seriously beautiful looking and packed full of good things (though I thought a waste of pricy green olives-just use the brine and skip the olives). I also loved the preserved lemon and thyme stuffed in the chicken. Could be my oven but there was no way I was going to roast a whole chicken at 500 degrees for that amount of time-it would have burned. I kept that temp for about 20 minutes to get it browned but then reduced it to 425- it needed another hour. Perhaps because of this, the rutabaga was still pretty hard (and I had cut it smaller than specified). Overall, I would make this again using the flavors but with my own judgment on roasting it.

• Short rib tangia with aged butter and preserved lemons

  • eve_kloepper on December 03, 2018

    This would have been 4 or 5 stars were it not for the fact that the brine (2 1/4 c. salt for 2 quarts of water!) made the dish inedible. I've never brined anything before and followed the recipe. In researching brines now, I find that the ratio of water so salt should be 4 T salt per quart of water. This was an expensive mistake. Shortribs are very pricy.

• Couscous with Meyer lemon and parsley

  • TrishaCP on February 14, 2014

    A suggested side with the prawn and kumquat skewers, but I wouldn't serve the two dishes together again-too much bitter on bitter. This would be great as a side with roast chicken.

• Lavender-almond roulade

  • kateastoria on April 28, 2015

    errata - recipe is missing instructions for what to do with the syrup. I brushed it over the sponge, as that seems the most likely purpose.

  • kateastoria on April 29, 2015

    Wow, for such a laborious recipe, this came out quite flavorless. I used the proper amount of lavender, which smelled wonderful in the sugar and syrup components. The recipe misses out what to use the syrup for, but I added it onto the cooked sponge. But the end result was completely underwhelming. After baking for 30 minutes, the sponge was still very pale and sticky, so I changed the temperature to 300F for a final 8 minutes. This recipe doesn't feel as though it was properly tested.

• Almond cake with plum sorbet, cardamom yogurt, and toasted almonds

  • TrishaCP on April 20, 2014

    My review is limited to the cake and yogurt only- I can't comment on the sorbet since I had no plums and no time to make it. (I subbed a raspberry sorbet.) The cake received rave reviews at a dinner party. Fairly simple to make though the instructions to melt the butter and then to whip to mayonnaise consistency seemed needlessly fussy for such a basic cake- and didn't really work for me anyway (my butter was already fairly softened). I simply added the half-melted and half- softened butter to the mix to seemingly no ill effect. The cake consistency was closer to a frangipane than a cake, which made a barely sweetened yogurt and a tart sorbet a good accompaniment. However, next time for the yogurt I would use green cardamom instead of black- the black was a bit smoky for me.

• Vegetable tagine

  • L.Nightshade on January 26, 2019

    My chosen vegetables were carrots, cauliflower, eggplant, turnips, fennel, cipollini onions, fingerling potatoes, and a few garbanzo beans. That red charmoula sauce is wonderful. The only thing I might change is to somehow toss all the vegetables thoroughly in the sauce, instead of just pouring it over. By the time it was reduced by a quarter, it was quite thick, and the tagine was so chock full, I didn’t have room to toss. Delicious anyway, as are the leftovers.

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• Kirkus Reviews

  Authentic Moroccan cuisine as interpreted by one of America’s up-and-coming young chefs.

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  Lahlou provides an entertaining and appetizing guide to not only Moroccan dishes but the culture of Morocco as well and will introduce many readers to this intensely flavorful cuisine.

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