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Moor, please

Traditional Spanish treats share the richness of their north-African heritage.

Frank Camorra
Frank Camorra

Quince and pumpkin ratatouille.
Quince and pumpkin ratatouille.Marina Oliphant

People seem to think the Spanish eat very few vegetables. I say to them they are eating in restaurants and not people's homes. Traditionally, Spanish people ate the vegetables they could afford or the ones they could grow. Meat was for feasting, so restaurants served more meat dishes - who wants to pay for vegetables when you're taking a night off from the kitchen?

The aroma of this leek dish while it is cooking is rich and enticing; the outer leaves become soft and silky, and the inner core cooks to a butter-like consistency. I recommend serving it with poached fish or roast chicken.

The quince and pumpkin ratatouille, or alboronia in Spanish, has its Moorish roots in northern Africa. The rich, deeply flavoured dish has the ingredients cooked separately and brought together at the end, leaving the tasty chunks of fruit and vegetables intact.

The slight sharpness of quince and sweetness of the pumpkin make this a good example of the sweet and sour flavours of Moorish cooking. Serve it with game or lamb, or enjoy on its own.

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SLOW-COOKED LEEKS

12 small leeks

160ml olive oil

8 garlic cloves

7 bay leaves

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300ml white wine

160g butter

Sea salt to taste

Cut green tops off leeks. Halve leeks crossways and remove a few outer leaves. Heat oil in a wide, heavy-based pan over medium heat. Add garlic and saute until golden brown. Add leeks in a single layer, and then add bay leaves, wine, butter and salt and enough warm water to almost cover the leeks. Bring to the boil then reduce to a simmer and cover and cook for about 45 minutes. Use a skewer to check centres are soft. Remove leeks from liquid. Reduce liquid by two thirds and pour back over leeks. Check seasoning and serve.

Serves 8

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QUINCE AND PUMPKIN RATATOUILLE

5 quince

500g Jap pumpkin, peeled and cut into 2.5cm dice

Sea salt flakes

150ml olive oil

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3 large eggplants, cut into 1cm dice

110ml extra virgin olive oil

1 large brown onion, diced

2 green capsicum, seeded and diced

5 bay leaves

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1 tbsp cumin seeds, roasted and ground

1kg tomatoes, peeled, seeded and pureed

100g green olives, pitted and halved

Preheat oven to 180 degrees. Wash and wipe quince and place on a large baking tray. Roast one hour or until soft and pink. Place pumpkin on another baking tray, sprinkle with one teaspoon sea salt and drizzle with 60ml olive oil. Shake tray to coat pumpkin with oil and bake 20-30 minutes or until tender. Heat remaining 90 millilitres of olive oil in a large heavy-based frying pan on high heat until just smoking. Add eggplant, season to taste and toss for seven to eight minutes or until golden and tender. Drain on paper towel. Heat 50 millilitres extra virgin olive oil in a large heavy-based saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion and a pinch of salt and cook for five minutes until soft but not coloured. Stir in capsicum, bay leaves and cumin, reduce heat to medium low, cover and cook for 20 minutes or until soft and jam-like. Meanwhile, peel and quarter quince and cut into 2.5-centimetre dice. Add pureed tomatoes to onion and capsicum and cook for two to three minutes or until warm. Add pumpkin, quince, eggplant and olives and gently stir together. Season, serve warm.

Serves 6

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Frank CamorraFrank Camorra is chef and co-owner of MoVida Sydney and Melbourne's MoVida Bar De Tapas.

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