Tish - Moorish

INTRODUCTION

Ive been submerged in the cuisine and food culture of Spain and Italy for well over a decade. In that time Ive explored the many regions of these magnificent countries getting to know their markedly different culinary styles. In particular Ive become more and more intrigued by those regions where the Moors left their influence. Ive learnt how and where they stamped their mark and enjoyed finding out how they managed to combine the indigenous produce and ingredients of the region with their own imported techniques, flavourings, ingredients and spicing to produce the exotic, full-flavoured and vibrant cuisine that we know today. In this book I have set out to explore and celebrate the culinary influence that followed the Muslim conquest of the Iberian peninsula, southern Italy and Sicily.

The invading Berbers of North Africa and later the Arabs from the Middle East were known colloquially as Moors, a catch-all description used to cover the colonial Muslim rulers. The Moors shaped and moulded the infrastructure of the Iberian peninsula, transforming the regions religion, architecture, science, art and food. The legacy of the Moors has lived on long after their expulsion in the late 15th century and can still be seen in the cities, towns and villages to this day. And while many of the physical structures have faded over time, the cuisine is still as bright and as vibrant as ever.

The Moors brought with them exotic spices, fruits, vegetables and nuts. Big, bold-flavoured dishes were created, combining the sun-soaked exotic tastes of North Africa and the Arabic world with the foods and produce of the region. Over time the sacred mixed happily with the profane as dishes built around the forbidden European foods of pork and shellfish were married with the spices and sauces of the Muslim East.

The oppressed Jewish population of Andaluca and southern Spain sided with the Arabs after the invasions in 711. Jews from all over the Mediterranean flocked to Andaluca, attracted by the new, vibrant and exciting era of Spains golden age. Jewish-Moorish cuisine produced wonderful dishes such as partridge cooked and stuffed with coriander, eggs, pine nuts and almonds, and an exotic celebratory dish that was comprised of a complex layering of omelettes, meatballs, mincemeat, aromatic spices and rose water the dish then left to cook overnight on Friday ready for the Saturday sabbath.

These were wonderfully exciting times for this most extraordinary melting pot of cultures and cuisines. A halcyon period for food emerged as Jewish and Spanish dishes took on Moorish influences and were refined and reinterpreted. Simple peasant dishes soon became indulgent Arabic creations.

Ive divided this book into chapters based around the way that I like to cook at home. Super fresh, light refreshingly delicious dishes; slow-cooked dishes that can be left all day to do their thing, filling the house with evocative scents of the East; barbecue and grill dishes that work brilliantly with Moorish inspired spices and flavourings; a sweet and sour chapter celebrating my favourite flavour combination; breakfast and brunch dishes that will make you think again about how you start your day; a short chapter on drinks, long on flavour and deep in alcohol.

First and foremost this is a book for the home cook. The recipes included are in the main simple, though there are a few that will take a little more time than others. And there are also a few recipes that include the occasional ingredient that will need sourcing from specialist food shops or from online stores.

While the recipes included are steeped in authenticity, they more often than not include my own twists and interpretations, influenced by my travels around the region. These are recipes that have been developed and finessed in my kitchen at home, all the while holding firm to the extraordinary influences and techniques of the Moors of the Iberian peninsula.

In short, my book, which is now your book, is all about great, bold, wonderful flavours. The flavours of the Mediterranean and the Moors Moorish.

Ben Tish

London, 2019