Pork Loin in Terrapin Ridge Farms' Moroccan Date Sauce

I am not one for impulse buys, but the other day while I was waiting in line at Union Market (A nice but pricey Brooklyn grocery store chain), I saw this bottle which had a label boasting "Moroccan Date Sauce". I was intrigued so I bought it along with whatever else I was getting. I thought that since we have all this nicely butchered pork, this could possibly be a way to break the routine of our usual blend of spices.

Since I had a lot of work my husband marinated a nice pork loin in the sauce adding some salt and pepper, as well as some whole, pitted dates to further enhance the flavor of the sauce. He covered it and baked it in the oven for about 30 minutes. The result was fantastic, because the sauce gave the pork loin a taste that was simultaneously sweet and savory and bursting with flavor.

This has led me to look up the ingredients for the sauce (Oh by the way the sauce is made by Terrapin Ridge Farms). According to the label It is made with dates, brown sugar, honey and Moroccan spices. Intrigued (again) by what spices could be included in a Moroccan spice blend I did a little research and found a recipe in About.com for a spice blend, which sounds absolutely wonderful. Here is the recipe for the spice blend:

Ras El Hanout - Spice Blend (from About.com)

2 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp ground cardamon
2 tsp ground mace
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground allspice
1 tsp ground coriander seeds
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp ground white pepper
1/2 tsp ground cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp ground anise seeds
1/4 tsp ground cloves

Blend all of the spices in a bowl. Transfer to a glass jar, and store in a dry, dark place.

According to the website this blend will keep for several months. I am planning on getting all the ingredients together to try this blend out against the ready made sauce to compare the results. I shall keep those of you who grace my blog with your readership in the loop on the results.

The Terrapin Ridge Farms sauce is available on-line and it seems like they will ship internationally but you are better off contacting them to make sure.