Notes about Recipes in this book

• Spicy, fragrant chicken with chilli, ginger and peanuts

  • Emily Hope on November 09, 2015

    I liked the flavor of the sauce quite a bit, and it's pretty quick to put together, but I found the sauce to be overly gloppy--next time I'd cut back on the cornstarch and possibly also on the liquid. C liked it better than I did.

  • Botanybird on January 14, 2018

    The sauce was far too thick! I'm not sure the cornflour is needed at all - it drowned out all the other ingredients, which were lovely otherwise.

• Sweet potato mash

  • TrishaCP on December 18, 2021

    This was easy to make and had a nice heat. I boiled rather than steamed the potatoes.

• A simple Spanish fish stew with an almond crumb

  • FJT on February 18, 2021

    This was very nice; my potatoes took a bit longer to cook than stated but otherwise no issues.

• Addictive, hot, sweet and sour pad Thai

  • SashaJackson on April 06, 2017

    Having tried many pad thai recipes this is the one I return to, it is spot on with the balance of flavours.

  • sarahj22 on January 11, 2018

    Really enjoyed this - beautiful combination of flavours and the raw beansprouts, spring onions and cucumber add a lovely fresh crunch. As another reviewer says, the balance of flavours was spot-on but I added some extra fish sauce, chilli flakes, tamarind and lime juice to create extra sauce. Some chopping involved but pretty quick to come together for a midweek meal. A keeper.

  • Botanybird on September 29, 2019

    Excellent recipe! So tasty and satifying, even though I'm not a big fan of fish sauce. The peanuts really add to the texture.

• Lamb meatballs with tomato and tamarind sauce

  • Lovestocook on October 12, 2014

    Really enjoyed this. Great variation on meatballs and the tamarind sauce was fab. Sauce was quick and easy and meatballs browned in the oven so also hassle free. Will be making again.

• Stuffed peppers with pork, smoked paprika and thyme

  • sarahj22 on August 01, 2018

    Really enjoyed this - a simple and delicious weeknight dinner. It takes almost an hour in the oven once you've cooked the pork mixture and stuffed the peppers, but in terms of actual effort it's pretty minimal. I had trouble finding fresh fennel so I just omitted it. I also added a little extra paprika. TM suggests brown rice and salad as an accompaniment, but I liked mine just with salad, Leftovers make a great lunch for the following day.

• Middle Eastern aubergine and couscous salad

  • sarahj22 on July 07, 2017

    Another winner from this book - a lovely light and fresh-tasting dish. Used a little less oil than suggested which worked fine. I wasn't a massive fan of the aubergine (my least favourite vegetable) but my friend loved it sprinkled with some sea salt. Tasty enough to work on its own as a main but would also be lovely as part of a Middle Eastern meze spread. The author suggests adding more harissa to the dressing if you prefer it spicier - I stuck to the suggested amount but left harissa on the table to add as desired. Served with salad leaves to bump up the veggies even further.

• Harissa: a Middle Eastern salsa with heat

  • sarahj22 on July 07, 2017

    Easy and tasty harissa recipe. Roasting the vegetables takes 40-50 minutes but after that it's very quick to put together. I added the maximum amount of chillies and still found it wasn't as fiery as some other versions, but the balance of flavours was lovely.

• Chicken piri piri with new potatoes, red peppers, oregano and lemon

  • sarahj22 on July 07, 2017

    This was fairly pleasant but I found it a little bit sweet for my taste - if making again I would cut back slightly on the pomegranate molasses.

• Addictive pork laab salad

  • sarahj22 on July 07, 2017

    Really enjoyed this - so flavourful and quick enough to cook for a weeknight dinner. Feels indulgent and comforting but also fresh-tasting and relatively healthy. The author suggests serving it with coconut rice which you could do to bulk it out, but I don't think it needs it. Leftovers work well for lunch.

• Day of the Dead cottage pie

  • Popisdead on March 21, 2021

    Good take on cottage pie. Would up the spice, put some dried chillis in there, but maybe because I have a load of guajillo chillies in the cupboard. Also some cheese over the topping would go really nicely.

• Braised fennel and mascarpone bruschetta with smoked paprika

  • Boffcat on February 26, 2017

    I enjoyed this, but the fennel needs to be chopped into smaller pieces than sixths or eighths, as it's unwieldy to eat. I would also increase the ratio of olives and currants to fennel. Portions are generous - I made 2/3 of the quantity in the recipe, and it would have comfortably made a lunch for four.

• Orecchiette with cherry tomatoes, black olives and toasted breadcrumbs

  • JJ2018 on April 12, 2018

    Nice enough but not a game changer

• Spiced cauliflower soup with avocado salsa

  • JJ2018 on February 03, 2020

    I enjoyed this soup it was warming and comforting. Didn’t manage to make the salsa but will next time.

• Chicken schnitzel with fresh tomato and chilli salad

  • JJ2018 on January 04, 2020

    Cornflake crumb made this really crunchy. My husband really enjoyed it but I’m not sure I preferred this to breadcrumbs.

• Thai red curry coconut prawns

  • JJ2018 on February 03, 2020

    This was absolutely delicious it made the most amazing sauce and will definitely make again. I was a bit lazy and didn’t preheat the marinade and sauce ahead of time to melt the sugar in but didn’t notice an issue. Also I used brown sugar instead of palm sugar as it was what was available.

• Smoky-blue cauliflower cheese

  • JJ2018 on January 29, 2020

    This was a quick winter warmer. I cooked full sauce and added 100g of pasta and some leftover baby spinach to make a full meal for 2 rather than serve with bread as suggested

• Lebanese lamb wraps

  • JJ2018 on April 02, 2019

    This was nice but messy to eat. Pomegranate molasses was a nice flavour but think I still prefer lamb koftas style dishes