Sally Butcher’s Meze: Snacks, Small Plates and Street Food from the Middle East

Book cover for Meze: Snacks, Small Plates and Street Food from the Middle East by Sally Butcher

Meze: Snacks, Small Plates and Street Food from the Middle East is my first introduction to the work of Sally Butcher who has had a very successful career in food as a writer of many cookbooks such as Persia in Peckham, Veggiestan and Snackistan and also as the owner and chef of the iconic Peckham-based ... Read more »

Travelling By Way Of My Belly | Favourite Recipes From The Middle East, Central & South Asia

Persian Tahcheen-e morgh (Baked Yoghurt Rice with Chicken)

I know I’m not alone in missing international travel, which is naturally hugely affected by this awful Covid pandemic we are experiencing all around the world. A great way to travel in one’s imagination is to cook and eat dishes from other countries, celebrating international cuisine and travelling by way of our bellies. Here, I ... Read more »

Homemade Lahmacun | An Easy Recipe for Turkish Spiced Lamb Flatbreads

Homemade Lahmacun | An Easy Recipe for Turkish Spiced Lamb Flatbreads

I adore lahmacun! Circular flatbreads topped with a thin spread of spiced lamb and baked fast and hot until they are crisp, these delicious pizza-like treats originated in the Ottoman Empire, especially Armenia, Iraq, Lebanon, Syria and Turkey. The name comes from the Arabic lahm b’ajin (meat with dough) – lahmacun in Turkish. For me, ... Read more »

Shakshuka Boats | Tomato & Red Pepper Baked Eggs in Tortilla Cups

Shakshuka Boats on Kavey Eats

My first thought on seeing these new bite-size versions of Old El Paso’s Stand ‘N’ Stuff tortillas was to bake eggs in them, with a rich tomato sauce bubbling underneath. Given Old El Paso’s Mexican flavours, such an idea might put you in mind of huevos rancheros – fried eggs laid onto round corn tortillas ... Read more »

NOPI’s Courgette & Manouri Fritters

Yotam Ottolenghi’s cookery books are amongst the titles I hear most frequently recommended to others by those who own them, with particular praise for his way with vegetables; although his cooking is not vegetarian, he has a much-lauded knack for making vegetables the star of the show.   His most recently published title, NOPI: The ... Read more »

Quick Golden-Baked Peri Peri Chicken, Yoghurt & Rice Cake

The name of this dish may not roll off the tongue, descriptive though it is. But I promise you that it’s easy to make and absolutely delicious. It’s just the recipe for those occasions when you want to make something a bit special, unusual and impressive but are short on time and not in the ... Read more »

Lebanese-Inspired Carob Molasses & Tahini Chocolate Brownies

I developed this recipe when writing a piece about Carob Molasses. Carob molasses mixed with tahini are a common dessert in Lebanon, often served with bread to dip. Using the combination in chocolate brownies was the idea of wonderful Beiruti blogger, Joumana Accad. The malty caramel flavour of carob molasses and the delicious sesame of ... Read more »

Le Menar | North African Food With A Modern Twist

In a quiet road in the heart of Fitzrovia, Le Menar offers a modern approach to North African and Middle Eastern cuisine. The menu, developed by head chef Vernon Samuels, is predominantly Moroccan with a few Lebanese contributions and is so full of temptations that another visit is definitely on the cards to try the ... Read more »

Persia meets Peri Peri Mozambique: African Volcano Baked Yoghurt Rice with Chicken

Greg Malouf’s recipe for Persian Baked Yoghurt Rice with Chicken (Tahcheen-e morgh), within a review of his book Saraban: A chef’s journey through Persia, remains a popular post on the blog, and it has been lovely to see how many readers have given the recipe a go and enjoyed it as much as we did. ... Read more »