Notes about Recipes in this book

• Oven-roasted chicken with sumac, pomegranate molasses, chilli & sesame seeds

  • wester on July 24, 2018

    Very easy, very tasty. Next time I would use just chicken legs - I'm not very good at jointing chickens. I also found I did not have pomegranate molasses, I improvised with a mix of normal molasses, redcurrant juice and balsamic vinegar. Worked OK, next time I'll make sure I have everything.

  • Gio on December 21, 2015

    A winning recipe from Chef Stein. Absolutely delicious in every way. Found the recipe here http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/oven-roasted_chicken_13123 Now I must buy the book.

  • Cati on October 31, 2015

    Made this from the online recipe posted by The Happy Foodie. It called for 2 tablespoons of sumac. I wondered if this is the amount in the book recipe. Tasted overpowering. More like Sumac with chicken.

  • Avocet on October 29, 2015

    Very easy and very good. Next time I'll increase the amount of the marinade a bit. I found it easier to coat the chicken with the marinade when I mixed the marinade with some of the olive oil.

  • TrishaCP on March 21, 2016

    This is an excellent recipe. I too just added the olive oil to the marinade. I only had one tablespoon of sumac left (who runs out of sumac mid-recipe?) but I went for it and I thought it was perfect as is. Therefore, I am really curious about whether others found the two tablespoons overpowering per Cati's comment?

  • lilham on November 07, 2015

    Very easy and tasty. The recipe asked for the olive oil to be drizzled over the chicken after rubbing the marinate in. Agree with avocet that the marinade is easier to work with if a little of the olive oil is added to it.

  • FJT on September 24, 2015

    Extremely easy to make and very tasty. Leftovers were great in tacos.

  • KarinaFrancis on February 26, 2016

    I've had this bookmarked and finally made it, it's so good!! I marinaded it in the morning before work and popped it in the oven when I got home. Followed the previous notes and added a bit of oil to the marinade. It's delicious and moist, and so easy. Will make again

  • Kitchenangel on September 29, 2015

    I LOVE this - made it twice already!!

  • joneshayley on September 12, 2018

    Delicious - easy and quick. Served with the Turkish pilaf from the same book.

  • TLouise on January 04, 2021

    Very simple and flavourful recipe using ingredients I always have on hand.

• Turkish rice

  • wester on September 30, 2018

    Soft, buttery and flavorful. The children totally loved it, a definite repeat. Hardly more work than cooking normal rice or pasta. Probably best with a sweetish main dish.

  • TrishaCP on February 10, 2019

    I’ve made versions of this before, and this version was good. My rice was too wet still at the point when steaming was supposed to happen, so I allowed it to cook another 10 minutes to dry out a bit.

• Turkish spiced cabbage & minced lamb stew with tomatoes (Kapuska)

  • RosieB on June 01, 2017

    This was a really tasty and easy mid week dinner. Definitely make again.

  • TrishaCP on April 08, 2017

    Amazing- probably one of the best cabbage dishes that I've ever made. I used more red pepper paste after tasting and was happy with that choice. I did drain the lamb after browning it to avoid greasiness.

  • Bloominanglophile on October 22, 2018

    This was quite good--a nice dish for an autumn evening. It was mildly sweet (not unpleasantly so) from the red pepper paste and the cabbage (I used regular green cabbage). The first night I served it with the recommended crusty bread, but the second night I served the leftovers over rice. Good either way!

  • Carol.Furness on June 24, 2017

    Definitely a winner. Cabbage might sound offputting but the whole dish is lovely

  • Carol.Furness on August 07, 2016

    This is a lovely dish. Don't let the cabbage put you off.

  • JLDuck on May 16, 2017

    An excellent cabbage dish even without the lamb

  • KateW on October 15, 2015

    Easy and very good for a week-night supper

  • Mayandbill on September 01, 2021

    Recipe available online at better belly burst blog. I give it 5 stars. I make sure it’s well seasoned and am generous with the chilli. Makes a great autumn supper, with or without the pepper paste.

  • Indio32 on September 20, 2021

    Made a half recipe ie for 2 but could quite easily have served 4! Used a white cabbage this time but would be very interested in trying this with Savoy. A good weeknight supper.

• Split stuffed aubergines (Karniyarik)

  • RosieB on December 31, 2015

    Provided you are organised to cook the eggplant in advance this is an easy and delicious meal. The pomegranate seeds really set off the dish.

• Avgolemono soup

  • RosieB on July 31, 2016

    This soup is delicious. It is a classic recipe. I omitted the poached egg.

  • Kitchenangel on October 14, 2015

    I have seen this recipe in so many books and been intrigued, but last week I just so happened to have used two carcasses to make stock. Well, WOW. This stuff is addictive. I think it's one if my most favourite soups EVER. I gave some to my poorly husband at the weekend, and despite clearly looking at it with a great deal of mistrust, he wolfed his down. A real winner.

• Halloumi saganaki

  • RosieB on March 07, 2016

    This is a great simple dish to have as a starter. The honey makes it.

  • sharifah on October 16, 2015

    Wow, this was seriously nice! Crispy on the outside, sweet, salty and herby! I could eat this everyday.

• Baked pumpkin with sun-dried tomato paste & crispy onions (Sinkonta)

  • TrishaCP on January 10, 2017

    This was good- we ate this as a side dish rather than mezze. I used a large acorn squash because I was too lazy to peel a pumpkin. The onions were good, especially the parts where they kind of clumped together with the sun-dried tomato paste. They weren't very crispy however!

  • ExploringTheTurkishKitchen on July 07, 2019

    Big pile of yum! Sinkonta - roast pumpkins & onions with sundried tomato paste. Just yum yum yum. This recipe from @ricksteinofficial has me wanting to pack up the car and drive to #alaçati ready for breakfast. Sinkonta, Firinda salçali balkabagi ve sogan. Instagram Post https://www.instagram.com/exploringtheturkishkitchen/

• Chicken with apricots & almonds (Mahmudiye)

  • TrishaCP on February 10, 2019

    I really enjoyed the stew. The flavors were pretty subtle, but still tasty and not too sweet. This needs to be served with rice or another starch to soak up the sauce.

  • FJT on May 06, 2017

    This was a tasty, quick recipe. I had some frozen pearl onions to use up, so I substituted those for the baby shallots (bonus: no peeling required!). There really is very little work involved in this dish - the only chopping was to cut a few dried apricots into smaller pieces; otherwise the browning of the onions and chicken were the only hands-on activities. Everything else was thrown in at the same time and then left to simmer away. This could easily be a weeknight dinner.

• Circassian chicken (Čerkez tavugu)

  • TrishaCP on November 08, 2021

    This made for a delicious chicken salad with just the most basic ingredients. I liked that you use the poaching liquid to flavor and thin the walnut sauce. I had the Turkish red pepper paste already on hand, but I would make this again with the paprika substitute.

• Turkish dumplings (Manti)

  • FJT on March 26, 2022

    First off, I used my usual gluten free pasta recipe rather than the recipe in the book and I didn’t make the chilli dressing as I had some chill dressing leftover from another recipe that I wanted to use up. That said, these were easy to make and delicious. Will definitely make again.

• Hummus

  • sharifah on October 16, 2015

    Very nice hummus!! I soaked my chickpeas overnight, not 24 hours. And they took only 40 minutes to soften, not 2 hours. I used 2 Tbs of oil as he said in the recipe but it wasn't enough to have the same 'pooling oil' effect as in his picture. Would make this again.

• Rick's red pepper paste

  • Bloominanglophile on October 22, 2018

    This is easy to make (especially if you use jarred roasted red peppers like I did), and is required for several recipes in this book. I did halve the recipe, and froze what I didn't use for future use.

  • JLDuck on May 16, 2017

    I was running short of time so used pickled peppers as a substitute. Worked OK.

• Walnut-crusted pork chops with figs

  • chawkins on April 14, 2020

    Delicious and fairly simple. The splash of lemon juice at the end helped counterbalance the sweetness of the figs, the cinnamon and nutmeg complemented the walnuts and pork chops well.

  • JLDuck on October 24, 2016

    The warning about over cooking the walnuts is warranted. I had to Brown a second serving of walnuts because I left it too long. The First batch was ghastly. From then on to for it. It is really delicious.

  • JLDuck on April 19, 2018

    I used almonds instead of walnuts as I had unexpectedly run out of walnuts. It worked a treat

• Patrick Leigh Fermor's moussaka

  • chawkins on August 04, 2020

    Wow, this was great. A lot of steps but well worth the effort especially with garden fresh eggplant, zucchini and tomatoes. Used Gruyere instead of the graviera cheese.

  • Foodycat on October 17, 2015

    Well worth the extra fiddle of frying the vegetables. It makes a fabulous - and unusually not at all greasy - moussaka. Next time I probably will leave out the potatoes and use more aubergine. The potatoes were nice but not nice enough to bother with. I made a half quantity which was abundant for 3 people, and used gruyere because I couldn't get graviera.

  • grindabod on January 09, 2023

    I made this recipe as noted, but used Ottolenghi's "Ultimate traybake ragù" from his book Flavour instead of the beef filling, as I was cooking for a few vegetarian friends. I adjusted the seasoning of the ragù slightly, adding cinnamon and bay, to make it closer to this original, and it worked great. I agree that it's well worth taking the time to salt and then fry the vegetables as written in the recipe, it really makes a difference.

  • Petrakisses on October 23, 2020

    Absolutely luscious! Note I often pop the sliced vegetables into the oven to save some time, I find it too tedious to fry them all. Kali Orexi!

• Lamb kleftiko

  • KarinaFrancis on February 09, 2019

    Oh wow this was so good! Hardly any prep work and all the magic happens in the oven. I took the easier option of cooking it in a cast iron Dutch oven (ok’ed by Mr Stein). I made a few tweaks to the recipe based on some research of other recipes. I marinated it for a few hours with a few crushed garlic cloves, juice of half a lemon and some fresh oregano. I also used white wine instead of the water. Can’t wait to make this again

  • Kitchenangel on September 29, 2015

    Yummy. Used bone in lamb chops instead of a leg. Shortened cooking time. Served with the green beans cooked in tomatoes. Wow

  • Petrakisses on October 23, 2020

    Absolutely luscious! Another flavourful dish that requires little effort, and without the cheese it is perfect for those enjoying the paleo way of eating. The capsicums were my most favourite part, do yourself a favour and double the amount you use. Kali Orexi!

  • TLouise on February 03, 2021

    Maximum flavour for minimum effort. I have made a few versions of this recipe but this is my new favorite.

• Freekeh salad

  • KarinaFrancis on September 16, 2017

    I really liked this but felt it needed a little something more, a good base grain salad to build on

• Sporki macaroni

  • greedyrosie on August 04, 2016

    Very nice recipe, easy weeknight tea. Stage before adding pasta well suited to pressure cooker

  • joneshayley on February 18, 2018

    I am not a fan. Twenty turns of a pepper grinder left it very peppery. I should have trusted my judgement and stopped turning at a palatable amount

  • inss25 on October 17, 2015

    Lovely recipe - very moreish - but way too much pasta. I did 500g and would reduce by another 100g next time.

• Prawns alla busara

  • Kitchenangel on October 14, 2015

    Lovely!. I had some large, raw Madagascan peeled prawns in the freezer and as soon as I saw Rick make this, I knew it would be on my list. Super messy to eat (might go for headless next time), but a total treat!

  • joneshayley on January 19, 2019

    Great recipe- messy and delicious. The sauce is beautiful, though I found that the breadcrumbs weren’t needed as it thickened whilst cooking.

  • Braco777 on April 07, 2017

    Now this feta, mentioned before, would be a nono in Croatia. You eat it with your hands and a bib around your neck. Crusty bread is served to dip into the rich cooking sauce.

  • JLDuck on April 03, 2017

    Add feta for a variation. Not pure but very delicious. Add just before serving.

• Green beans in tomato sauce (Taze faulye)

  • Kitchenangel on October 15, 2015

    I could never imagine cooking green beans for a full forty minutes, but oh my word, these were utterly divine. Would absolutely make this again.

  • Elizabeth.f on May 16, 2020

    Excellent. Don’t need to add quite as much olive oil at the end.

  • Gwellard on May 05, 2020

    My girlfriend looked at me in horror when I said we’d be cooking these beans for almost an hour, but they turned out fabulous. Wonderful side dish.

• Chicken & tomato stew with orzo

  • joneshayley on June 06, 2018

    A lovely recipe- I used less chicken (4 legs) but it came out beautifully, Rich, soupy and flavourful. Next time off add some herbs at the end (parsley/thyme/ maybe even dill?) and a squeeze of lemon.

  • Indio32 on September 26, 2021

    Was planning on making Nigella's Chicken, orzo and leek recipe but noticed this and changed my mind..... t'was the tomatoes! Used a small 1.1kg chicken and swapped out the red wine for vermouth. Have to admit I was particularly hungry but this really was good. A good winters dish

• Pasta e fagioli

  • joneshayley on November 24, 2019

    Very good recipe, delicious served with a dollop of pesto. All the family enjoyed this cheap, warming and flavourful stew/soup

• The best chicken pie in Greece (Kotopita)

  • joneshayley on June 08, 2018

    Very nice with a side salad, but not the best pie in Greece! Quite bland without a salad. Another time I’d add oregano, perhaps thyme, and some spinach. The chicken was cooked beautifully though. As were the onions.

  • opinionated86 on July 21, 2019

    Anyone got any idea what he means by boil the liquid to gelatinous stock? I’m boiling it right down to almost nothing but that takes over an hour, would have thought he’d say if it was gonna take that long?

  • Indio32 on October 02, 2021

    Hugely disappointing this. As has already been said it really is very bland. Also had nearly 3.5 litres of liquid to reduce to "150-180ml" Did it in batches but still took 45 mins of hard boiling. Am not looking forward to next quarter's gas bill! Definitely WON'T be doing this again!

• Turkish spiced pilaf

  • joneshayley on September 12, 2018

    Easy, delicious and the rice is fluffy and well cooked. Made with the sumac chicken in the same book - which was lovely.

• Veal cannelloni

  • joneshayley on October 31, 2020

    This is beautiful. If I takes a while to come together but the subtle wine and spinach within the meat sauce and creamy bechamel combo was a winner. All the family loved it.

• Pork souvlaki with oregano (Kontosouvli)

  • joneshayley on November 25, 2019

    Beautiful flavours, deep and evocative of sunny shores. I’ll make this again.

  • Elizabeth.f on May 16, 2020

    Served with green bean recipe and tzatziki like recipe from same book with fried potatoes with oregano and tandoori chicken wings. Excellent.

• Veal, mint & oregano meatballs in a rich tomato sauce (Keftedes)

  • joneshayley on June 03, 2018

    I agree that the breadcrumbs can be halved, which achieves a lovely soft textured meatball. The sauce and herbed meatballs are a wonderful, surprisingly delicate combination. The meat carries the flavour of mint and the slight hint of wine really comes through. I’d make this again

  • JLDuck on June 17, 2016

    I used a minced lamb fillet. Worked very well.

  • stephengk on August 31, 2017

    Nice mint flavour but texture too soft for my taste. Would cut back considerably on breadcrumb. Usually in meatballs 10% is enough for me

• The Turkish king of breakfasts: eggs with tomato, red pepper & green chillies (Menemen)

  • joneshayley on January 21, 2018

    This is very quick, easy and delicious. It wouldn’t be my first choice for breakfast (or for menemen) , but it is a very nice, light meal.

• Beef with oxymeli

  • JoD on October 04, 2015

    This is a delicious meal - we all loved the oxymeli combination of flavours.

• Albanian baked lamb with rice (Tavë kosi)

  • Foodycat on October 17, 2015

    Very basic but delicious and comforting.

• Rich lamb stew with aubergine purée (Hünkar beğendi)

  • JLDuck on July 22, 2019

    The stew is delicious. Very tender. The puree made for interest and taste and is easy to make. However if you have any left over the stew can stand alone. I served it with couscous.

• Lamb & potatoes with lemon

  • JLDuck on June 09, 2016

    Medium chunks of potato is preferable.

  • shane.metzke on April 16, 2022

    Added some chopped capsicum toward the end for colour and flavour. Remove foil for last 30 minutes and drain juices to allow to brown up a little. Reduce the drained liquid a little and add back to keep moist while browning. Reserve a little for drizzling over as a sauce. I’ve made a simple recipe more complicated but I genuinely think it made it more interesting. Lemon/garlic/rosemary potatoes were amazing.

• Greek fish stew

  • JLDuck on August 20, 2020

    Easy, tasty and a genuine one pot meal. A family dish rather than a show piece.

  • Pamsy on October 27, 2019

    Tasty, easy and adaptable fish stew. Added bonus of a one pot dish so minimal washing up!

• A light chicken stew with spring onions

  • JLDuck on February 26, 2017

    Perfectly good recipe. Personally I found it a little boring.

• Spinach & ricotta ravioli with wild mushroom sauté

  • JLDuck on October 16, 2022

    Rather tasty. Had a selection of unusual mushrooms from the farmers market. I found it a little dry so added a little olive oil before serving.

• David's salad of chickpeas, coriander, tomato & red onion

  • Sophph on July 27, 2022

    I wasn't keen on this - the dressing was quite overpowering.

• Quickly cooked calf's liver with onions & parsley (Fegato alla Veneziana)

  • inss25 on October 17, 2015

    Delicious - simple but really tasty.

• Ragù Bolognese

  • Livia on April 08, 2021

    Delivered everything that is promised from a Ragu

• Greek salad

  • Indio32 on July 05, 2021

    Finished work very early today so on the way home picked up all of the ingredients needed for this recipe in the various authentic Greek shops of North London. What can you say about this absolute classic other than get the very best ingredients you can!

• Scallops & broad beans on sourdough toast

  • ChrisU_AU on August 22, 2019

    As you'd expect from Rick Stein - easy recipe with simple basic but amazing flavours! Have used frozen broad beans when fresh are not available.

• Grilled steak with village mushrooms

  • shane.metzke on January 22, 2022

    As the book says, the steak and mushrooms were very agreeable. I added a few sliced shallots in to the sauté as well.