Persiana: Recipes from the Middle East & Beyond

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The difficulty ranges from incredibly easy and perfect for weeknight meals to slightly more advanced. There is a nice balance with appetizers, breads, rice, soups, stews, grilled items, roasts, fish, shellfish, salads, vegetables, and a variety of desserts. She went on to host supper clubs and create recipes that have been featured in many publications, plus hold cooking demonstrations, cooking classes, and other events. She put together Persiana to share “no mess, no fuss, just simple and delicious food.” Middle Eastern food can be heavy and plentiful, so you need to pair it with light, refreshing dishes that cleanse the palate and aid digestion. This is just that kind of dish – it is a perfect accompaniment to heavy meat and poultry dishes, providing a lovely fresh flavour – and it looks beautiful, too. The lightly sweetened dressing works well, counteracting the acidity, and I just love the intense crunchiness of this salad.

Sabrina, a self-taught cook, food writer and supper club host, is on a mission to make the flavours of the Middle East accessible. Her recipes are essentially Persian but with influences from Turkish, Arab and Armenian cuisines. BBC Good Food Magazine With this stunning collection of approachable Middle Eastern recipes, the author dispels the notion that Persian, Turkish, Arab, and Armenian cuisines are too complicated for home cooks. In six chapters overflowing with photos of vibrantly sauced and garnished foods, she presents small plates, breads, salads, desserts, and other dishes that can be served individually or as part of a feast. VERDICT: In a word, outstanding" The arrival of her first book, Persiana: Recipes from the Middle East & Beyond, is a boon to those who long to serve their guests bountiful dishes of exotic, glamorous, unfamiliar food with a casual “I-just-threw-this-together” ...They’ll be clamouring for more. And this book, unlike some others, has photographs that show the food clearly. The IndependentPreheat a griddle pan over a medium-high heat. Brush the aubergine slices with olive oil on one side and chargrill for about 6‑8 minutes on each side, brushing the reverse side with more oil as you turn them over, until the texture softens and they are cooked through with nice griddle marks. Set aside. Biryani is a dish fit for a king and its origin is largely credited to Persia. The delicate layering of rice interspersed with spices and meat or poultry relies on a special Persian steaming method known as dam pokht (or dum pukht if you are from India), meaning "steam-cooked". There are many variations of biryani from India to Pakistan, but authentic versions have no chilli in them whatsoever – just aromatic spices such as luxurious Persian saffron. My wonderful friend Asma Khan is the queen of biryani and nobody has a more delicate and expert hand than she does when it comes to making the best and most authentic. Asma very kindly shared some of her biryani wisdom with me, from which I am delighted to share a simplified version of this hugely popular dish with you.

Towards the end of the cooking time, drain and rinse the mussels and clams. Pull the beards off the mussels and give them a gentle scrub. Place the sliced radishes in a large bowl. I like both the skin and the seeds of the cucumber, but if you prefer, you can peel the skin, then halve the cucumber lengthways and scoop out and discard the seeds. Slice each cucumber half thinly into half moons and add these along with the red onions to the bowl. Give everything a good mix.I keep this cake on a plate covered with clingfilm and find it can be kept like this for up to a week. Preheat a large saucepan over a medium-high heat. Fill the pan with boiling water and add the rice with a generous handful of crumbled sea salt. Boil for 6-8 minutes until the rice is parboiled. You will know it is parboiled when the colour of the grains turns from the normal dullish white to a more brilliant white and the grains become slightly elongated and begin to soften. Sabrina Ghayour; the talented chef, food writer and instructor offers over 100 delicious and relatively easy to prepare Middle Eastern dishes in this outstanding collection sure to appeal to vegetarians and carnivores in equal measure... this is an outstanding collection that will surely win readers over and inspire many a meal. Color photos. Aubergine is much loved and revered in eastern culture and I especially love it chargrilled, which gives an added meatiness through the charring. Saffron is the world's most expensive spice. The purest and highest grade of saffron comes from Iran and infusing some yogurt with its potency adds the perfect finish to grilled aubergines. This dish is more than just a simple broth – it is a wonderfully hearty meal and offers a great way of using up vegetables. There are no rules – it should contain whatever you find lying around the house and in your fridge.