Recipes from cookbooks we review, shared with full permission from publishers.

How to Make a Jelly Bean Cocktail

Jelly Bean Cocktail from Olly Smith's Home Cocktail Bible

This Jelly Bean cocktail recipe is from Home Cocktail Bible by Olly Smith, and recommends a round of jelly beans as an accompaniment – sounds great already, doesn’t it? This unusual cocktail combines Pernod and Crème de Mûre, creating a cocktail that’s subtly aniseedy, and full of rich berry flavours. Be warned that Pernod becomea ... Read more »

Whole Burnt Aubergine with Charred Egg Yolk, Tahini and Chilli Sauce

Whole Burnt Aubergine with Charred Egg Yolk, Tahini and Chilli Sauce

The first time you grill a whole aubergine on the barbeque or over open fire is a revelation! Such a very simple cooking method somehow transforms this vegetable into the very best it can be. In this recipe from Chasing Smoke: Cooking Over Fire Around The Levant by Sarit Packer and Itamar Srulovich, each aubergine ... Read more »

Chicken Shish in Sweet Confit Garlic Marinade

Chicken shish in sweet confit garlic marinade

Although this delicious Chicken Shish in Sweet Confit Garlic Marinade recipes goes heavy on the garlic, the flavours are sweet and gentle, thanks to the way the garlic is gently cooked in oil until it becomes soft and mellowed, before going into the marinade. This dish is another barbeque winner from Chasing Smoke: Cooking Over ... Read more »

Grilled Cabbage with Chilli Garlic Butter

Grilled Cabbage with Chilli Garlic Butter

Grilled cabbage is one of those dishes that’s surged in popularity over the last couple of years, and this fantastic Grilled Cabbage with Chilli Garlic Butter (from Chasing Smoke: Cooking Over Fire Around The Levant by Sarit Packer and Itamar Srulovich) is no doubt part of that phenomenon, very much the kind of food Sarit ... Read more »

Chermoula Beets, Dates & Pistachios

Chermoula, Beets and Pistachio

A wonderful synthesis of flavours and textures, this recipe for Chermoula Beets, Dates & Pistachios is from Selin Kiazim’s Three: Acid, Texture, Contrast combines earthy, sweet roasted beets, squidgy-sweet dates and crunchy toasted pistachio nuts with a bright and punchy herb sauce. Chermoula, a North African condiment, lifts the entire dish – and you can ring ... Read more »

Pork Laab, Sugar Snaps & Apple

Pork Laab, Sugar Snaps and Apple

Lao in origin, Laab is a meat salad dish also popular in neighbouring Thailand – a great example of the region’s mastery of balancing between sweet, sour, salty, bitter and fiery hot. This Pork Laab, Sugar Snaps & Apple recipe from Selin Kiazim’s Three: Acid, Texture, Contrast cookbook combines pork mince, crunchy toasted rice and ... Read more »

Avocado, Mushroom and Tomato Pilaf | Harem Pilav

Harem pilav (avocado, wine and mushroom pilau)

It’s likely this Avocado, Mushroom and Tomato Pilaf recipe from Arto der Haroutunian’s cookbook, Vegetarian Dishes of the Middle East carries influences from French colonialism in the region, given the use of white wine in the recipe. There’s a pleasingly retro vibe to the suggested presentation, and it’s a straightforward recipe for a midweek meal. ... Read more »

Syrian Pasta with Garlic-Tahini Sauce | Macaroni bil Tarator

Macaroni-bil-tarator

Known as Macaroni bil Tarator in Syria, this recipe from Arto der Haroutunian’s cookbook, Vegetarian Dishes of the Middle East is a simple but satisfying one, and can be ready in minutes if you make the tarator (garlic-tahini sauce) in advance. It can also be enjoyed hot or cold. We’ve adjusted quantities given for the ... Read more »

Gujarati Surati Dal | Sweet & Spicy Dal with Chillies & Peanut

Gujarati Surati Dal

Cooked with jaggery, chilli, turmeric and peanuts, this sweet and spicy yellow pigeon pea dal is definitely more than the sum of its parts, the peanuts providing textural interest whilst the spices come together to create a layered mouthful of flavours. It’s soupy, tangy and full of flavour The recipe is from Maunika Gowardhan’s Thali cookbook, ... Read more »