Maroque's Autumnal Newsletter

Welcome to Maroque's autumnal newsletter.  I have to confess I'm a huge lover of all things Christmas but not too early: it seems as soon as the trick and treaters have retreated, out come the baubles.  But I thought it would be nice to enjoy the last remnants of autumn and the beginning of winter with a true comfort food tagine and some ideas for a cosy night in by the fire, before all the festivities take over.

Cosy evening in, Maroque style!

It's blowing a gale, the rain is pouring down and it's dark in the middle of the afternoon, harrumph!  Rather than succumbing to the gloom, use the opportunity to add some twinkling candle lanterns around the room, light the fire, put on some Arabic music, scent the room with the fragrance of warmer lands, and snuggle down for an indulgent evening in.

Rather than eating in the dining room or kitchen, set a low table for dinner in the middle of the living room (a coffee table is ideal if big enough), heap a pile of cushions to form some seating or a pouffe , and enjoy your evening meal Moroccan style, you will be transported to dinner in Marrakech in no time.

Why not start your Moroccan inspired meal with a selection of dips and small dishes severed in brightly coloured bowls and accompanied by warm bread?

Try our date tagine for a real winter warmer it is lovely served with couscous.  Add a teaspoon of harrisa to your couscous for a little fiery edge, and finish your meal sipping sweet mint tea.

Recipe

Chicken tagine with dates

This wonderfully warming, comfort-laden tagine is a sure fire way to cheer yourself up on a bitter winter's day.

Ingredients

Chicken quartered, or legs & thighs for 4
1 large onion cut into rings
1 large garlic cloves crushed
4 tablespoons olive oil
25g (1oz) fresh ginger, finely chopped
Juice of 1 lemon
2 tbsp honey
10 dates, stones removed and cut into quarters
2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp orange blossom water
1 pint vegetable stock

1.  Heat the oil in a large saucepan stir in the onions and cook until soft and coloured. Add the garlic and ginger and cook gently for a minute.  Stir in the cinnamon and tip into a tagine or casserole dish.

2.  Brown the chicken in the same saucepan and transfer to the tagine.

3.  Add the stock to the chicken and onion mixture in the tagine and stir well.  Salt and pepper to taste.

4.  Put in the oven on a medium heat 190C for about 1 to 1 1/2 hours until cooked.

5.  Remove tagine from oven and add the dates, lemon juice and orange blossom water. Stir well and return to the oven for 20 minutes, until the dates are soft, and the sauce is a nice consistency.

6.  Serve with roasted vegetables and couscous.

Serves 4

Come along and say hello

We are having our annual tasting week later this month.  Come and try some of our unusual items, Moroccan spices olives, sugared lemon peel, Dukka, harrisa almonds and much more.  We will be welcoming our guests with mint tea and pastries.

We will also have a Christmas gift section, hopefully designed to inspire you.  We are open until 7pm on the 13th and 14th of November, from 10am until 4pm on Saturday the 15th, and from noon until 4pm on Sunday the 16th.  I hope you will be able to come along.

Site up date, oh and Christmas

Over the next few weeks I will be adding our Christmas pages, packed full of ideas to help in your festive purchases.  I also hope to send out a Christmas gift themed newsletter, pulling ideas from both Maroque and Bhatik.  I hope you will find it useful and not too early.

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
Maroque
www.maroque.co.uk