Recipes (my own and from reviewed recipe books), reviews of cookery books and cookery classes, food and kitchen equipment product reviews – if it’s about cooking or eating at home, it’s here!

Turkish Ezme

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Ezme Salad

For many years, ezme has been one of my favourite side dishes when visiting the many Turkish restaurants of North London. A simple cold dish of chopped tomatoes, onions, cucumbers and red peppers with lots of parsley and mint, ezme is the perfect foil to kebabs such as adana kofte, chicken and lamb cis, and ... Read more »

Firinda Makarna (Cypriot Beef and Bechamel Pasta Bake)

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Firinda Makarna

Firinda Makarna is not a dish I’d heard of until reading Hasan Semay’s Big Has Home cookbook, but his description of it as being somewhat like an Italian lasagne was helpful, in that it features minced beef, pasta and a cheesy bechamel sauce. However, in this dish, the minced beef is fried with onions, parsley ... Read more »

Big Has Home by Hasan Semay

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Cover Image of Big Has Home by Hasan Semay

Diversity in the world of cookery books is a good thing, a very good thing indeed. For decades, the UK food publishing world has been dominated by white authors. Writers of different ethnic and cultural backgrounds have struggled to get a seat at the table, and when they do, they’re often pigeonholed into titles tied ... Read more »

Kokur Yakhni | Chicken in Yoghurt and Saffron Gravy

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Kokur Yakhni - Chicken in Yoghurt and Saffron Gravy

This delicious chicken curry dish is from Romy Gill’s ‘On The Himalayan Trail’ cookbook. Yoghurt, saffron and a heady mix of spices meld beautifully into the yoghurt gravy, creating a fragrant and warming dish. Instead of a whole chicken, we made this using chicken thighs, which worked really well. Read our full review of On ... Read more »

On The Himalayan Trail by Romy Gill

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On The Himalayan Trail - Cover

I’m a little behind the curve getting my hands on this beautiful cookbook. On the Himalayan Trail: Recipes and Stories from Kashmir to Ladakh by Romy Gill was published by Hardie Grant in April since when it’s received great feedback from keen cooks. Gill, who was awarded an MBE in 2016, is a British-Indian chef, food ... Read more »

Cheese and Green Chilli Parotha

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Cheese and Green Chilli Parotha

This quick and straightforward stuffed parotha recipe is from Urvashi Roe’s Biting Biting, a book full of delicious veggie and vegan Gujerati-style snacks and quick meals. The recipe hails from a friend’s mum, who Urvashi describes as a cooking legend. The dough and filling recipes are straightforward and quick, as is filling and rolling out ... Read more »