Orange Blossom & Honey: Magical Moroccan recipes from the souks to the Sahara

I've browsed the first couple of sections of both of this author's books that I bought (Orange Blossom & Honey: Magical Moroccan recipes from the souks to the Sahara and Saffron in the Souks) and I don't know how much of any of his recipes I would be willing to try, aside from maybe some simple salads. These books were written for a British audience and everything is geared to the metric system. Plus, he has a breezy style about him that suggests he is more a travel writer than a cook. I'm not sure I trust these recipes, and don't want to make things that aren't going to work. I'm especially suspicious of some of his filled breads and pastries, and flatbreads. In my experience, ethnic filled breads and pastries and flatbreads are some of the hardest things to make if you didn't grow up watching your mother make them and learning at her knee. Yet he just breezes through these recipes as though they were no big deal. I'm doubtful. If I were still within the refund period, I would ask for my money back on these books. I'm leaving the same review for both, as my impression of both of them is the same.

Lovely photography of Morocco plus a photo for most of dishes. The recipes usually do not take up more than one page, a few are longer. This makes the recipes doable. Most of the ingredients are easily accessible. The author suggests substitutes for ingredients he suspects are harder to find.One caveat - the ingredients, when specified in weight are in metric although cup measurements are usually given too. Oven temperatures are given in centigrade with two temperatures as is usual in UK cookbooks. The second temp is for a convection oven. You can easily find conversion charts on the internet.

I've just received this book and not had the opportunity to read through it quite yet. The comment I can make is about the construction of the volume. Most hardcover books attach the spine of the book firmly to the cover. This book accomplishes the joining of the two simply by pasting the inside front cover and the back cover to the hardcover and the book body. This is not going to stand up to use and will probably tear with minimal use of this volume. It's a shame, because the book itself looks beautiful. But I expect that the book body and the hardcover will separate at some time in the not-too-distant future.

This is a beautiful cookbook. Some of the recipes call for ingredients that are not readily (if at all) found in New York stores or even on Amazon. But, there are enough delicious recipes in this book to make you a happy chef.

My daughter requested a book of Moroccan Recipes and was very VERY happy with the book.

very good book. well written, editted, recipes well done and photos excellent.

Found this at a library and had to own it. Positively delicious!

This book is fantastic. The pictures are gorgeous and the recipes phenomenal. Clearly authentic and easy to use.Thank you for this exciting book.

I very rarely write reviews, but felt I had to for this book. It's just great. Having made only a few dishes so far it's already firmly at the top of the pile of cook books in my kitchen. Really easy to follow recipes and so far all absolutely mouth wateringly delicious. I already have the author's other books (Mighty Spice and Mighty Spice Express) so I knew this book was going to be a winner. I've not been disappointed.

This is an absolutely super book with the authors personal narrative and insights into the history and culture of morocco, recipes. With fabulous rich images throughout this book is a must for anyone who wants to go beyond a Kefta Kebab,nam bread, salad and Mint/Chilli sauce and produce truly memorable meals for their friends and family. Would be popular with students, and Girl night in folks instead of ordering in Chinese/ Indian/Pizza take away sample the dishes in this book, it will probably workout better economically.

This is a great book , we started with the recipes that were in the times on the Saturday , Sunday evening ordered this book every 2/3 days since . Having not known of Gregory-smith before all l can say is thank you great book & prompted us to clear out all those old jars of spices & replace with fresh and get some extra dried beans to make the most of the flavours .

Loved this cookbook, although must say I am a fan of North African cooking altogether. The author gives an introduction to each section with interesting detail on lifestyle and social customs, which was very good. The actual recipes are mouth watering, and he has adapted some recipes to make them easier for European cooks, where ingredients used were found in a local area and not in all regions. Highly recommend this book, both recipes, commentary and photos.

Orange Blossom & Honey definitely lives up to its title of 'Magical Moroccan Recipes'. As a recent purchase, I have only been able to try out three recipes to date: anchovies in olive oil and tomato; forest mushrooms and zaalouk with crispy halloumi. All three dishes were simple to make and absolutely delicious.