• HoneyBea on February 08, 2022

  Going to make Moroccan Chicken with Dates and Aubergine for the umpteenth time. So easy, so good and quite economical. Family love it.A keeper.

• PinchOfSalt on September 01, 2017

  eISBN info 978-1-78472-326-2 Henry, Diana. SIMPLE: effortless food, big flavours (p. 329). Octopus Books. Kindle Edition.

• Sallyjh on October 06, 2016

  Another winner from Diana, one of my favourite cooks. The cod with crab crust is amazing.

• JFM on October 05, 2016

  My new favourite book!

• Foodycat on September 19, 2016

  My copy is completely bristling with things I want to make. The recipes I have made so far (sausages with split pea puree, boozy mushrooms on brioche toast and Goan fish curry) have all been excellent. Although my split peas took ages longer to soften and I misjudged the water halving quantities so they were a bit soupy.

Notes about Recipes in this book

• Egg & salmon donburi

  • FJT on November 15, 2016

    Nice enough but the texture was all a bit too mushy for me. However the sherry (or sake) in the scrambled eggs was a real winner.

  • mrshalf on December 29, 2016

    I agree. Mushy. This was a very filling dish though. Loved the eggs and learned to poach the salmon - easy!

  • SheilaS on March 27, 2017

    This is a very subtle dish and it depends on all ingredients being perfect. Looks like a simple bowl but it requires some attention to get barely cooked (but still warm) salmon on the plate with those perfectly cooked soft eggs and the freshly cooked rice and perfectly ripe avocado.

  • sosayi on April 07, 2017

    Based on "mushy" comments, and the fact that I had leftover rice, I crisped my rice in a carbon steel pan to reheat it. I loved the added textural dimension. I agree with the sake being a real winner in the eggs, but I ended up subbing shallots for the onions, which I think was a less aggressive choice that fit in better with the other ingredients.

  • Lesliehauser on May 02, 2017

    This was great comfort food in a bowl. My family makes homemade California rolls for dinner every 2-3 weeks, but after having this last night they asked for this to take over that recipe in the dinner rotation. It was filling on its own, but in future, I may also serve with dumplings or edamame.

  • sosayi on August 17, 2018

    Coming back around to say that this dish has made it into regular rotation in my house. It's even one of my preschooler's favorites (although he insists on having the ingredients separate). Try serving it with brown rice! I have found that the nuttier bite adds great texture.

  • lou_weez on February 12, 2019

    This is weirdly delicious. It is all very 'soft' and I would have liked a bit more crunch but the flavors were gentle and everything worked together beautifully. I would make this again.

  • TrishaCP on February 17, 2019

    We thought this was really delicious. No problems with the texture being too soft, but we used brown rice so maybe that helped? It is a bit of a juggling act to get all of the components executed properly, since everything comes together at the last second, so I wouldn’t make this on a night when you are distracted. (Even though this is quick.)

  • sharifah on September 03, 2020

    As others have said, it’s a ‘soft’ dish. But it relies on each element being absolutely perfect. We liked this dish; it’s strangely comforting and pleasant.

  • anya_sf on January 04, 2021

    I increased the quantities of (white sushi) rice, salmon, and avocado for 2 heartier dinner servings, and also added sliced cucumber and edamame. Like sosayi, I cooked shallot with the egg. I also cooked the salmon nearly all the way through. We loved this dish.

  • Beth891 on February 26, 2024

    I changed the cooking of the salmon to my favourite method (oven 140c for 15 mins) and served with edamame too and a few. gyoza on the side. Really tasty and we all enjoyed it. Did an extra egg and it served 2 adults and a 3 year old easily. It was a great way to stretch 2 salmon fillets to 3 - one to make again:)

• Menemen

  • veronicafrance on November 20, 2016

    After yesterday's brown sludge I decided not to follow Diana's suggestion of scrambling the eggs. Instead I reverted to the traditional method of breaking the eggs on top once the tomatoes had reduced a bit. In this form it is basically the same as shakshuka, whereas scrambled it is piperade. Anyway, whatever ... either way it is quick, cheap, easy and delicious.

  • Frenchfoodie on March 20, 2017

    Surprisingly tasty, mixed in the eggs went attractively pink from the pepper. 11 month old liked it too.

  • southerncooker on April 10, 2017

    This made for a very good breakfast. Leeks, bell peppers, tomatoes, garlic and some spices. I used tiny sweet colored peppers red and yellow instead of bell. Instead of flatbread I ate mine with sourdough toast. I used a couple of the options and sprinkled on parsley and feta. I cut the recipe down to just serve one.

  • westminstr on September 20, 2017

    I liked the veg mix but was totally not thrilled with the scrambled eggs which had an odd mushy texture mixed in with the veg. Concur w the other reviewer that the eggs are best done traditionally.

  • Astrid5555 on October 25, 2017

    Unfortunately did not check the other notes before cooking this recipe. The taste was great but like the other reviewers mentioned the texture was oddly mushy. Sprinkled on feta cheese and cilantro, which really made a difference.

  • Hansyhobs on December 04, 2021

    Cooked for first time in ages. Cook down the veg for ages to get it as dry as possible. Takes a while but it's worth it. So delicious!

• Eggs with peppers and 'nduja

  • joneshayley on June 15, 2019

    Takes a while to make, but is, as the book promises, simple and delicious. I used less nduja than the recipe specified- 50g, which for us was plenty.

  • hbakke on July 25, 2020

    Delicious! I used mixed peppers, including a poblano and precooked the potatoes to speed up preparation. I would make this again.

  • catmummery on June 26, 2022

    really tasty spanish style brunch dish - doing the eggs in the same dish as the potato makes a big difference; really delicious eggs. Does take time but worth it as slow cooking the onions and peppers gives a lovely taste. Will be on repeat.

• Huevos rotos

  • lilham on January 21, 2017

    I find this bland. I used sweet smoked paprika. Maybe it tastes better with hot smoked paprika, but I'm not going to cook this again.

  • Zosia on March 09, 2017

    Simple and tasty, it made for a nice, quick dinner served with a big green salad.

  • Niemie on April 03, 2017

    The perfect pre-wine-country breakfast. The smoked paprika gives it a satisfying meatiness that I'm always surprised by in vegetarian dishes.

  • joneshayley on April 15, 2017

    I liked this- good quality paprika is essential. Note that it took significantly longer to cook. I'd add a red pepper next time for more colour/flavour.

• Greens with chilli, olive oil, eggs, feta & seeds

  • amandacooks on March 16, 2017

    Yet another terrific recipe from Simple. I used collards in place of the kale since that's what was in the fridge, and fried the eggs as Diana Henry suggested in the header. My only complaint is that it dirtied a lot of dishes (a pot to blanch the greens, another to sauté them, and a skillet to cook the eggs). Next time I will blanch the greens in a Dutch oven and wipe it dry before sautéing them in the same pot.

  • southerncooker on April 02, 2017

    I loved this one. Very filling, I did poach two eggs for me though. Loved the mixture of kale and spinach along along with the other ingredients. Also sourdough bread is one of favorites. This makes a great weekend breakfast.

  • Jane on April 09, 2017

    What a great weekend brunch dish. I only had baby kale so used that but everything else was as per recipe. I followed amandacooks advice and reduced my washing-up by one pan. It was really tasty - lovely combination of crunchy toast, soft kale and eggs, tangy feta and crunchy pumpkin seeds. This is going on my weekend brunch rotation - along with shakshuka and avocado toast with poached eggs,

  • joneshayley on April 15, 2017

    Great breakfast! The greens can be varied to suit

  • Astrid5555 on October 24, 2017

    Excellent! Had this for lunch today, done in less than 15 minutes. Used baby spinach only and really liked the extra crunch from the seeds.

  • mzgourmand on April 22, 2018

    Delicious but for me not speedy!

  • kari500 on April 15, 2022

    This was a surprise hit with my family, who aren’t crazy about meals on toast. I used 4 bags of baby spinach, no kale. Lots of garlic and chilies. Fried the eggs. Used feta, and we loved it; think a creamy goat would work too - really anything tangy. The seeds are definitely a nice touch. Can I get away with more toast meals?

  • embk27 on August 06, 2022

    Loved this for a quick lunch. I sautéed the kale instead of blanching then added the spinach and rest of ingredients - worked really well. I did a jammy boiled egg instead of poached - great meal!

  • bernalgirl on September 02, 2024

    I made this because I had spicy greens on hand and was curious about eggs and pepitas. I liked it overall and would make again if I had sautéed greens on hand.

• Leek & feta omelette with sumac

  • joneshayley on April 15, 2017

    This is delicious - it makes for a special, yet simple meal.

  • Astrid5555 on October 23, 2017

    Turned this into a frittata-style dish by simply adding the egg mixture to the softened leeks and topped it with feta cheese and sumac. Perfect mid-week lunch for one!

  • purrviciouz on August 05, 2019

    I used goat cheese in place of the feta and was pleased with the very creamy and elegant omelet. I enjoyed the tangy contrast of the sumac.

  • darcie_b on October 21, 2020

    If you have the sumac, use it. Lovely flavors in this omelette.

  • Foodycat on October 24, 2020

    Very simple and very good. I flashed it under the grill after adding the leeks and feta because my husband hates a baveuse omelette, so the feta just softened slightly. I think I will make this a lot.

  • FJT on October 27, 2020

    I expected to like this more than I did; it was perfectly fine but didn't wow me. On the plus side it was an easy dinner!

  • Lepa on November 07, 2020

    This was easy and good. I put the feta into the omelet so it could melt a bit. The sumac was a nice touch.

  • bernalgirl on March 10, 2024

    Easy and fantastic

• Parsi-style scrambled eggs

  • Astrid5555 on February 24, 2017

    So delicious and very quick to make! Yum!

  • Joburger on March 25, 2017

    Tasty and easy. Worth a repeat. Great with Naan bread

  • Jane on April 26, 2017

    This was a perfectly OK lunch though I didn't love it. It's maybe better with a red chile - I only had a green one. It felt something was missing. Maybe another spice?

  • Lepa on July 04, 2018

    This was good but not great. I added some spicy tomato achar on top to perk it up and that helped.

• Griddled courgettes, burrata & fregola

  • Jane on April 24, 2017

    Loved this. Very quick and easy to make but lots of flavor. I used Israeli couscous instead of fregola and dill instead of basil.

  • ksg518 on July 17, 2018

    This is very good. Oddly, the American version of this book refers to it as grilled zucchini but it's really just cooked in a frying pan in batches. We didn't have enough zucchini but added halved cherry tomatoes, which worked very well. We also used Israeli couscous instead of fregola. We'll definitely make this again.

  • anya_sf on May 16, 2022

    I just had 4 medium-large zucchinis (1.5 lbs), cooked in a grill pan, which seemed like plenty relative to the fregola. I substituted parmesan for pecorino and added tomatoes on top, which tasted great with the other ingredients. We loved this dish and leftovers were good cold the next day.

  • pattyatbryce on August 17, 2022

    Excellent summer dinner. Works with barley if you don't have fregola.

• Cumin-coriander roast carrots with pomegranates & avocado

  • Mrs. L on February 21, 2017

    Surprised by the flavors here. I really liked the combination. Alas no pomegranate seeds as wrong time of year.

  • Wazzockbeak on October 10, 2018

    A really lovely supper for two using half quantities and a few subs, I had to use just lettuce and flat leaf parsley. A real boon is Morrison’s bag of frozen pomegranate seeds, very useful!

  • sjwill82 on May 10, 2021

    I made this as a side to baked trout (seasoned with cumin and coriander). I had no watercress or coriander so used rocket and dill and was very impressed with the flavor combinations. A definite remake

  • ellwell on December 14, 2024

    The flavor combination was wonderful and the presentation on the platter was beautiful.

  • Emwestley on June 09, 2025

    Absolutely delicious. Would make again. Good carrot base for lunches and a delicious pomegranate dressing. Didn’t need to use the whole dressing quantity for the recipe. Swapped crushed garlic clove for roasted garlic purée which worked a treat. Will definitely make again as a bbq or sharing side.

• Tomatoes, soft herbs & feta with pomegranate

  • L.Nightshade on March 31, 2017

    Well, the title of this recipe pretty much sums it up. Tomatoes, sliced shallots, and feta are tossed with parsley and dill, and dressed with a mix of white balsamic, pomegranate molasses, honey, garlic, S&P, and olive oil. Pomegranate arils go on top if you’ve got them. I had them, so on they went. Very nice indeed. I appreciate the generous use of herbs here, and I think it would also work quite well with different herbs. D. Henry says the pomegranate flavor is in the dressing, not the arils, but I love the sweet-tart crunch of the arils.

  • joneshayley on April 15, 2017

    Wonderful salad- makes a perfect light lunch or starter

  • Foodycat on April 01, 2018

    So delicious! We had it with pulled lamb - just perfect.

• Root, shiitake & noodle salad with miso dressing

  • bwhip on March 04, 2017

    This was easy and full of wonderful flavors and textures. I added edamame and avocado as the author suggested. We thought it could have used a bit more seasoning for more "bite" in the dressing - maybe using some freshly minced ginger rather than pickled? Also - we had plenty for leftovers the next day, but found that the noodles really turned to goo by day two.

  • joneshayley on April 15, 2017

    Wonderful dressing! Not too strong and perfect with the noodle/veg combination. Prawns make a good protein substitute here.

  • Skamper on November 12, 2019

    Made a half batch for two main course salads, and the portions were generous. I think it could have used more dressing. Took longer to come together than I'd thought - and more dirty dishes than usual for a salad.

  • hillsboroks on May 05, 2022

    Following the other notes I made the full batch of dressing for a half batch of salad. The dressing alone is fantastic but surprisingly it seemed to get lost a bit on the salad. We thought it could use a bit more rice vinegar to give it some oomph. We loved the salad anyways. I found my rice noodles were not quite done enough following her instructions so I will go with whatever instructions are on the noodle package next time.

• Cool greens with hot Asian dressing

  • Niemie on April 04, 2017

    Really delicious way to get some leafy greens into your system. Perfect alongside a simply prepared fish.

  • southerncooker on April 09, 2017

    Delicious. Did have to make a few subs. Couldn't find chili peppers in my market they were out so used dried chili flakes. Omitted the herbs and forgot to add sesame seeds at end. I used baby spinach for the green option and radishes for that option since our local markets don't have daikons or mooli. Went great with our grilled steaks and the Orzo with Lemon & Parsley.

  • breakthroughc on April 22, 2023

    I thought this was a good salad to go with an Asian themed meal. I made the dressing as instructed, but was a little loose with the other ingredients. I did keep it all green. I used mixed greens, edamame, sliced baby zucchini, green onion and avocado. It was an attractive salad and I would make it again.

• Food52 team salad

  • Hansyhobs on February 03, 2023

    Easy salad, not the most exciting but it does look pretty if you manage to source everything correctly

• Breton tuna & white bean gratin

  • veronicafrance on November 19, 2016

    I'm not surprised there's no photo -- this grey slop looks like something that might have been served to Oliver Twist. The best that can be said for it is that it tastes marginally better than it looks. If you are going to try it, I would heartily recommend not liquidising the beans, for an improvement in appearance and texture. I am unlikely to make it again -- a rare "meh" for a Diana Henry recipe.

  • mrshalf on March 24, 2017

    Veronicafrance nailed my sentiments. The teens in this house were like OMG we are NOT eating that. It was tasty but definitely not something I plan on making again.

  • SheilaS on April 06, 2017

    Lovely looking with a golden, crispy-cheesy topping. Based on previous comments here, I was a little worried that it would be overly mushy so I didn't purée the beans into complete oblivion and I decorated my plate to provide plenty of contrast: Crispy crackers, crunchy toast rubbed with garlic, sweet/tart/colorful pickled beets, sweet potatoes and cornichons plus lime wedges to squeeze over top. Good quality tuna and beans are key. I avoid canned beans and used white beans that I'd cooked from dried. I quite liked it. It's something you can put out to nibble on with a glass of wine and end up calling it supper. I only made about half a recipe but I'd certainly make it again.

  • sosayi on April 07, 2017

    I agree that is something that works perfectly as part of a spread to nibble on with a glass of wine. It's creamy, unctuous, and rich. I do think I would puree half of my beans, though, next time. I loved the texture the pureed beans provided, but I also would like a bit more of a contrast, too. I think that might be the best of both worlds!

  • Frenchfoodie on July 21, 2018

    Tasted okay but was very samey as a main course and looked awful. Better in small pots for a starter.

  • Pamsy on November 10, 2020

    After taking account of previous reviews I made a few tweaks and we both really enjoyed this dish. I halved the ingredients but not the tuna (160gr tin) for 2 people. I omitted the dairy and used 2 tbsp vermouth and 200gr chopped tinned tomatoes. The key to this is good seasoning and a generous amount of chilli (2 small green). Didn't puree the mix but left as was, which was texturally more interesting. Added 2 tbsps pine nuts to the breadcrumb and parsley topping, baked for 20 mins at 180c. Served with steamed tenderstem broccoli. Good storecupboard recipe. Will definitely repeat.

  • Foodycat on October 27, 2018

    I don't have a food processor at the moment, and my husband doesn't like smooth purees, so I just bashed the beans with a potato masher to a lumpy consistency. I stirred the parsley through the mixture rather than sprinkling it on top and used 2tbs of dry vermouth instead of the milk. I think the chilli is essential, and it requires a firm hand with the pepper but we really enjoyed it. Doing it in individual gratin dishes made it look a bit more attractive too.

• Simple red lentil & pumpkin dal

  • veronicafrance on November 19, 2016

    This was fine, nothing special -- it would be best as an accompaniment to something with a bit more oomph to it.

  • lilham on January 07, 2017

    I made this with a mix of carrots and parnsips instead of pumpkin. I also substituted the red pepper flakes with fresh red chilli. This is very simple to make and good for a cold evening dinner. I felt something is missing, its taste lacking complexity. However mr lilham and the children both thought it was delicious.

  • Jane on April 02, 2017

    I loved this. I made it with butternut squash and canned diced tomatoes (drained). It did not take long to make and was great for a weeknight dinner. It's quite spicy (I suspect my red chile pepper flakes are hotter than Diana's as I have had this issue with her recipes before) but the cool yogurt on the side is a good counter-balance.

  • Foodycat on July 27, 2021

    I agree with Tee Tee it needed some acid - I served it with quite a zingy raita and some lime pickle and it really needed those for balance. I roasted the chunks of butternut instead of sauteeing them, and the caramelised edges added a lot of richness to the flavour.

  • Tee.Tee on October 31, 2020

    Quick with healthy, tasty ingredients. However it needed some acid. A quick pickling of red onions in lime juice did the trick. I’m sure just a squeeze of lime would work as well.

• Smoked trout, eggs & Keta with sour cream dressing

  • Lepa on December 02, 2016

    This was phenomenal. The combination of flavors was complex and compelling. My husband raved about this meal- he even posted praise on Facebook. We washed it down with a bit of Aquavit and felt like we were in Scandinavia.

  • SheilaS on September 18, 2025

    This is just delightful in looks and taste. I used a mix of little red, white and purple potatoes with more arugula and less olive oil than in the recipe. You can certainly go with what you have on hand.

  • anya_sf on July 02, 2021

    I changed some proportions for a main course dinner salad: 24 oz potatoes (which ended up being more than needed), 8 oz trout, 8 oz salad greens, 6 Tbsp olive oil (plenty). This was delicious with some black bread on the side.

• Cumin-roast aubergines, chickpeas, walnuts & dates

  • lilham on January 12, 2017

    I substituted maple syrup for date syrup, unsalted peanuts for walnuts. Also for the last step, I tossed everthing else into the sauté pan with the chickpeas and mix then well before tipping onto the serving plate. A nutty, satisfying and outstanding warm salad. I served it with pan fried mackerel. I had leftovers for lunch two days later and it tasted even better.

  • Frogcake on November 05, 2017

    We loved the combination of flavours in this dish which I served as a side to bbq’d salmon. I omitted the chickpeas but otherwise followed the recipe. The dressing itself is so delicious! I highly recommend squeezing the lemon as directed -all of the flavours become even more enhanced.

  • KarinaFrancis on October 03, 2023

    Any eggplant dish that my eggplant adverse beloved takes a second helping of is a winner! All the flavours work beautifully together, I even forgot the nuts and it was still great. Very meaty and filling.

  • pattyatbryce on August 01, 2023

    So good!! Went with pine nuts for walnuts and also used maple for date syrup. So good you don't need meat.

• Roast cauliflower with pomegranates, green olives & chickpea purée

  • L.Nightshade on January 18, 2017

    I made this exactly as written, which is unusual for me, as I usually will cut down on olive oil when such a large amount is called for. But it worked out perfectly, and this might even be my go-to recipe for hummus now. Mine did not require salt at all, in fact I thought it bordered on too salty, but I think the canned garbanzos were a little higher in salt content than those I usually buy. Mr. NS thought it was perfectly seasoned. Inspired by MelMM on CH, I plated the cauliflower atop a pool of the chickpea purée instead of serving it alongside. The heat was perfect for us, quite spicy but not too much. I did make a point of using Indian cayenne. I made a dish once using my African cayenne in the amount called for, and even my most chile-headed friends were turning red and gasping.

  • ksg518 on February 28, 2022

    I cut back the cayenne by about a half and thought it still somewhat overpowered the dish. I think this would be totally inedible with the full amount of cayenne. I also cut back the olive oil by about a third for the puree. Overall I thought this was a little on the heavy side and I'm not sure I'll be making it again. The pomegranate seeds were a great addition and if I make it again I'll probably double those.

  • BasicStock on June 19, 2017

    This is delicious and makes a satisfying meal with a cooked grain on the side. Making a silky and intense chickpea puree and putting a generous smear of it under the roasted cauliflower for serving is such a fabulous idea. I had some leftover and did the same with roasted carrots. I probably used 1/2 cup of olive oil, but if you serve the puree as more of a condiment, it doesn't seem so decadent. I cut the cayenne back to about half, but again, using the puree this way, I could probably up that next time.

  • clcorbi on February 07, 2019

    Yum. Only made the topping and subbed store-bought hummus, which made this recipe incredibly fast to throw together. So delicious--the flavor combination really pops, and also looks gorgeous.

  • Boffcat on May 17, 2017

    I found the cayenne completely overpowering in the chickpea purée (and I speak as someone who loves spice!). I added more chickpeas, tahini and lemon juice in an attempt to tone it down, but cayenne was still the dominant flavour - having seen another reviewer's comment I wonder whether my cayenne is a particularly potent variety. That aside, while I liked the combination of roasted cauliflower and hummus (served alongside barley with preserved lemon and mint, which complemented the rest of the meal well), I probably wouldn't follow this particular recipe again: it was perfectly nice but not exceptional. (And the cauliflower, too, was rather dominanated by the flavour of cayenne.)

• New York take-out noodles with cucumber

  • lilham on January 18, 2017

    Simply delicious. I used the chilli oil from Fuchsia Dunlop's Every Grain of Rice instead of chilli bean paste. The chilli oil was served on the side because the children can't eat hot food.

  • L.Nightshade on March 31, 2017

    I used tahini, and made extra dressing; I used unsalted peanuts (also made the required peanut butter from the unsalted nuts); I used radishes along with the cucumber; I also added scallions. I’m glad I didn’t use salted nuts, as the dressing was quite salty with the soy sauce. I subbed shiratake noodles for the egg noodles called for. They’re made from some indigestible yam, so have no carbs and no calories. They are more like cellophane noodles/bean threads than wheat noodles. It was a treat for me to eat noodles, and they worked very well in this preparation. I could eat this regularly, maybe adding chicken, shrimp, or tofu. Can’t wait to do it again, with variations.

  • TrishaCP on April 19, 2017

    This was a tasty and relatively quick dinner that is worth repeating. I made some of the same adjustments as L. Nightshade- I also added scallions and radishes and unsalted peanuts and used tahini as the sesame paste. I didn't have dark soy sauce so used kecap manis (about 2 T) and omitted the sugar. I only had Korean naengmyon noodles so used those to good effect.

  • okcook on April 19, 2017

    I have made these twice now. I attempted to make Chinese sesame paste from an on-line recipe. Flavours are great but we found it lacking in sauce. The second time I just added more water which the strong flavours held up to. This is a really nice fast dish and I like the idea of adding some scallions and radishes!

  • baking4two on April 24, 2017

    Loved this easy and quick dinner! I added green onion and also substituted the sesame paste with tahini.

  • raybun on May 09, 2017

    I really enjoyed this. I found the sesame paste on a trip to Chinatown yesterday, among lots of other goodies (lime leaves!). I used a tbsp of sambal oelek for the chilli garlic sauce and it gave just the right amount of kick. The 9 year old enjoyed it too.

  • embk27 on September 08, 2018

    These were great noodles. I used tahini instead of the sesame paste as others did which worked fine. I served alongside roasted chicken thighs.

  • clcorbi on April 26, 2018

    Yum! These noodles are delicious and very fast. We topped them with a fried egg to get some protein. Next time I might up the amount of vegetables as well, or add some sliced tofu or seitan. I will be repeating because we both really enjoyed these.

• Mumbai toastie

  • L.Nightshade on January 20, 2017

    What a hypnotic combination of flavors. I made this on naan bread for Mr. NS, and I had mine on a low-carb tortilla. I cooked them on a ridged pan, with a brick on top. Our cheddar was underwhelming, I’d love to try it with a superior sharp cheddar, but it was wonderful anyway. Can’t wait to make these again. I think they’d be fun party food cut into little squares or slices.

  • lilham on March 21, 2017

    The best cheese sandwich I ever had!

  • Niemie on March 29, 2017

    I made this on homemade challah, and it was a nice sandwich. The spices didn't come through as much as hoped. Next time I'll increase. The chili chutney also seemed a bit flat, so I may look to replace that as well. Great concept, but it wasn't as flavorful as expected. Diana Henry is totally on point about having this with a beer though!

  • raybun on March 29, 2017

    I also made this for lunch today, and loved it! I upped the spices slightly and made the chutney in the small bowl of my processor. Already planning on making this again very soon!

  • stockholm28 on April 01, 2017

    This is a great way to dress up a grilled cheese.

  • SheilaS on April 12, 2017

    I wasn't sure how these spices were going to work with an aged, very sharp cheddar but I really liked it. I only have whole cumin and coriander and didn't want to grind them for just "a pinch" of each so I used a sprinkle of a Penzey's curry powder I had on hand. I agree with L.Nightshade's suggestion that this would make a fun party snack if cut into small squares or triangles.

  • pandasaurusrex on April 21, 2017

    Leveled-up grilled cheese. The combination of flavors is intriguing and definitely tasty and I enjoyed it, but I wasn't quite as blown away as others were. I used 1/4 tsp of each spice. Think I would've enjoyed it more if it were quicker to make, but slicing the onions, tomato, mint, cilantro and chile, and pounding the chutney in a mortar really ups the activation energy needed for what amounts to a snack/light lunch.

  • angrygreycat on February 03, 2019

    One of my family's favorite sandwiches. We make it often.

  • embk27 on September 07, 2018

    Great quick light meal. I made the chutney in the food processor to make it quicker. I upped the spices too and added a sprinkle of garam masala at the end.

  • clcorbi on March 02, 2018

    Yum! I omitted the tomato slices and might have been too aggressive with the dried spices. Otherwise, followed the recipe as written. We both really liked these; I'd make them again.

• Harissa roast carrots, white beans & dill

  • stockholm28 on March 18, 2017

    This would be a pretty easy meal to put together if you used canned beans. I used dried beans and ended up making this recipe over the course of multiple days, cooking the beans the day prior. It is pretty healthy, but she is very generous with the olive oil (the whole recipe for 6 persons uses a total of 12 Tbsp of olive oil between the carrots, beans, and yogurt dressing) and I think you could cut back on the oil. I made half a recipe and liked it on the day I made it. I was not as crazy about the leftovers the next day as the beans got a bit grainy.

  • SheilaS on February 25, 2023

    Great contrasting colors, flavor, texture and temperatures in this dish. I used Rancho Gordo cassoulet beans that I'd cooked ahead and everything came together quickly. I scaled the recipe down and admit to eyeballing some of the ingredients so less olive oil than specified. Still delicious which is high praise coming from me, who generally doesn't like cooked carrots!

  • clcorbi on March 26, 2018

    I made the recipe as written and served it as toasts on crust bread. Delicious! We both loved the rich yogurt sauce and how it cut through the spicy/acidic flavors. I will agree with stockholm's comment that leftovers don't keep well; something about it just wasn't as good on the second day. Next time I make this I'd halve the recipe for two people and plan on having less or no leftovers.

  • Boffcat on August 15, 2018

    This is excellent; the flavours and textures of the three components come together beautifully. I'm sceptical about the supposed portion sizes, though - we can comfortably (if a bit greedily) polish off the whole thing between two of us, and even then my husband considers that he hasn't had a full meal...

  • VineTomato on July 31, 2017

    Absolutely delicious. My oven was broken so pan fried the carrots starting on a high heat to get them going, then lower heat for about 10 min, then high with a splash of mirin to get some caramelisation. Worked brilliantly. The beans are delicious, the carrots the perfect contrast and the yogurt and buttermilk a brilliant accompaniment. A healthy quick and delicious week night dinner. Glad to have discovered a new recipe I like from this book! I agree with stockholm28 - too much oil, I more than halved the recommended amount.

  • KarinaFrancis on June 16, 2021

    Oh wow this was so good, and lived up to the promised simplicity! The onions added a beautiful savoury note against the sweetness of the carrots and the candied lemons were the perfect pop of sweet/sour. I marinaded some chicken thighs in the extra harissa marinade and had a delicious dinner.

  • Rabates on April 05, 2026

    Should have cut the carrots smaller. Use chickpeas instead of beans and added wild garlic instead of regular bulb garlic. Very tasty.

• Pappardelle with cavolo nero, chilli & hazelnuts

  • lilham on March 21, 2017

    I found this bland but Mr Lilham liked it.

  • purrviciouz on August 06, 2019

    I enjoyed this and found the combination of orange zest and hazelnuts delightful. Next time I will double the kale, parsley, hazelnuts, and garlic while keeping the pasta the same. This will be repeated for a quick vegetarian weeknight dinner.

  • brooke_3jatay on May 27, 2026

    It was a bit dry, wouldn’t include the walnuts next time. I think I’d need to adapt it a bit.

  • Boffcat on November 17, 2018

    I should have read the unenthusiastic reviews here first! We found this disappointing: not more than the sum of its parts.

  • Lepa on March 19, 2018

    Not great but not awful. Probably won't repeat it.

  • Pamsy on January 16, 2025

    Mixed feelings about this one, but will try again with some changes. I liked the flavours, orange zest, chipotle chilli flakes, garlic and walnuts (out of hazelnuts) but not the cavolo nero. Next time, I'd omit it and use chopped parsley instead. Also, I used tagliatelle (thinner than papardelle) but feel spaghetti would be better.

• Mashed eggs with anchovy, shallots & parsley

  • SheilaS on April 02, 2017

    This dish epitomizes the book's subtitle: effortless food, big flavors. It's easy and delicious with great flavor from the anchovy, shallot, garlic and the luxurious amount of olive oil. I prefer a 6 or 6.5 minute egg to the 7 min specified, but that's just personal preference. Perfect for a light lunch or supper with a little salad or veggies on the side.

  • joneshayley on April 15, 2017

    Another keeper of a recipe from simple! Wonderful flavour pops from anchovies, and great contrasts. I cooked the eggs a little less than suggested.

  • ezwriternc on September 09, 2023

    This was ok. Seems simple but i needed more. I made avocado toast as the base and added feta. It was good but I made half as it was only for me. I was still hungry. ??

  • bernalgirl on August 15, 2024

    Cook egg for 5”

• Toasted brioche with boozy mushrooms

  • SheilaS on April 12, 2017

    I used toasted ciabatta instead of brioche and also substituted run of the mill dried mushrooms from the Asian market for the specified dried wild mushrooms but I did open a bottle of Amontillado as I thought the sherry sounded more luxurious than the vermouth from the fridge. Very, very good. I will make this again for sure.

  • pattyatbryce on March 02, 2024

    Loved this with a wonderful buttery brioche. Brioche needs no oil to brown in pan = *extra win." I agreed with @sSheilaS that my Sherry that was recently opened was better than my cooking vermouth. No mixed wild dried at the store, so used all dried morel mushrooms. No regrets.

• Toast with crab & coriander-chilli mayo

  • SheilaS on April 12, 2017

    I made this with some leftover salmon instead of crab and loved the fresh flavors of cilantro and lime with the fish. Makes a quick easy lunch that's a bit special. I'll be trying it with crab when I have some but I it will work well with many kinds of seafood - shrimp, lobster, etc.

  • brooke_3jatay on May 27, 2026

    So simple and delicious!

• Devilled eggs

  • baking4two on April 12, 2017

    I prefer my deviled eggs more creamy.

  • Foodycat on October 03, 2020

    Very nice - I undercooked my eggs a bit so the whites fell apart but they tasted excellent.

• Crab & peas with casarecce

  • joneshayley on April 15, 2017

    I used tinned crab and this recipe still came out wonderfully !

  • anya_sf on July 29, 2022

    I adjusted the proportions: 8 oz white crab (refrigerated canned), 8 oz casarecce, 8 oz sugar snap peas. Couldn't find pea shoots, so used a handful of arugula. Added the optional creme fraiche. Quite delicious and 2 hungry people ate it all. I could see using the original proportions for a lighter dish, but can't imagine how it feeds 4, except as a starter (and this would be a nice one).

  • Foodycat on October 07, 2020

    I used gemelli, which held the sauce beautifully, and did the variation with cream. Delicious - really fresh tasting.

• Cider rarebit

  • SheilaS on April 26, 2017

    The amount of flour in the roux and the egg beaten in at the end made this seem more like a floury cheese sauce than a rarebit to me. I will not make this one again.

• Spiced avocado with black beans, sour cream & cheese

  • SheilaS on April 26, 2017

    This list of ingredients sounds like it belongs on nachos rather than toast but it's actually very good. Cooking the beans with the onion, red bell pepper, garlic, chicken broth, orange juice, S&P and that final squeeze of lime juice is a great way to take the flavor of canned beans up a notch.

  • Ganga108 on August 11, 2023

    Glorious! I made this as a salad rather than toast (it would also good well with tortillas). As a salad, I layered the black beans in a bowl and added the avo with a squeeze of lime, then the chilli, spring onions and herbs, then sour cream and feta. A riot of flavours! It makes an excellent lunch dish.

  • clcorbi on March 19, 2018

    SO good. We devoured these and wished we'd made more. The mixture of avocado and sour cream makes for a toast that feels very decadent, yet is still relatively healthy. I skipped the feta garnish as I already felt these were rich enough, and decreased the amount of olive oil used. Otherwise followed the recipe as written, and the result was delicious. Will be repeated for sure as these are also very fast and weeknight-friendly.

  • Frenchfoodie on January 10, 2021

    Tasty and beautiful colours. A nice weekend lunch but didn’t blow me away flavour wise.

  • ezwriternc on December 02, 2023

    The beans came out great. I only had grocery store bread that just wasn’t going to cut it for my Avo toast so i heated two corn tortillas, then cut them up and made a bowl with the ingredients. Added hot sauce instead of chilis and cheddar cheese instead of feta. Yummy good breakfast that would definitely be a great lunch too.

• Goat's cheese & roast grape tartine

  • southerncooker on April 30, 2017

    Daughter and I loved this one. The flavors of roasted grapes, black pepper, goat cheese, and olive oil on toasted sourdough were amazing.

  • raybun on May 08, 2017

    Thank you Southerncooker for bringing this recipe to my attention. It was so delicious, the balsamic roasted grapes are divine and go so well with the goats cheese & nuts (toasted pecans here).

  • kari500 on January 02, 2024

    Made a toast and a half for myself for dinner. No black grapes, only red, but they worked. No honey for me, as the grapes and balsamic add plenty of sweetness. The black pepper is wonderful here. I liked this a lot.

  • anya_sf on January 11, 2021

    I had extra grapes so I roasted a double batch. I haven't made the tartine yet, but did as suggested in the head note and put the grapes on a salad with toasted walnuts, blue cheese, and romaine lettuce (instead of bitter greens), tossed in balsamic vinaigrette. Great combination!

  • anya_sf on January 11, 2021

    Made the tartine using homemade artisan bread - very tasty! The grapes were plenty sweet without the honey.

• Peaches with burrata

  • Charlotte_vandenberg on May 09, 2017

    Not really a recipe, as you only put the two together on a plate, but nice flavors together.

  • bernalgirl on July 30, 2024

    This felt a bit plain but was wonderful with the addition of hot honey, olive oil and Urfa chile flakes

  • pattyatbryce on August 21, 2020

    Super simple. Consider some pine nuts, tomato, or prosciutto to really make it sing.

• Baked sausages with apples, raisins & cider

  • Jane on March 02, 2017

    My sausages were quite thick so 50 minutes worked well for them. But I'd have preferred the onions and apple a bit softer so next time I'll do the full hour. The cider hadn't been absorbed by the onions - maybe an extra 10 mins would help there too. One other point about the cider - pouring it over the ingredients washes the sugar off the apples so either just pour into side of dish or sugar the apples after adding the cider. I served it with mashed potatoes and broccolini. A nice winter dinner.

  • sosayi on April 07, 2017

    I second ksg518's comment. My apples and onions were a little under my preferred softness, too, so I might saute them in advance, a bit, before adding the sausage and putting them in the oven. I did enjoy the size of the cuts, though, so I don't think I'd go cut them any smaller.

  • ksg518 on February 07, 2017

    This is a good cold weather dish. My sausages were well done at the end of the appointed cooking time but my apples and onions were still a little crispier than I would have preferred. Perhaps next time I'll start roasting the apples and onions while I brown the sausages or cut up the apples and onions into smaller chunks. Also - with some slight revisions, this recipe appears in Henry's Roast Figs, Sugar Snow book.

  • lhudson on February 25, 2017

    The sausages turned out perfect and we enjoyed the raisins with the apples and onions. I served with mash potaotes and it was a great winter dish. Can't wait to try more recipes out of this book.

  • veronicafrance on December 23, 2016

    This made a nice change from my usual ways of cooking sausages. I made it with bog-standard sausages; with really good ones it would have been even better. My one criticism is that the sausages were overcooked -- they were quite thin ones. Next time I'll bake the onions and apples first and add the sausages halfway through.

  • veronicafrance on January 15, 2025

    I made this again, roasting apples and onions for 15 minutes with half the cider before adding sausages and raisins (soaked in PX sherry, delicious). I also used better sausages. Served with celeriac mash which went perfectly with it. Real comfort food.

  • ellwell on December 14, 2024

    Very delicious, easy meal for a weeknight. Will make again.

  • luluf on October 28, 2021

    Delicious. I followed the advice given here and put the apples and onions for 15 minutes before the sausages and raisins and they were just right

  • e_ballad on April 12, 2018

    Based on everyone’s notes, I put the apples & onions in a little earlier whilst soaking the raisins, which worked perfectly. A good hearty dish.

  • Foodycat on October 01, 2017

    I completely forgot to buy apples and my husband isn't keen on raisins, so I made it with soft dried pears instead. And I used banana shallots instead of onions because they cook faster. Really delicious - but I will try to make it properly next time. We had it with cauliflower cheese for a very comforting autumn meal. October 31 2020 Edited to add - made it properly (although didn't brown the sausages first) and really loved it, but preferred it with the banana shallots.

• Prawn, fennel & tomato pilaf with mint

  • Jane on April 06, 2017

    This was a good weeknight dinner. Although the recipe didn't say to, I covered the pan half way through as the liquid was disappearing quickly. At the 20 minutes mark it was perfectly cooked so I was glad I did. I think the feta cheese is essential as I found the pilaf a little bland without it. This will be a repeat for me.

  • raybun on April 18, 2017

    Jane's note caught my eye and I had all the ingredients. I doubled the recipe and followed Jane's suggestion and put the lid on for most of the cooking time. We really enjoyed this, child included!

  • Charlotte_vandenberg on May 11, 2017

    Made this recipe because of the positive notes below, and because I had all the herbs in the fridge. Very easy, could use a little more spices: mint and chili. A week night success though.

  • VineTomato on July 23, 2017

    I cheated with adding some instant microwaved rice at the end. It worked well, I liked the flavour the dry vermouth added. All in all I think this is a three star dish - it is quick (especially with my cheat), pleasant and comes together well. However it is not more than the sum of its parts - tastes exactly has you would expect it to and whilst nice not overly creative.

• Salmon, fennel & potatoes en papillote with dill butter

  • Jane on April 09, 2017

    I loved this recipe. It was very simple to make but the results were much more than simple. I used a bit more dill than called for and served it with the creme fraiche sauce she suggests, which I think elevated it. A keeper.

  • paulabee on April 15, 2017

    really liked this. I also made the creme fraiche sauce and thought it was an excellent addition (some richness without being too decadent). I made the recipe basically as written and would do so again.

  • sosayi on April 07, 2017

    A simple, homey, meal. My husband loved it, while I liked it. I think I'd add more dill and fennel, with perhaps some type of allium, next time.

  • saarwouters on September 24, 2017

    Loved this! Very simple to make, the instructions are perfect. Has a very fancy feel to it. Make sure you use enough salt.

  • catmummery on March 04, 2023

    really simple and flavoursome. i would add more fennel and some fennel seeds. the fish cooks quicker than the fennel so would blanch the fennel next time. I also added garlic and lemon zest. Love the sauce alongside

• Seared tuna with preserved lemon, olives & avocado

  • Jane on April 19, 2017

    The tuna is just a standard seared tuna but the relish was great - I loved the balance of flavors and textures. Wouldn't change a thing. I served it with Roast potatoes with chili, mint and preserved lemon - yes, I know it's a lot of preserved lemon but I love it. This was a very easy dish to make on a weeknight. As the potatoes roast, everything else is prepped.

  • SheilaS on June 09, 2023

    As others have said, the relish makes this dish. Comes together very easily.

  • slouj on July 17, 2021

    So unexpectedly delicious! All the salsa ingredients work together brilliantly. For our taste, next time we will cook the tuna slightly less (a minute on each side as opposed to the minute and a half advocated) but wouldn’t change a thing with the accompaniment.

  • Boffcat on May 17, 2017

    Delicious. The relish makes more than I was expecting; it could be considered a vegetable component in its own right.

  • dinnermints on August 18, 2022

    Fantastic relish. We made the salmon a different way per America's Test Kitchen, but we slathered the relish on top and it was marvelous, bursting with flavor. I don't think it needed 4T of oil, though - would probably decrease to 2T next time.

• Turkish spiced chicken with parsley salad

  • Jane on April 20, 2017

    The first night I made this I only marinated the thighs for 2 hours and I felt the flavors were rather muted. So I left two more thighs in the marinade for 24 hours and they were much more flavorful. So if you have the time, I suggest that. The parsley salad is good but next time I would use less oil. Also the recipe says "chop the parsley leaves finely" and I was pushed for time so I whizzed them in the processor. I think that was too fine - I'd have preferred the salad a little chunkier. The first night I served the chicken and salad with Roast potatoes with chili, mint and preserved lemon (page 269) which worked well then last night with Spelt with carrots & kale (page 118). The spelt dish was also a good accompaniment.

  • Astrid5555 on November 05, 2016

    Only made the chicken part of the recipe without the salad and served with rice. Big hit with both (!) children, so this will definitely go into regular rotation.

  • sosayi on April 14, 2017

    I also made only the chicken, but would definitely repeat! A quick, easy marinade made with ingredients I always have on-hand. I served it with roasted carrots dressed with a parsley-heavy chimichurri (hence why I didn't make the salad, as I was trying to use that up), and the Orzo with Lemon and Parsley. Great dinner!

  • peaceoutdesign on September 16, 2023

    I marinated skinless chicken breasts instead for 8 hours and BBQ'ed. I think that thighs with skin would have been better. This was tasty but the parley salad was what made it noteworthy.

  • Foodycat on September 29, 2020

    I used skin-on, bone-in chicken legs and marinated them for about 8 hours before barbecuing them for 30 minutes. Really good!

  • mpo on April 05, 2021

    Easy enough recipe but nothing amazing compared to other recipes out there that are just as easy.

  • purrviciouz on August 13, 2019

    I took note from other reviews and marinated the chicken overnight and put it on the grill. The chicken was super tender and flavorful. I added bulgur to the parsley salad to make it like a tabbouleh and pickled shallots instead of using red onion.

• Spelt with carrots & kale

  • Jane on April 20, 2017

    I realized after I started making it that my spelt wasn't pearled so in theory it should not have been cooked after 30 minutes. It was chewy but quite edible. I liked the combination of grains, carrots and kale. I served it with Turkish spiced chicken with parsley salad (page 214).

  • Hansyhobs on March 07, 2022

    Fine. Added a knob of butter before serving which gave this a pleasant creaminess, otherwise a little bland

• Salmon with tomatoes, pea & basil purée

  • Jane on April 23, 2017

    In an effort-to-results ratio this recipe deserves a 10. The pea and basil purée was delicious and paired really well with salmon. I served it with grape tomatoes roasted with a crushed garlic clove, and Roast potatoes with mint and preserved lemon (skipped the chiles) on page 269. This was a very quick dinner that is guest-worthy.

  • vickster on April 06, 2017

    Salmon with Tomatoes, Pea & Basil Puree from Simple is a winner and will be repeated. I could have eaten that Pea & Basil Puree with a spoon! Very easy and quick meal also. Since I made the full recipe for both sauces, but had salmon for two, I had sauces left over. I'm thinking of making eggs Benedict for breakfast using them.

  • peacheater on March 29, 2018

    This is just the best! Super easy, very high reward to effort ratio as others have mentioned. I've made that pea puree several times since for other meals, and it's just about perfect as you can go from a bag of frozen peas to a yummy side vegetable in almost no time. Will go into the regular rotation.

  • Avocet on August 10, 2019

    We found the pea puree a bit too sweet, even with a generous amount of lemon juice. I used petit pois, which may have been the problem. Larger, more mature peas would have been less sweet.

  • sosayi on April 07, 2017

    Love this dish. I also could have (read: did) eat both sauces with a spoon. My only suggestion is to cut the amount of olive oil in the tomato sauce in half. I've made it a number of times that way now, and it seems to be more balanced. It also is great used as an easy, tomato bruschetta topping. If you don't have any good fresh tomatoes, I have been using a pint of home-canned tomatoes in their place, and that seems to be the right ratio.

  • raybun on May 08, 2017

    I used a side of salmon for the 3 of us, roasted in the oven. My pea & basil purée, although delicious, was too liquid. The flavour overall was excellent and will be a repeat here. Served with the lemon & parsley orzo from the same book.

  • L.Nightshade on March 31, 2017

    This recipe calls for 10z of basil. Written just like that, the 1 and the 0 the same size, with no space between. (You can see where this is headed.) It seems like a lot of basil (twice what I have, in fact), so I glance again, and decide to make half a recipe with my 5 oz of basil and half the amount of peas. The texture seems all off, so I turn on more lights, put on a stronger pair of glasses, and read the recipe again. Oh. She means 1 oz basil. So I took much of it out, cooked and added all the peas I had, so it came out with roughly the right proportions. Smooth sailing from there on out. I went with the headnote option of roasting cherry tomatoes instead of making the tomato sauce, but I did toss them in oil with garlic and a few basil leaves I had reserved. The salmon is simply seared in a skillet, then served with the purée and the tomatoes. Quite nice!

  • Zosia on November 30, 2019

    Great flavour, easy to make and very pretty on the plate. It's a meal that I will definitely make again. I was roasting asparagus to serve with it so added the tomatoes and some sliced garlic to the pan rather than preparing them stove top. I also replaced the butter and some of the cream with cooking water from the peas.

  • Lepa on March 30, 2018

    This was good. For the tomatoes I used quartered cherry tomatoes and cut the oil in half, as suggested by other posters. Otherwise I followed the recipe. The mix of flavors was good and this looked great on the plate!

  • lou_weez on August 14, 2018

    Deee-lish-ous!!! Simple ingredients that come together easily and taste sensational.

• Black linguine with squid & spicy sausage

  • SheilaS on April 12, 2017

    I really enjoyed the combination of spicy sausage and squid in this pasta dish. I'd never cut squid into strips in the way this recipe specifies but it gave it a try and it cooked up perfectly.

  • bernalgirl on August 03, 2024

    This is a very tasty and satisfying bowl of pasta. I tweeked it a bit with a chile pepper pasta and added a half cup of passata to the sauce for more heft. The interplay of the spicy sausage and squid rings and tentacles is a classic, and the instructions are dead on.

• Linguine all'Amalfitana

  • SheilaS on April 26, 2017

    Really simple, quick and flavorful pasta dish from pantry ingredients. I was thinking 8 anchovy filets for 2 servings would be overpowering but not at all. A keeper!

  • kari500 on June 16, 2021

    Wow, we loved this. As the recipe is for 2, I scaled up using a whole 16 oz. box of linguine, but only 16 anchovies. Agree that less water should be used (I scooped the pasta straight from the boiling pot to the sauce pan). Didn’t bother toasting the walnuts since they cook a bit in the sauce. This is so easy and so good and bound to become a regular meal around here. Simple salad on the side and you’ve got a great meal.

  • Jane on October 14, 2020

    A useful store cupboard recipe. Not terribly exciting but pleasant. I used whole-wheat linguine and added some parsley since there seemed to be some in the photo though not mentioned In the recipe.

  • veronicafrance on January 20, 2017

    This is the epitome of simple. One of those Italian sauces that takes less time to cook than the pasta, using ingredients you are very likely to have on hand. A lovely result too; will be made again. I might put a little less water in the sauce next time as the pasta didn't absorb as much as I thought it would.

  • VineTomato on August 29, 2017

    A simple and delicious pasta recipe but I don't think it is a do again for me, I did not enjoy the flavour or the texture of the walnuts. Still not found an anchovy pasta dish that surpasses the simple brocolli, chilli and anchovy orecchiette.

  • mfranklin125 on February 28, 2017

    This is easy and good and pretty flavorful but not overwhelming

  • puddlemere on January 12, 2019

    Super simple and delicious, a really nice savory/umami flavor.

• Pasta all'ortolana

  • SheilaS on April 26, 2017

    The header notes describe this as a carbonara made with zucchini. I had my doubts about anything being carbonara-like with no pig parts in sight but this one delivers with those extra egg yolks adding a LOT of richness. Very good, quick and easy.

  • caitmcg on December 26, 2016

    A vegetarian spin on carbonara, with sautéed zucchini and onion. Great for using up some of that garden zucchini, this is delicious, with its silky, savory sauce of eggs and Parmesan and pecorino cheeses, all made as the pasta cooks.

  • veronicafrance on May 30, 2017

    Yes, this is quick and easy but I'd rather have a real carbonara. Courgette is too bland -- you definitely need to overdose on cheese and pepper to make this at all interesting.

  • sjwill82 on August 09, 2017

    I added plenty of pepper and sautéed my onions and courgettes until they had a good colour. Simple and quick to prepare. The sauce was beautifully silky and elegant. A popular midweek choice for the family.

  • lou_weez on October 31, 2017

    I will reiterate what others have said, this is an quick, easy and delicious dish. Next time I might add a pinch of vegetable stock and/or chili just to up the flavor.

  • ezwriternc on September 12, 2023

    I thought this was a great base but had to add. I used rotini as I had no spaghetti. I added mushrooms and used a shallot instead of onion. I also started by cooking 4 or 5 slices of bacon in the skillet, then used the bacon grease to cook the veggies. Oh, and ran out of parmesan so I added gruyere. And crushed red pepper. Does that mean I didn't make her recipe? Yes, it does. But I started with what she gave me, which to me, is the best way to use a recipe I didn't know about before.

  • Bessp on July 21, 2024

    Delicious! The sauce is rich and creamy. Next time I'll probably do zoodles instead of spaghetti, just really do the thing. The zucchini was my favorite part. Super quick weeknight meal, great for a meatless day, or would also taste great with salmon or shrimp.

• Melon, blueberry & feta salad with ginger & mint

  • SheilaS on August 03, 2018

    Beautiful and delicious! I used pink watermelon, green Galia melon and orange Ambrosia melon and the colors look lovely. I'd be happy to bring a big bowl of this to a summertime potluck. The dressing uses the vinegar from a jar of pickled ginger and the book photo looks like there's some of the pickled ginger itself in the salad so I added that too and it's a delicious addition that I highly recommend.

• Salad of chorizo, avocado & peppers with sherry dressing

  • SheilaS on February 19, 2020

    Delicious salad and lots of fun to eat - you can make each bite a different combination of ingredients. I crisped the chickpeas in the oil left from the chorizo. Make sure the dressing has a nice bite from that sherry vinegar as the rich ingredients (chorizo, avocado, roasted pepper, etc.) can handle it. I only tasted the dressing with the lettuces and ended up drizzling a bit more vinegar on afterwards.

  • kari500 on August 16, 2023

    Loved this! Used soyrizo, cut the avocado into smaller pieces, used bottled roasted peppers. Delicious.

  • KarinaFrancis on September 21, 2021

    A great main course salad and simple to pull together on a weeknight. The flavours work beautifully and I took SheilaS advice and warmed the chickpeas with the chorizo and its oil. A definite repeat

  • embk27 on September 17, 2018

    We really liked this salad - it was surprisingly filling, I used a bagel to make the croutons and fried them in the oil from the chorizo.

  • angrygreycat on July 08, 2019

    Really tasty salad, with a great variety of flavor and texture. Very much a meal salad.

  • Emwestley on June 09, 2025

    Absolutely delicious. Would make again. Don’t need all the dressing, had plenty. Used a moscato (sherry) vinegar but could also work with a fig leaf vinegar. Used giant chickpeas from bold beans which have a lovely chunky texture to the salad. A great standalone dish/lunch/bbq or sharing side. Will make again

• Simple Goan fish curry

  • kari500 on January 09, 2017

    Delicious and pretty quick to put together. Not too hot for us, and surprisingly the tamarind didn't make it too sweet.

  • Lepa on January 01, 2017

    I didn't love the tangy taste and brown color imparted by the tamarind paste. I wanted the coconut to shine through more. If I make this again, I will probably reduce the tamarind by 1/2.

  • e_ballad on November 23, 2016

    Loved this, though the heat from 4x chillies was too much for hubby. I did substitute some of the fish for prawns, which I can highly recommend.

  • FJT on June 19, 2017

    Very nice, mild curry. Added some prawns as suggested below for variety.

  • alexthepink on April 28, 2021

    Wow, this was delicious! Not too much effort either. I toasted and crushed the spices earlier in the day so at supper time I just had to fling it in the pan. I did half white fish and half prawns. Definitely a keeper.

  • Jane on October 19, 2020

    This was really good. It has great complexity of flavor for such a quick curry. I used cod and added some sliced snow peas (mangetout) as I wanted some veg. I will definitely make this again.

  • anna_1bxel8 on April 24, 2026

    Delicious

  • luke_i8msqc on May 30, 2026

    Lovely easy fish curry which was a real crowd pleaser. Deeply flavored.

• Spaghetti with spiced sausage & fennel sauce

  • RosieB on March 23, 2017

    Great tasty pasta dish. Definitely make again.

  • TrishaCP on June 21, 2017

    This was really delicious. I made the sauce in advance since I can't usually spare that amount of time cooking during the week, and I think it only got better sitting overnight. We did use a pound of pasta with it, and I thought that was too much pasta, so will stick to the recipe's ratio in the future.

  • bwhip on March 21, 2017

    We really loved this dish. Great depth of flavor, especially for something that doesn't take too long to prepare. My fennel bulb and onion were both pretty large, so I wound up needing to add water to the sauce as it simmered to keep it from being too thick and dry. I also thought it could have used closer to a pound of spaghetti, as the ratio of sauce to pasta noodles was heavily in favor of the sauce. We'll definitely make this again, it was delicious.

  • e_ballad on January 01, 2017

    Absolutely lives up to the book's title. Jam-packed with flavour, though was not overwhelmingly 'fennel-y'. Made 6x large serves.

  • grindabod on August 03, 2017

    Delicious recipe. I was a bit worried about cooking the fennel for that long, but it makes for an amazing sauce. It's important to add enough of the cooking water from the pasta after all is done simmering, to get that perfect silky rather than purée-y consistency for the sauce.

  • swiand on May 14, 2026

    We didn't cook as long as stated due to trying to get to evening events. Never heard of canned cherry tomatoes so we just used fresh. Didn't need water and the sauce was really tasty. We used cabernet sauvignon and loved the sauce. Whole family enjoyed.

  • stepharama1 on December 14, 2022

    Absolutely delicious even though I ended up subbing shrimp for the sausage because I couldn't find the sausage I thought I had in the freezer!

  • catmummery on July 24, 2022

    really delicious sauce. as mentioned below - needs pasta water added and definitely needs to be cooked for this long to get the depth of flavour. i used cooking chorizo which worked well.

• Fettuccine with asparagus, peas & saffron

  • RosieB on February 16, 2017

    We loved this. Fresh and light with a tang of lemon. I made sure I reduced the sauce until it coated the spoon.

  • raybun on March 21, 2017

    This was very well received by the husband & child. The fresh veg mixed with the rich sauce was delicious, with a fistful of Parmesan on top. Yum!

  • Lepa on February 09, 2017

    While the flavor was good and my family ate it without complaint, this recipe was not quite a success. I suspect that part of the issue is that I made double, as the original recipe makes only enough for two. Perhaps the recipe doesn't scale well. I spent an hour making this, waiting for the liquid to reduce in several stages. The sauce in the end was too watery and I probably didn't let it reduce enough. In the end, the recipe took too long and the result wasn't worth it so I doubt I will make this again.

  • bwhip on March 10, 2017

    Delicious, and pretty simple and easy to prepare. Sauce had wonderful flavor. We added a bit of prosciutto as the recipe suggested as an alternative.

  • Astrid5555 on April 21, 2017

    This was delicious, spring on a plate. Apart from the fact that I dirtied 4 pots while cooking this dish, actually quite quick to make. Will definitely go into regular asparagus rotation. Yum!

  • Hansyhobs on June 29, 2022

    Steve made this one, very nice and seemed simple enough

  • anya_sf on April 06, 2021

    I doubled the recipe, adjusting some ingredient proportions: 1.5 lbs asparagus (not just the tips), 1 lb dried fettuccine, didn't increase the peas, added 6 oz cooked salmon. I blanched the asparagus in the pasta pot before cooking the pasta, and added the peas in with the pasta for the last minute of cooking. I used an extra wide skillet to be sure the sauce reduced sufficiently. Delicious!

  • embk27 on September 07, 2018

    Great pasta recipe. I added the suggested flaked salmon and was delicious. Would add much more black pepper next time.

• Spiced lamb cutlets with dates, feta, sumac & tahini

  • RosieB on February 16, 2017

    This was a great easy mid week meal. I used beautiful tender young lamb cutlets. The tahini sauce was delicious.

  • L.Nightshade on January 18, 2017

    I will second Smokeydoke’s and Stockholm’s reviews on this recipe. Just my kind of dish, and I’m not even a huge lamb fan. I used lamb sirloin chops, which worked beautifully. Love the use of herbs, reminds me a bit of Ottolenghi. I adore Aleppo pepper, but it’s in the marinade, and didn’t come through as a major player, so if you only have cayenne, I think it would be fine.

  • TrishaCP on March 05, 2017

    This was incredibly delicious. My only quibble is that I thought the Aleppo pepper would be more prominent, but as L.Nightshade says, it really didn't come through at all. If I made this during the week, I would make the tahini-yogurt sauce ahead of time to save time.

  • stockholm28 on January 08, 2017

    What a great combination of flavors! This recipe makes a restaurant quality meal. While I thought the lamb chops were just average, the accompaniments really make this meal. The greens (I used arugula) herbs (dill and mint), dates, and feta drizzled with the tahini yogurt dressing are fantastic. In fact, in the future I would be happy to serve a salad using these ingredients. An adaptation of the recipe is in the NYT link below, although the NYT version has an error; it never tells you what to do with the second half of the lemon. The juice goes in the tahini yogurt mix. http://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1018316-lamb-chops-with-dates-feta-sumac-and-tahini

  • Smokeydoke on December 20, 2016

    Fabulous. DH hits it out the park again. Loved the bitter herb salad paired with the fatty, spiced meat and the sweetness of the dates rounded it all out. I wouldn't say it was "simple". It did require a lot of ingredients. But it wasn't hard and it took less than an hour to make. Never made lamb cutlets before, they are super-easy and cook up quickly.

  • saarwouters on April 30, 2018

    Absolutely delicious! I turned out that I didn't have enough tahini, but the sauce still had a great flavour. Another winner from DH!

• Korean chicken, gochujang mayo & sweet-sour cucumber

  • TrishaCP on January 27, 2017

    Fast and delicious. The gochujang mayo is especially good, and I will use it for other recipes. I marinated my chicken overnight out of necessity, but morning of, or the 4 hours she recommends would be better. I would also skip the sesame oil next time because I don't think it really added anything to the marinade.

  • raybun on April 30, 2017

    10/10! Lovely flavour combination, empty plates all round. Going into my favourite recipe file. I foresee making this a lot in the summer months.

  • southerncooker on April 02, 2017

    Family loved this one. We had it on the weekend so I'd have time for the marinade. I used two baby cucumbers an a serrano for the chili. Half a demi baguette was the perfect size for a boneless chicken thigh. Will be making these again.

  • MmeFleiss on January 06, 2017

    My family couldn't stop raving about this easy recipe. Definitely a repeater. The only changes were extra sugar and added salt to the cucumber pickles.

  • westminstr on September 20, 2017

    I really loved this but unfortunately my kiddos didn't. Too bad, this was a great dish. All the elements came together very well! Served it in slider buns which were perfect.

  • kari500 on November 26, 2017

    Love this recipe. So much bang for so little work. I roast the chicken on a foil lined baking sheet to save clean up.

  • Poopyloop on February 27, 2021

    Great recipe - cook the chicken over charcoal or on the bbq as really adds to the flavour.

  • dinnermints on June 23, 2021

    So flavorful. I used maybe 8 or 9 thighs, but could have easily used 12 for the amount of marinade (1 cup soy sauce!!). I also skipped the sesame oil and forgot the rice vinegar. I’d wanted to grill the chicken but ran out of time, and regretted not turning on the oven to roast them just in case, as the pans were a bit of a beast to clean. I used thin-skinned slender cucumbers and didn’t find it necessary to skin them or remove the seeds. Absolutely loved the gochujang mayonnaise. Served on whole wheat roti made with sourdough discard.

  • Foodycat on November 07, 2017

    So easy! And definitely worth a repeat. We had some kim chi on the side as well.

  • Barb_N on April 14, 2021

    I chose this as a fall back recipe when I discovered I was missing ingredients for what was on the menu. I only marinated for an hour and didn’t feel like there was any loss of flavor. Like TrishaCP I skipped the sesame oil. I served it with rice noodles (didn’t have buns either) and added shredded cabbage & carrot to the salad. I didn’t make the mayo. Next time I will double the marinade to have some as a sauce, unless I am actually making sandwiches.

  • sjwill82 on November 23, 2017

    This was such a great dish to make on a busy week night. I marinated the chicken in the morning before leaving for work so the chicken was extra flavorful. Quick to cook and everyone had empty plates. I would add extra gochuja for my tastes!

  • angrygreycat on July 22, 2022

    Made this for dinner. Whole family loved it. Really flavorfull. I used torpedo rolls for the sandwiches and felt like I should have doubled the gochjang mayo it felt pretty sparse. Super easy, tasty, and the salad was a great proportion to serve with the sandwiches (no leftovers)

  • Frenchfoodie on November 07, 2025

    Delicious, went down well with husband and 9yo too. I halved the marinade and reduced a little to glaze the thighs when I turned them.

  • clcorbi on October 09, 2017

    Fantastic and so fast and easy. I didn't have a 4 full hours to marinate the chicken thighs--I really only marinated them for 45 minutes or so, and they were still so juicy and flavorful. All the flavors worked perfectly together. This is definitely going to be repeated as neither of us could stop exclaiming how delicious our sandwiches were.

  • annmartina on November 13, 2017

    Would also be good with pork tenderloin

• Coffee-brined pork chops with hot sweet potatoes

  • TrishaCP on January 27, 2017

    We brined first thing in the morning before work with freshly brewed coffee (we use a darker roast), and the coffee was discernible and tasty in its bitter note. I agree the sweet potatoes were very good- the thyme and red chile are delicious together and with the sweet potato. But with the size sweet potatoes that we get, which are enormous, the cooking time of 30 minutes is obviously insufficient. Ours took more than an hour to bake.

  • L.Nightshade on January 24, 2017

    This meal was quite the hit at the Nightshade home. Since the big windstorm had died down, Mr. NS was eager to grill outside, so the brining and drying were completed as written, but the chops were grilled on the big egg. I think my coffee wasn’t strong enough (and I didn’t even add the additional plain water), as I could only faintly detect the taste and aroma of coffee. I’d make stronger coffee next time, or even add a few crystals of Medaglia D’Oro instant espresso. I have to say, I’ll be tempted to always make sweet potatoes this way. Just the bit of chiles and thyme, cooked in butter, was the perfect addition, and as easy as can be.

  • bching on April 17, 2017

    I pan-fried as per instructions but will probably grill next time--and there will be a next time since my husband liked the marinade a lot. I needed to make 1.5 x the marinade to cover 4 chops.

  • Zosia on April 23, 2017

    The brine gave my usually pale boneless loin chops a beautiful colour and a noticeable coffee flavour. The slight bitterness was nicely offset by the sweetness and heat of the potato and its topping. I will definitely make this again.

  • baking4two on April 24, 2017

    Loved the coffee subtle flavor. I paired it with the broccoli with harissa & cilantro gremolata (pg 239).

  • FJT on October 28, 2017

    The coffee gave the chops a nice colour and flavour. As others have noted, the sweet potato took a lot longer to roast than 30 minutes; loved the chilli / thyme butter that went over them.

  • bernalgirl on February 16, 2025

    This is such an easy and memorable preparation. Thick-cut pork loin chops bathe for a good part of the day in a coffee-infused brine, and then are cooked in a screaming hot pan. I made a pan sauce from the drippings and didn’t make the sweet potatoes in the same recipe.

  • mcvl on February 05, 2021

    Divine! Instead of roasting the sweet potatoes whole, I chunked them and fried them in the same pan as the pork. Didn't have any chiles of any color, so used urfa biber instead. I will make this again and again.

  • Skamper on September 02, 2021

    I only made the pork chops and not the sweet potato. They were absolutely delicious. The brine gave the boneless chops a smoky, spicy flavor and they were very juicy. Will definitely make again.

  • ellwell on January 28, 2026

    I thought this was an okay preparation of a pork chop. I did not notice any coffee flavor—maybe it was intended to tenderize rather than flavor? We did really like the chili butter for the sweet potatoes, which of course take more like an hour to cook rather than 30 minutes

• Burrata with citrus, fennel & olives

  • kkmatti on November 28, 2025

    This was just ok for me. I’m not sure I like the burrata with the citrus & olive combination.

• Roasted spiced chickpeas

  • Rachaelsb on January 01, 2023

    These were yummy when first came out of the oven---great flavor and crunch. But as sat out, got softer and I missed the crunch.

• Pea & 'nduja toasts

  • raybun on September 21, 2017

    I have been noticing 'nduja appearing often in recipes recently so was very happy to find some at a local butchers to try. The pea and mint purée is delicious, and the lemon gives a fresh note. Went very well with the 'nduja which was less spicy than I expected. (Photo)

• Carrot houmous, roast tomatoes & harissa yogurt

  • puddlemere on December 09, 2018

    I loved this. I turned it into a hummus bowl, topped with the tomatoes and yogurt and served with pita and a 7-minute egg. I also reduced the olive oil in the hummus to about 1/3 of a cup and that was definitely enough.

  • ksg518 on July 06, 2017

    This is very good, although a bit of work for a lunch or weeknight dinner. I opted to roast the carrots instead of boiling them since the oven was on to roast the tomatoes. I think there may be some errors in the recipe. First, Henry refers to "the regular oil" in the directions but there is only one kind of oil in the ingredient list. Second, she calls for one cup of olive oil for the hummus. That seems really excessive for a hummus made from a can of chickpeas and about half a pound of roasted carrots. I only used 3-4 tablespoons of oil and thought that was plenty.

  • Laurag29 on December 20, 2020

    Added a bit of harissa to the hummus and more lemon juice. The tomatoes are stellar. What a great appie with warm naan.

• Warm eggs, roast tomatoes & watercress cream

  • fazzle on October 18, 2017

    This was such a surprising treat! Can't recommend enough.

  • purrviciouz on August 22, 2018

    This was really fantastic. I poached the eggs instead of boiling and served with a side of bacon. It felt elegant and decadent. The market didn't have watercress so I subbed arugula. I also put the leftover tomatoes and sauce on burgers the next night and it was delicious.

• Salmon tartare & avocado on rye

  • pattyatbryce on March 02, 2024

    Fantastic outcome. I shy away from fish that I don't know if it's sushi grade, but I bought lightly smoked salmon from Wegman's and made this. Super easy, but nothing mind-blowing.

• Indian sweet potatoes with chickpeas & coconut

  • Rachaelsb on January 11, 2023

    Yum!!!!! Did half recipe and paired with white rice and mango chutney. Next time will add a bit more salt and spice.

  • Skamper on February 24, 2022

    We enjoyed this. I made a half-ish batch (using more chickpeas and more than half measures of the spices) and these subs: medium jalapeno rather than the red pepper, 15 oz can of diced tomatoes and instead of water, used 1.5 c of the chickpea cooking liquid. Didn't use coconut chips.

• Baked merguez with beans, eggs & feta

  • Foodycat on October 10, 2020

    I broke up the merguez into chunks to make it easier bowl food. It was a fantastic brunch dish! I made the sausage/tomato/bean base and when we were ready to eat just added the eggs to finish it. The feta I buy comes in 200g packs so it's convenient that this takes 50g and the lamb chops with htipiti recipe takes 150g. Nutmeg is one of my favourite spices, but it was quite unexpected turning up in this dish. Delicious though.

  • grindabod on November 11, 2018

    Delicious cross-over between baked beans and shakshuka. Works great as a kind of breakfast all day dish!

• Thyme-baked mushrooms & borlotti with roast garlic crème fraîche

  • fazzle on October 18, 2017

    This was delicious, everybody really loved it! We had it with some crusty bread, warmed in the oven.

  • Foodycat on October 15, 2020

    I simplified the method, just tucking the head of garlic in with the mushrooms (no foil) and at 30 minutes taking it out, adding the beans and giving everything a bit of a stir before returning it to the oven for the last 15 minutes. We had it with sausages - really delicious.

  • sjwill82 on August 30, 2017

    Made this without the borlotti beans and served with the smoked sausage and split pea puree. A really warming autumnal meal that all the family enjoyed.

• Greek baked beans with dill, preserved lemon & feta

  • Foodycat on March 05, 2018

    Really delicious. We had them with grilled lamb chops but I am looking forward to having the leftovers reheated on toast for lunch tomorrow. The dill, preserved lemon and feta turns simple beans into something quite exciting.

  • darcie_b on October 21, 2020

    Easy to make and an excellent blend of flavors.

  • aberne on March 07, 2025

    Nice dish, not mind blowing but easy to throw together and serve with salad and bread as a vegetarian meal. I think it will be even better on day two or served as a side to roast chicken or even fish.

  • sarah_22kzqy on April 05, 2026

    Make in big batches and freeze

• Lamb & bulgar pilaf with figs & preserved lemons

  • grindabod on March 08, 2019

    This was a delicious, delicately spiced dish that came together very easily. I used leftover braised lamb shoulder. Also, any occasion to get fresh figs in the house should be celebrated!

  • Alisonk on January 05, 2026

    So tasty, easy to make once ingredients are gathered and prepped.

  • purrviciouz on August 12, 2019

    We loved this dish and I was please with how tender the meat is. I used beef sirloin instead of lamb because there wasn't any lamb at the market.

• Orzo with lemon & parsley

  • Zosia on February 25, 2017

    This is a great little dish that comes together very quickly even though it had to cook for a few minutes longer (with a little extra stock added). Cooked in sodium-reduced chicken broth, the pasta was nicely seasoned before the Parmesan went in so I added only one-third the amount to avoid an overly salty dish. It was still plenty cheesey and delicious so I'll make it this way again.

  • FJT on March 07, 2017

    This is a delicious, simple supper. I had to wing it slightly on the amount of orzo / stock as I was using gluten-free orzo made from corn and the packet instructions only gave instructions for cooking in 'plenty' of water. For a whole packet (8.8 oz/ 250g) of GF orzo I used about 2.5 cups (625ml) of stock and cooked it for 15 minutes. I also used more Parmesan and lemon zest than stated in the recipe. I will be making this again.

  • southerncooker on April 09, 2017

    Daughter and I loved this. I used homemade chicken stock and dried parsley since I rarely find Italian parsley in our local markets. The lemon zest gave it a nice brightness and the Parmesan lent a nice creaminess.

  • Lesliehauser on April 30, 2017

    Really tasty and fresh. Served with Tim's Parmesan chicken from Simple and toasted broccoli.

  • sosayi on April 14, 2017

    I really loved this dish. It was incredibly comforting. That being said, I think it could really benefit from homemade chicken stock. I had just run out of my stash (horrors!), and had to use a store-bought version. I think that with such a simple dish, the ingredients you use matter a bit more and I can't wait to try this again with a richer, more tasty stock as I think it'd really make the dish even better! I also subbed in a whole container of peppery arugula for the parsley (I had parsley in another component of the meal and wanted more "greens", too) which was delicious and worked well!

  • raybun on May 08, 2017

    Very tasty! An excellent accompaniment to the roast salmon with basil & pea purée from the same book.

  • bernalgirl on February 13, 2025

    I made this to go with grilled salmon and a set of summer salads and it was a huge hit — especially with my Parm- and orzo-loving son. Having read previous reports, I parcooked the orzo in a small amount of Better than bouillon-seasoned water, then added it to the onion mixture, adding cooking water as needed till it was done. I also stirred in chopped chives instead of parsley.

  • veronicafrance on September 11, 2017

    This is a nice alternative to plain pasta or rice. I measured the orzo and stock as per the recipe, and the orzo wasn't cooked by the time the stock was absorbed -- I had to add more. I don't particularly like parsley, so I used basil instead. Also the lemon was almost undetectable. I'd add more next time, maybe even a squeeze of juice.

  • PiaOC on August 06, 2020

    Loved this dish which we had with the chicken piccata. I too, added more stock and cooking time to the orzo and found it needed about half of the parmesan. Delicious and as noted in the intro, would made a simple meal for lazy nights.

  • Lepa on February 03, 2018

    This was quick and easy. I was worried that it would be too lemony but it wasn't. I had to add another 1/4 cup of water because it was dry and not fully cooked after seven minutes.

  • embk27 on September 07, 2018

    Great side dish - needed more stock and cooking time though.

  • anya_sf on February 16, 2021

    Very nice side dish. Like others, I needed to add about 1/2 cup extra liquid and cook the orzo about 2 minutes longer. To boost the lemon flavor, I used the zest of a whole lemon plus some juice.

  • nutrica6 on August 30, 2023

    Agree with adding more stock and cooking an extra two minutes. Don’t be afraid to juice the lemon and add more zest. I added spinach, basil, and oregano. Would be good with shrimp in it too.

• Turkish pasta with feta, yogurt & dill

  • Astrid5555 on April 14, 2017

    This was excellent, a perfect combination of the sweetness from the caramelized onions, the saltiness from the feta cheese and the spiciness from the chile butter. A keeper!

  • KarinaFrancis on September 16, 2021

    I’ve eyed off this recipe for a while and it sure delivered! The cinnamon was an interesting touch adding to the overall deliciousness of the dish. Next time I’d use a bit more chilli butter.

  • TrishaCP on October 08, 2021

    Hmmm, this was just ok for me, and I’m not sure why given the other rave reviews. I did sub marash chile for the cayenne since that was what I had on hand, and maybe the spiciness from cayenne is what puts this over the top.

  • purrviciouz on February 26, 2019

    This exceeded my expectations. I doubled the recipe and added 1/3 lb of ground lamb. It was very easy and impressive enough for company.

  • JJ2018 on May 28, 2019

    This is really simple and really tasty. The cayenne butter adds a lovely heat. I liked this more than my husband but would definitely make again.

  • Foodycat on September 29, 2020

    Very nice! I used orzo instead of tagliatelle because I was serving it with the Turkish chicken with parsley salad and orzo is the only pasta I like with chicken. Next time I would use a pinch of cinnamon instead of the cinnamon stick - mine fell to shreds and picking the bits out of my mouth was a bit undignified.

• Pâtés à la Cévenole

  • southerncooker on April 02, 2017

    While this was good prob wouldn't make again. Daughter and I were the only ones to eat it. We thought it needed less cream and more cheese for our tastes. Loved the mushrooms and chestnuts in it though.

  • Frenchfoodie on October 23, 2019

    There was the basis of a good dish here - the chestnuts were so delicious - but it was far too oily for us. I’ll try again with a cream enriched roux rather than the pure cream.

  • VineTomato on September 23, 2017

    The finished dish was very oily, too oily and lacking flavour. I don't see how this could serve six, possibly 4 at push with a side of salad. I used 300ml of cream and not the full 500ml recommend it was more than enough. It was an okay result but certainly not worth the calories! Won't be making this one again.

  • joneshayley on April 06, 2018

    We loved this. It was savoury and comforting, the chestnuts absolutely made it. It’s not dinner party food, but I’ll make it for the family again :)

• Spelt with blackberries, beets, walnuts & buttermilk

  • meggan on November 02, 2017

    I had to substitute farro but this was surprisingly good. It makes way more dressing than needed so we will use it on other salads.

  • Joanclemence on March 15, 2023

    I used cous cous instead of spelt and it was delicious. Other ingredients that can be added are mint, preserved lemon, olives, chilli and feta.

• Bacon & egg risotto

  • FJT on December 17, 2016

    Easy to make and a huge hit with my husband. This would make a good brunch dish especially if you prepped the poached eggs in advance.

  • LJStubbs on March 18, 2017

    Find it online here: http://www.saga.co.uk/magazine/food/recipes/meat/pork/bacon-and-egg-risotto

  • baking4two on April 24, 2017

    So rich and creamy! I made the the risotto in the Instant Pot - manual high pressure for 6 minutes and quick release. May want to double the recipe next time for leftovers.

  • lou_weez on July 25, 2018

    A wonderful, easy and delicious meal.

  • e_ballad on April 23, 2019

    Very simple dish to throw together for a midweek meal & was a hit with the whole family, though I do prefer other recipes that are similar but contain mushrooms & cavolo nero.

• Bream stuffed with walnuts & pomegranates

  • lilham on January 04, 2017

    Simple, delicious and impressive looking.

  • L.Nightshade on January 14, 2017

    I’ve never seen bream around here, in fact, we hardly ever see whole fish of any variety (less a geographical issue, we have all kinds of water and fish, more of a podunk market issue), so I was glad to read Westminstress’s idea of a rolled fillet. We had a rather large fillet of rockfish, so I just rolled it in a tiny baking dish, and sliced it in half after cooking. I also like lilham’s idea of sandwiching the stuffing between two fillets, and that probably would have worked better with these meaty fillets. I’m a sucker for this ingredient combination, and it was a winner for both of us. I usually think of pomegranate arils as being more suited to meat or fowl, but they worked so well with the fish. I’d happily make this again. Photo: http://www.chowhound.com/post/january-2017-cotm-simple-fish-roasts-chops-sausages-chicken-1045160?commentId=9940247

• Cod with a crab & herb crust

  • L.Nightshade on January 28, 2017

    I veered from the directions a bit with the sauce, as there was no watercress to be found, so I used a few leaves of spinach along with bits of the herbs used in the crust. I don’t keep jarred mayonnaise around, and didn’t feel like making it for the small amount required, so just made the sauce with the crème fraîche. Mr. Nightshade’s fish crust was done per the recipe, my crust subbed a bit of low-carb tortilla for the breadcrumbs. Just pulsed it in the mini-processor; not bad at all. We are lucky to be able to get fresh Dungeness crab, and it was delectable in this preparation. Once again, DH hits a home run, with a main course that is quick and easy, delicious, and guest-worthy.

  • joneshayley on April 15, 2017

    Beautiful - the sauce was good but not essential with the crust being so flavourful.

  • Lepa on January 02, 2019

    This was very good- and impressive! It looked like something that had come out of a restaurant kitchen! The store was out of cod today so I used halibut. There was no watercress so I finely chopped baby arugula instead. I used fresh Dungeness crab, which was lovely. I will certainly make this again. It would make an excellent dinner party main.

• Trofie with courgettes, prawns & chilli

  • Astrid5555 on February 19, 2017

    Lovely and quick to make, even on a weeknight. Finally a recipe for those trofie that have been lingering in my cupboard for some time now. Will make again.

  • FJT on April 09, 2021

    Made this for my husband and he said it was fine but he didn't see the point in the courgette. Quick and easy recipe for a night when he wants some of the things I can't eat!

  • mlbatt on April 13, 2020

    Very nice for Easter dinner, quarantine-style. Used fresh mint & parsley, and added a large shallot with the zucchini.

  • pattyatbryce on August 09, 2025

    Simple, but nice flavors. Glad to have protein, carb, and veg in one dish. Easy enough for a weekend lunch or a weeknight dinner. I rounded up on ingredients to use 1 lb pasta, 1 lb shrimp, and basically needed 3x of everything else. Had to remove items from pan to accomodate next step and to not overcook the shrimp. Came out really good.

  • Pamsy on July 13, 2020

    Easy, quick and tasty for a Sunday evening. Will definitely repeat this one.

  • stepharama1 on June 17, 2022

    This is very tasty and quick!

• Portuguese baked hake & potatoes

  • sosayi on April 28, 2017

    Absolutely delicious! I was a little skeptical, but it turned out perfectly. Very rich, just as warned, but oh so comforting. I served it with a basic green salad and the Roasted Tomatoes (a D. Henry suggestion) from the Carrot Hummus dish, which cut through the richness perfectly.

  • veronicafrance on March 16, 2018

    This was delicious. I love hake, and this is a good way of using it. Don't be put off by the mayonnaise, it really works. I didn't measure the mayo, but I'm sure I used much less than specified -- just squirted a thin layer over the potatoes. It was low-fat as well, but this wasn't a problem and probably made the dish less rich. Served with braised carrots. I agree with TrishaCP that the potato preparation is a bit fiddly, but with multi-tasking (slice and fry onions while potatoes are boiling) total prep time is still well inside half an hour, and once it's in the oven no attention is required.

  • FJT on August 22, 2018

    I will definitely make this again. Cooking fish isn't my strong suit, but this was very easy and the result was delicious. I used cod fillet as my fishmonger didn't have hake.

  • TrishaCP on December 16, 2017

    This was great. We didn't find the onions overpowering in the slightest. We only had half of the mayonnaise and that was plenty for us. The steps to cooking the potatoes seemed a bit fiddly (they are boiled, sautéed, and baked) and I would love to find a way to streamline that process (maybe just sautéing and baking next time) for weeknight cooking.

  • lilham on September 09, 2017

    This is a quick fish gratin. I substituted the hake with cod. I thought this was absolutely delicious. However, Mr lilham wasn't a fan. He said the fried onion tasted like gravy and overpowered everything else. I served it with a simple tomato and green salad.

• Pugliese fish tiella

  • Lepa on November 17, 2016

    This recipe was not a success. It was greasy with little flavor. The potatoes, while awfully thin, did not fully cook. The rice was cooked in spots and crunchy in others. I am guessing that with some adjustments it could be a success but I don't have the heart to try again.

  • runoutofshelves on May 04, 2018

    I loved this. I cook the similar recipe she mentions that uses mussels instead of fish, and while it is beautiful, it is a bit labour intensive. This is quite simple. I love that you don't have to saute the onion or anything, it is all prepared, layered in the pan, and then baked. The aroma that fills the kitchen of garlicky fishy tomatoey with a hint of parmesan is mouth watering.

  • saarwouters on January 07, 2019

    We really liked this Italian fish dish. It's not the most healthy dish with both potato and risotto-rice, but we thought it was delicious! We used only 2 cod filets, but the full amount of all the other ingredients. We used a rather small oven dish. So, the fish was almost completely covered in the stock. It was cooked perfectly, with strong flavours.

  • Rinshin on May 06, 2018

    All the ingredients sounded good but maybe we don't care for baked fish, esp baking this long ie 45 min. Used combo Pacific cod and rock fish and followed the recipe. No problem with potatoes undercooking or final dish appearing oily. The taste was quite bland though even with garlic and Pecorino Romano, somewhat dry overall, and fish overcooked for our taste. For the same ingredients minus potatoes, I would much prefer making seafood risotto for taste and being able to control the doneness of fish by adding towards the end of cooking time.

  • lou_weez on December 05, 2021

    We really enjoyed this dish. Made for an easy, filling dinner. Probably worth par-cooking the potatoes in the microwave before adding them to the dish, as they do take longer to cook.

• Smoked mackerel with potatoes, eggs & dill pickles

  • sjwill82 on August 07, 2017

    Incredibly simple and full of flavour. I didn't have mackerel so I substituted with peppered smoked salmon

• Roast citrus, ginger & honey chicken

  • ksg518 on March 27, 2017

    This was a great chicken dinner. The sauce is a wonderful mixture of sweet and spicy. I used a scant tablespoon of sriracha sauce. It made for a spicy sauce but the chicken mellowed out the sauce quite a bit. I might up the amount next time. I agree with amandacooks that the oranges can be left out. Even with the additional brown sugar mine tasted somewhat bitter.

  • veronicafrance on March 10, 2017

    I wasn't a bit surprised by how good this was, because Diana Henry (almost) never lets you down. We loved the sauce with its concentrated mixture of sweet and spicy, and the dish is very easy to put together; then just leave it in the oven and get on with something else. Definitely one to add to the regular repertoire.

  • raybun on March 19, 2017

    Delicious! The whole family loved it, and it was so quick and easy to throw together. Another 5* recipe from Ms Henry.

  • amandacooks on March 14, 2017

    Our family really loved this roast chicken. It took very little time to put together and didn't take all that long to cook since we used a smaller (~3 lb.) bird. Even our toddler who normally won't touch meat kept asking for more. The roasted oranges weren't as big of a hit as the chicken, so I'll probably skip those next time and maybe just offer a few (raw) orange slices as a garnish instead.

  • Rachaelsb on January 03, 2023

    This was delicious. As others have mentioned sauce is so citrusy good and makes chicken so flavorful. I really enjoyed oranges, different from others-I by mistake sliced them in thin rings; maybe that’s what made difference. Woujd def make again.

  • Barb_N on January 27, 2020

    Such a flavorful sauce. It started to blacken right away so I kept the chicken covered with foil for most of the roasting time. I think that’s why the sauce was so thin. While the chicken was resting I tried to reduce it; regardless, it was phenomenal. Served with roasted golden beets & greens, and baby red potatoes. I marked this a must cook for 2020; now 2021, 2022...

• Slow-cooked pork with chipotle tomato sauce

  • FritB on May 28, 2017

    You need to spice it up

• Slow-cooked lamb with pomegranates & honey

  • KarinaFrancis on September 16, 2017

    This will now be the only way I make lamb shoulder it was so damn good! I tinkered a bit with the method, I marinaded overnight in a big snap lock bag and added the lemon juice in the morning (accidentally forgot). Baked it for 4 hours then took the foil off and raised the temp for the last 1/2 hr. There is a lot of jus so I reduced some as a glaze. Photo uploaded

• Lamb with preserved lemon, dates & cumin butter

  • L.Nightshade on March 31, 2017

    I was very drawn to the flavors mentioned in this recipe title, but dinner was for two, so an entire leg wouldn’t work. I was delighted to see blue room’s report of serving a cut of lamb on top of the would-be stuffing. I used lamb sirloin chops, made the “stuffing” as written, using lacinato kale. This one was quite a wow for us. Mr. Nightshade declared it the best lamb dish ever, and he’s not even a big fan of kale. Definitely a do-again, and it would be perfect for last minute dinner guests.

• Pork chops with mustard & capers

  • TrishaCP on October 09, 2022

    Agree with everyone that this is an easy and tasty dinner. I served it with polenta and a green salad.

  • slouj on July 20, 2019

    Stirring some cooked gnocchi through the finished sauce acts as a perfect accompaniment! Delicious! Next time I make it, am tempted to throw in a small handful of shredded tarragon to add a slightly fresh note. But lovely just as it is.

  • baking4two on April 25, 2017

    I assumed 1 cup of heavy cream, as the recipe didn't state. Turned out wonderful. My husband and I were thrilled with this dish!

  • raybun on May 10, 2017

    I'll add my praise for this recipe. A quick, easy mid week dish with great flavour with store cupboard ingredients.

  • Smokeydoke on May 05, 2017

    Delicious and truly simple! It's made with few ingredients that are pantry staples in my house and it's very quick. I used pork loin instead of pork chops and served over rice. It was an easy weekday meal and definitely a repeater. Photo included.

  • Barb_N on April 12, 2017

    I subbed Greek yogurt for the heavy cream, resulting in a thicker sauce but no less flavorful. Simple and delicious!

  • southerncooker on April 10, 2017

    Hubs, son and I all agreed this is one I need to make again. Delicious! Chops are browned then placed in oven to finish cooking. The fat is drained and chops moved to a plate while you make the sauce which consists of Dry Vermouth, Dijon, heavy cream and capers.

  • Running_with_Wools on November 21, 2025

    Very fast and full of flavor.

  • sarah_22kzqy on April 05, 2026

    Delicious and very quick

  • peter_kpzxyb on May 08, 2026

    Lovely recipe but watch the timings for the chops. I’d say 10 mins in the oven is plenty depending on the thickness of the chops.

  • pattyatbryce on July 31, 2020

    Love this recipe. So easy and so flavorful! We've made it many times.

  • Rinshin on January 09, 2018

    Delicious recipe which can handle additions well. Added reconstituted chopped dry wild mushrooms and garlic with the vermouth. Although I did use the full cream, I may try milk or as another person mentioned, yogurt next time to cut back on fat. Quick to make too.

• Pork chops with figs & Marsala

  • paulabee on April 01, 2017

    This was good! I used dried figs that I rehydrated in hot water. I smashed them a bit into the sauce toward the end (I doubt you'd have to do this with fresh figs) and it made all the difference (flavor of the sauce was much more balanced after that).

  • Emwestley on June 09, 2025

    Absolutely delicious. Would make again

• Lamb chops with walnut, chilli & honey salsa verde

  • L.Nightshade on January 19, 2017

    We loved the salsa, mint included, but thought it needed a little more kick. I used serrano and jalapeño, and after tasting the finished product, popped in a few red chile flakes at the end. Perfect. I did pound in the mortar and pestle, but had to ask Mr. NS to spell me when my arm got tired of pounding. On the rare occasion my mother cooked lamb (it was more common for her to cook mutton, ew), she always served it with mint jelly. I know that’s very much out of fashion now, but I still love a bit of mint with my lamb. This sauce is definitely an upgrade from jarred mint jelly!

  • swiand on April 27, 2025

    We used a poblano pepper. The salsa wasn't spicy but the flavor was amazing.

• Honeyed sausages with blackberry & caraway slaw

  • e_ballad on March 21, 2017

    Hmm, I appear to be in the minority. This dish wasn't really to our liking. The recipe was fine & everything went to plan, but we didn't really enjoy this as much as the other reviewers.

  • laur0684 on March 31, 2017

    The sausages were decent, I basted a few times and had to broil them at the end to get the crispiness I like. The slaw is outstanding! The blackberries really work well with the caraway seed dressing.

  • L.Nightshade on January 27, 2017

    From now on, I vow to always cook sausages in the oven. My oh my, were these ever good! Mr. Nightshade bought bratwurst, which seemed appropriate for this treatment. The sausages get a coat of honey and wholegrain mustard, then roast in the oven. Meanwhile, the slaw comes together, with slices of baby spinach, red cabbage, red onion, crumbled dried chiles, and toasted walnuts (and apple! I bought, then forgot to add, the apple!). The dressing is composed of toasted caraway seeds, dijon mustard, and maple syrup (OK, so I used erythritol with a bit of maple extract). The recipe calls for blackberries, so I will make this again when our yard is teeming with blackberries, but for now I had fresh raspberries, so used those. I did add the apple to the leftover slaw the next day, but with or without the apple this is a great slaw.

  • Zosia on February 25, 2017

    The salad was a nice counterpoint to the richness of the sausages but the meat was a little too sweet for our tastes. The mustard-honey combination is a delicious one and this dish is worth repeating so I'll just reduce the honey next time.

  • ksg518 on August 03, 2017

    What a great dinner! My oven isn't working so we improvised the sausages on the cooktop but they still came out great. The slaw is wonderful; the blackberries are a great addition and the caraway adds just the right note to temper the dish's sweetness. We'll be making this again.

  • Rinshin on March 09, 2017

    Great idea on cooking sausages in the oven. Can't be any easier. I turned the sausages about 4 times during the baking stage. I knew using the full amount of honey would be too sweet for us and did cut back which tasted wonderful for us. I like all the slaw ingredients but thought the dressing was too mild and somewhat too oily tasting. I would add more vinegar next time and cut back on olive oil. I did not use blackberries.

  • MollyB on August 11, 2025

    What a great recipe! My blackberry bush finally started producing so I had some fresh, ripe blackberries, and I had some nice sausages from Edwards Smokehouse. I made the recipes exactly as written, and it was perfect for us. The mustard in the glaze and dressing offset the sweetness, and the blackberries and apples add some acidity. Will definitely make again when I have good sausage and blackberries!

  • SilverSage on November 04, 2017

    Just made the slaw, not the sausages. It was a huge hit for a pot luck with friends.

  • dinnermints on October 09, 2021

    Loved this! I especially appreciated everyone’s notes, due to which I reduced the reduced the honey to 1/4 cup, increased the apple cider vinegar to 2 tablespoons, and reduced the olive oil to 2 tablespoons. I used a bit more cabbage & spinach than the recipe called for, but I thought it was still enough dressing (added some salt to the slaw). My sausages weren’t “shiny and dark as chestnuts” and I didn’t want to overcook them, so per laur0684, I popped them under the broiler for a minute or two and that was perfect. Served with a quinoa pilaf, and it was delicious with the slaw, sausage & quinoa all eaten together on the plate. Would definitely make again!

• Spanish rice with chorizo, beans & pumpkin

  • Jane on October 15, 2017

    This was a very nice dinner. I was clearing my fridge so subbed some ingredients - uncooked chorizo rather than sausages, butternut squash instead of pumpkin, cherry tomatoes and garbanzo beans. Lovely flavor from all the ingredients listed plus smoked paprika. This is the type of recipe that could take a lot of substitutions.

  • Lesliehauser on April 23, 2017

    Very tasty. Used a can of tomatoes and garbanzo beans as subs for fresh tomatoes and white beans. Took closer to 40 minutes on the stove top to absorb all the liquid--maybe because I used risotto rice? Once the prep is done, this is a much simpler paella recipe than others that require different cooking times for different proteins. Perfect with a dry fino sherry!

  • mfranklin125 on March 01, 2017

    Good and not complicated just a little prep chopping in beginning. I didn't use chorizo but did apple chicken sausage because chorizo too spicy for the toddler.

  • sosayi on April 07, 2017

    Really enjoyed this! Only thing I changed was to cook the dish in the oven after the initial sauteing, like I do with paella. Easier, and I feel that it cooks more evenly. About 350/375 depending on your oven, if you'd like to try the same. Next time, I'll probably add the lemon wedges on top of the rice, fanned out, as I also do for paella, so that they roast in the oven and get all warm and juicy.

  • Charlotte_vandenberg on September 11, 2021

    Made it in the oven, using a tin of tomatoes. Delicious, next time I’ll leave it a little longer so it sticks to the bottom of the pan.

  • Charlotte_vandenberg on September 11, 2021

    Made it in the oven, using a tin of tomatoes. Delicious, next time I’ll leave it a little longer so it sticks to the bottom of the pan.

  • Livia on April 27, 2020

    As others noted, next time I would finish the dish in the oven. I have used swede instead of pumpkin as that is what I had and worked well but didn't cook through. Used a paella dish which didn't fit. The flavours are really lovely. Will make again hopefully without burning the bottom.

  • Beth891 on January 30, 2024

    I made a few changes to use up some leftover veg etc and I didn't have any beans but this is a great base recipe.

• Smoked sausages with split pea purée & caraway butter

  • sjwill82 on August 30, 2017

    Really simple warming weekday meal for when the days here are getting shorter. Everybody enjoyed this and I especially liked the added caraway butter. Next time I'll buy different sausages as ours did not have a strong smoked flavour. The recipe states that it needs a lot of seasoning and I agree, especially if you use water instead of stock. I also served with the thyme baked mushrooms (without the borlotti) from page 86. The earthiness of the mushrooms paired well.

  • Foodycat on October 05, 2020

    I've made this once before and because I don't particularly like caraway seeds I used mustard seeds. Which added nothing. So this time I bought caraway seeds and they were absolutely delicious. I think the split peas should probably be soaked overnight - I didn't, because the recipe didn't say to and at 90 minutes they were just tender, not a soft puree at all. I agree with the other comments that the split peas really do need to be cooked in stock, although the vinegar and nutmeg at the end add a lot.

  • joneshayley on April 03, 2018

    A soft and comforting dish. Done in 40 start to finish in a pressure cooker. The caraway butter is a perfect compliment to the smoky sausages and smooth purée.

  • e_ballad on July 24, 2018

    A wonderful winter warmer. Very easy & tasty, though I would not recommend using water instead of stock as I would anticipate the lentils to be very bland.

  • sosayi on December 08, 2017

    Really warming, hearty dish for cold weather. The split pea puree is great, but did take much longer than an hour to cook for us (twice now). I ended up putting it in the pressure cooker both times, so I think I'd just do that from the start next time. And then maybe reduce the stock (which I do recommend over water) to 3 cups? For the caraway butter, I let it get away from me the 2nd time and it become caraway brown butter, which I'd do again (on purpose). My last change was to just cook the smoked sausage in a cast iron skillet (halved). It adds a nice bit of textural contrast, I feel, which the poached sausage misses. In all, a great dish and one I'll keep in rotation... as much as I do rotation. :)

• Merguez with sweet potatoes, beans & chermoula

  • Foodycat on December 12, 2016

    Absolutely delicious. It looks more involved than it is - actually comes together really quickly and then sits in the oven for an hour. The sweet potato breaks down a bit and thickens the sauce and the flavours are unexpectedly rich. Very comforting.

  • Alisonk on January 30, 2026

    Dishes like this make perfect food for cold winter evenings, with leftovers for lunch the next day…definitely one to make again says hubby

  • LittleKi on May 04, 2021

    Delicious, easy. I pressure-cooked chickpeas and stuck with them rather than using two kinds of beans.

  • pistachiopeas on April 21, 2018

    Just delicious. Warm and comforting.

• Chicken piccata

  • baking4two on April 24, 2017

    Served with the lemon orzo. So good!

  • L.Nightshade on January 14, 2017

    Chicken breasts are cut horizontally, then pounded a bit to flatten. They are seared in oil and butter, then set aside. Vermouth, lemon juice, and butter go into the same pan, swirling until the butter is melted, then capers and parsley are added. All is dumped on the chicken and served. I used my monster capers because, well, because we love them. Capers are my vegetable of choice. I served the chicken with tomatoes stuffed with a soufflé I had made for NY eve, which went into the freezer due to the onset of the fluzies. So nothing wild, and no international flavors, but quite lovely, and completely satisfying.

  • peacheater on March 11, 2026

    Super simple and easy - tasty too! Great weeknight meal - should add to the rotation.

  • PiaOC on August 06, 2020

    Also served with lemon orzo. Excellent combination. All came together quickly after prepping ingredients.

  • megrmajer on September 09, 2023

    This was a home run and a 5* recipe in my book. Quick, ingredients I usually have on hand, flavourful and toddler and hubby loved it! I've always heard of chicken piccata and never tried it until now.

• Orange-oregano roast chicken, olive gremolata

  • TrishaCP on April 26, 2018

    We really loved this dish as well. I find that I don't always taste the orange when using it in recipes like this, but in this one I certainly did, and it was great with the olives. (I marinated overnight.) I used boneless skinless thighs since it was all I had on hand, and found they needed the same baking time. (I didn't do the browning step.) I also only had frozen red chiles, so just added it to the pan with the chicken and oranges rather than including in the gremolata.

  • L.Nightshade on January 13, 2018

    Mr. Nightshade made this for dinner last night, and claims he followed the recipe (which is very unusual for him). The only deviation he noted was that he subbed a breast, cut in half, for my serving (as I’m a white meat gal) and shortened the cooking time for that one piece. He’s more of a big-swipes-with-a-cleaver guy, not so much a fine-slice-and-dice guy, so the orange slices were a little thick, and the gremolata was not finely chopped, but all the flavors were still there. I thought this was wonderful! I cut up my orange slice so I could get a taste of orange, olive, and chicken all on one forkful for each bite. The sweetness of the pulp, the bitterness of the peel, the saltiness of the olives, all worked so well together.

  • brooke_3jatay on May 27, 2026

    Something about it just didn’t work. The olives and orange, it was bitter.

  • Foodycat on October 12, 2020

    Like TrishCP I didn't do the browning step. I used chicken drumsticks and when I was ready to cook I lifted them out of the marinade, spread a layer of cubed butternut squash and sweet potato and put the drumsticks back on top of that. I gave it 45 minutes in the oven, to compensate for not having browned the chicken, and it was perfectly cooked. The gremolata was delicious, although I only used black olives because I had a jar I wanted to use up.

  • ChelseaP on June 06, 2021

    Love this dish! It's in regular rotation. I often make it when guests come for dinner because everyone loves it. Fantastic recipe.

• Andalusian chicken with honey, saffron & almonds

  • sjwill82 on August 16, 2017

    Our oven unfortunately broke just as I started cooking this. We did without the topping and cooked it in a large sauté pan. The chicken was juicy, sweet and had a subtle spice. We served with a green salad, cucumber and dill salad and cous cous. Hit with the kids.

  • Lesliehauser on May 11, 2017

    I really enjoyed this dish, although my daughter thought it tasted a bit soapy. Served with roasted cauliflower and Israeli couscous. Would make again, not too hard to prep early in day and then pop in oven on a weeknight.

  • paulabee on April 15, 2017

    not my favorite. I think it's me rather than the recipe, but this flavor combination came out too sweet and floral for my palette.

• Tim's Parmesan chicken

  • Lesliehauser on April 30, 2017

    I did have time to marinate for about an hour and the chicken was very tender and super yummy garlicky. Easy weeknight meal to throw in the oven and finish sides while it bakes. Family ate it up quickly. Served with lemon, parsley, Parmesan orzo (p. 100) and roasted broccoli.

  • lilham on November 07, 2016

    I skipped the marinating, and also used packaged matzo meal instead of breadcrumbs. I also baked for about 30min only, less than the 45min suggested. The result is a delicious cheesy crumbed baked chicken.

  • stockholm28 on January 14, 2017

    This is practically a pantry dish. It is quick and easy and cutting the recipe in half worked fine. I did not marinate the chicken. Instead, I added the chopped garlic to the breadcrumb mixture as she states in the headnote. As you might imagine, this was a good dish ... basically chicken with a crunchy, cheesy, garlicky coating. I imagine it would be a hit with kids. The leftovers crisped up nicely after 10 minutes in the oven. I probably won't make this again, but if I did, I might not follow the step to "roll each thigh up"; I'd try just leaving the thigh flat to get more crunchy topping.

  • southerncooker on April 12, 2017

    Easy and yummy! Hardest part is waiting 45 minutes for it to bake. I did make a half recipe since son and I were the only ones eating it. I skipped the marinating and added the garlic to the bread crumbs and Parmesan as suggested in the book.

  • westminstr on January 16, 2018

    This didn't work too well for me - crumbs didn't crisp up in the allotted time, plus I had lots of leftover crumbs which was annoying given the amount of parm that went into them. I froze the leftovers for another use. I had to crank the heat up to 450 to get the crumbs to crisp and brown. T & O liked it. E refused to eat it.

• Moroccan-spiced chicken with dates & aubergines

  • TrishaCP on August 10, 2020

    Thanks to everyone’s comments, we tweaked this to our tastes and loved it. I used 2 cups of stock (would go with 1 3/4 next time) and cooked this for 60 minutes.

  • FJT on October 22, 2017

    This was quite nice and very easy. I reduced the amount of dates by half and was glad I did as the dish was very sweet. If I made it again I would increase the amount of harissa to counterbalance the sweetness. I think there was too much liquid resulting in slightly mushy rice after the cooking time was up, but the flavours were good and the chicken was very nice.

  • L.Nightshade on March 31, 2017

    I don’t eat rice, so just made this without. Consequently I omitted the two cups of stock that I figured would be needed for the rice, and just used the remaining 1/2 cup. My pistachios were raw, so I put them on during the last few minutes of cooking. The remaining ingredients, timing, and temperature were as written. I realize that omitting the rice was a big change, so I can’t speak to some of the issues people have had with liquid and rice, but we were pretty thrilled with this version of the dish. I cut the onions fairly small, as I had trouble with another dish in the book, where I felt the onions were undercooked, and they were still very slightly undercooked to my taste. Mr. NS thought they were fine. He’s requested this go into regular rotation, and so it will (pretending for a minute that I even have a rotation).

  • sosayi on April 07, 2017

    Note to self: British chicken thighs must be smaller than American ones. I'd only use (4) in the future. And I'd also decrease the liquid from 2.5 cups to 2 cups. Other than that, I adored the flavor profile. Maybe I'd just add a bit of parsley to the pistachio topping?

  • purrviciouz on August 19, 2019

    I thought this was okay although my husband loved it. I used six chicken thighs and the rice was wet for my preference. I added more harissa paste at the table with greek yogurt sauce to add more flavor to the dish. I wouldn't repeat this dish. Revised - the leftovers are much better and the flavors are much more developed and rich the next day.

  • sdeathe on October 05, 2020

    This was okay. Lots of liquid, perhaps due to larger than British chicken thighs which crowded the pan. Not too sweet for us. Good, but not wonderful.

  • anya_sf on February 14, 2021

    Having read the other comments, I compared the British vs US recipes and realized that the British version calls for 225 g rice, which is a few tablespoons more than the 1 cup called for in the US version, which may be one reason why people got mixed results with the rice. I used 225 g and actually had to add extra liquid later as it took over an hour to cook. My problem was following the instruction to mix everything, which resulted in many grains of rice that weren't submerged in liquid. Another factor may have been baking this in a Dutch oven (which I did) vs a shallower dish. In the end, we really enjoyed the flavors, especially with yogurt, so I'd definitely make this again, but will mix the rice, etc. prior to topping with the chicken, making sure the rice is covered with liquid.

  • Barb_N on March 11, 2019

    This is simple in the sense that you mix everything in one pot then bake. That said, it did take a good 45 minutes of prep since I needed to cut up a whole chicken. I cooked it for 60 minutes due to the amount of meat. I used 1 1/2 c stock and the rice was more moist than I prefer- probably should have used brown rice like I usually do. The harissa supplied nice heat but like FJT, I thought the predominant flavor was sweet- fom the dates and the orange. The recipe would require extra steps but I think it would benefit from mixing the spices, oj and harissa so that it can be tasted for balance before mixing it with the chicken.

  • Charlotte_vandenberg on September 10, 2017

    Very easy, and okay. Nothing spectacular, some parts of the rice were a little bland. The rice was perfectly cooked, and no parts were burnt or sticky. I used chicken breast instead of thighs, which turned out fine, probably a bit drier. I am using more harissa next time.

  • peaceoutdesign on March 06, 2024

    Not impressed although I did like the crispiness of the chicken skin.

  • ozfoodie on March 11, 2023

    I made this before reading the previous comments and I'm glad I did. Made as per the recipe and was really happy with it. I'd been concerned there wouldn't be enough rice – but there was more than enough and it was beautifully cooked. Another time, if I can be bothered, I might stick the pan under the grill at the end of the cooking time, for a deeper browning of the chicken skin (my oven browned the pieces somewhat unevenly), but the skin was still crispy and hubby and I both enjoyed.

• Parmesan roast chicken with cauliflower & thyme

  • westminstr on September 20, 2017

    I have made this multiple times. Both times I have left out the potatoes and onions - just chicken, cauli, thyme and parm. This is super easy and everyone likes it, so I'll probably continue to make it this way.

  • Jane on May 09, 2017

    A very quick and easy weeknight dinner. Nothing spectacular but good. Half the recipe filled a half-sheet pan so you will need two pans if doing the full recipe. It took an extra 10 minutes for the chicken skin to be crispy and the cauliflower to char.

  • TrishaCP on March 19, 2017

    Many raves for this dish from other members, but I have to be the voice of dissent on this one. We found this just kind of bland and not that interesting, even though we were pretty generous with the Parmesan. (The potatoes with the Parmesan were the best part.) Diana Henry has so many other superior and easy chicken recipes on offer, so this will definitely not be a repeat.

  • kari500 on November 26, 2017

    I have made this numerous times, always with gruyere. Definitely need two baking sheets.

  • Astrid5555 on November 05, 2016

    This was the first recipe I cooked from this book and it did not disappoint at all. And then, what's not to like about oven-baked potatoes and cauliflower sprinkled with Parmesan cheese! Fairly quick to make and as such also weeknight dinner-friendly.

  • lilham on January 03, 2017

    Because my largest roasting tin was too small to fit everything in one layer, I made a tray of normal roast potatoes and another with all the other ingredients. I also used skinless boneless thighs instead of boned in ones, and a mix of cauliflower and broccoli florets. One of Ms Henry's suggestions was to replace half the parmesan with Gruyere, so I used 50/50 Parmesan and Cheddar. This a easy and delicious one pan dinner. Both my children and mr lilham loved how cheesy this is.

  • veronicafrance on March 17, 2017

    Another vote for this recipe. So easy, just bung everything in a roasting tray and stick it in the oven. I used a mixture of Parmesan and Comté; only a light sprinkling, I'd add more next time.

  • Zosia on March 09, 2017

    A new family favourite. I used turkey thighs and roasted them for 20 minutes before adding the potatoes and cauliflower.

  • KarinaFrancis on June 21, 2021

    Diana Henry plus chicken thighs, you know it’s good. We halved the recipe and it fit perfectly in one roasting tin. The flavours are good, if not earth shattering. Definitely a keeper, next time I’ll add more cheese.

  • stockholm28 on November 08, 2016

    Nice sheet pan supper that can quickly be put together for a weeknight. I cut the recipe in half; it is an easy recipe to scale up or down. Next time I'd add a few cloves of garlic. This was good, but I think I'm partial to her chicken baked with red onions, potatoes, and rosemary which appears in "Pure Simple Cooking."

  • saarwouters on January 27, 2018

    We make this often. The different flavours combine really well. We do add more parmesan cheese.

  • foodgloriousfood on April 07, 2022

    For my tastes this needed ACID +++ Next time around I roasted everything with lemon quarters and also squeezed some fresh lemon over to serve and it was much improved in my opinion.

  • baking4two on April 05, 2017

    Easy one pan weeknight meal! Next time I will add some cloves of garlic.

  • raybun on February 20, 2017

    We loved this, it was an ideal quick easy midweek supper. I used three big chicken legs and otherwise followed the recipe.

  • e_ballad on March 22, 2017

    We also liked this very easy midweek dish. We did use half Parmesan/half Gruyere, as per the recipe's note. I think I'd go with only the Parmesan in future for its sharpness, which I suspect would improve the seasoning.

  • clcorbi on March 19, 2018

    Yum. As many other comments noted, this pretty much needs to be spread out between two sheet pans, and the roasting time needs to increase. Otherwise, followed the recipe as written, and the result was dead-easy and very tasty. Not my favorite sheet pan dinner I've ever made, but certainly the quickest to throw together.

  • bwhip on April 11, 2017

    Wow, for something that takes literally five minutes to prep, this was actually quite good. Classic, simple flavors, unspectacular yet very delicious. Impressive dish!

  • sosayi on April 07, 2017

    Definitely cut this recipe in half if you want it to fit in one sheet pan! I used my large roasting pan, and even that seemed to be overcrowded... which led to the vegetables steaming too much and not getting as crisp as you'd want. Maybe my cauliflower was gigantic???

• Burmese chicken with tart-sweet chilli sauce

  • Astrid5555 on April 09, 2017

    This was delicious also without the dipping sauce which I couldn't be bothered to make. Husband and I really enjoyed the dish while the children, already bothered by the fish sauce smell while the meat was cooking, found it too spicy for their taste.

  • L.Nightshade on January 14, 2017

    This is an easy weeknight dish that packs a lot of flavor. The dipping sauce is made of dried red chiles simmered in water, then puréed with garlic, fish sauce, sugar (stevia here), rice vinegar, and lime juice. She doesn’t specify what type of dried chiles to use, so I used a combination of some hotter and some milder chiles: arbol, Japones, cascabel, and mulato. It makes a lot, and it was hot! I was trying to think of another use for all the leftover dipping sauce, but Mr. Nightshade just wants to make this chicken again. I’d like to try it on breasts (being a white meat girl), he’d like to try it on legs and wings. I think it works best on skinless pieces though, as they really absorb the color and flavor. (My photo shows a salad that was not part of the recipe.)

  • clcorbi on May 17, 2018

    Really excellent, despite me not exactly following the instructions. For the chicken I used bone-in, skin-on thighs, and marinated at room temp for about half an hour. I doubled all the spice quantities as I didn't feel they seemed adequate for 3lb of meat. For the chile sauce, I substituted red pepper flakes and skipped the simmering/food processing steps entirely. My sauce was more watery than it should have been, but the flavor was still great, and the meal came together in almost no time. The chicken was SO delicious pan-seared this way; the spice blend gave really excellent flavor. I'll definitely use boneless skinless thighs next time since they're easier to eat, but we did both love how crispy the chicken skin got when cooked this way. This is definitely one to repeat, and a great candidate for weeknight dinners for sure.

  • mpo on February 02, 2021

    We really enjoyed this but I made a different version of the side sauce. I used about 1/4 t of cayenne pepper, with no water, and just tasted for right amount of the other ingredients.

  • stockholm28 on January 07, 2018

    This was terrific. I used Tien Tsin chilis and was afraid that it might be too spicy, but with the rice and chicken it was very well balanced. This will definitely be repeated.

  • sjwill82 on August 09, 2017

    Big hit with the family here (no chilli sauce for the kids!). I marinated the chicken overnight as I didn't have time to marinate on the day. Next time I would also make a batch of chilli dipping sauce in advance. I accidentally read the recipe as 10 chilli's for the sauce instead of 10 GRAMS. This was more than hot enough for us! Both the chicken and the sauce were delicious and I'll definitely be making this again. I served this with sticky rice, fast pickled cucumber and a salad of lettuce and coriander.

  • Running_with_Wools on March 30, 2025

    We loved this! A keeper. I used boneless chicken breast and the marinade/paste gave it a lovely flavor and it stayed very tender and juicy. For the dipping sauce, I used Ancho chilis and it was VERY hot. But delicious and I dipped every bite of chicken into it. Served with rice and a salad with a peanut, coconut, lime dressing.

• Chicken Chettinad

  • veronicafrance on January 05, 2018

    This was pleasant enough, if not exceptional. Easy to make and a change from my usual chicken curries. Listen when she says skinless thighs; the chicken isn't browned, so if you leave the skin on it ends up flabby and unattractive.

  • Frenchfoodie on March 20, 2017

    This tasted strangely sweet, Mr F thought 'cakey', I wouldn't go that far but it was not great. Bit too much cinnamony too.

• Broccoli with harissa & coriander gremolata

  • bernalgirl on May 04, 2025

    I braised the broccoli rather than steaming, and loved this with what is essentially a harissa-lime butter and gremolata. Not as complicated as it sounds and very delicious.

  • Laurag29 on December 20, 2020

    Does not need 3/4 of a stick of butter. Steamed the broccoli I for 6 minutes; the lime garlic and spicy harissa were wonderful together.

  • baking4two on April 24, 2017

    Really liked the lime and broccoli combination with the spice from the harissa.

  • catmummery on March 28, 2025

    simple and delicious but do need to move fast to make sure the broccoli remains hot so butter melts. love the lime/harissa combination

• Roast sweet & bitter vegetables, salsa bianca

  • Senkimekia on April 03, 2017

    Delicious. Enjoyed the contrast of bitter and sweet and I could eat the sauce by the cupful. Will be making this again.

  • L.Nightshade on January 13, 2018

    This was a great find for the produce we picked up at the farmers’ market in the morning. I love roast vegetables, and the pungent sauce put these over the top. The combination of vegetables that gets drizzled with olive oil, tossed with salt, pepper, and thyme, then roasted, includes carrots, cauliflower, beets, onions, radicchio, Belgian endive. The radicchio and endive go into the pan for the final 15 minutes for a total of a 40 minute roast (I think ours took a tiny bit longer, I didn’t time the final roast). The sauce is made with a mortar and pestle, and includes toasted pine nuts, anchovies, garlic, olive oil, and lemon juice. I served the sauce on the side, figuring that not everyone at table would want the same amount of anchovy flavor on their vegetables. But everyone spooned it on; there were a few vegetables left over (we started with a lot), but no sauce remained! A definite do-again.

  • clcorbi on April 09, 2018

    My boyfriend loved these roasted veggies; I thought they were just okay, although I agree the salsa bianca is delicious. I think you either need to halve this recipe or make sure you have some extra-large sheet pans on hand in order to get a nice, crisp roast, and my pans didn't cut it.

• Sweet potatoes with yogurt & coriander-chilli sauce

  • L.Nightshade on January 26, 2017

    I made this recipe exactly as written (for a change), cutting the potatoes into wedges and tossing them with the mix of lime juice, honey, olive oil, salt, and pepper, whirring the cilantro-chile sauce in the mini FP, and dabbing all with yogurt. I was expecting the potatoes to be a bit more like oven fries, but I think the temp of 350º wasn’t high enough for that to happen. So we had rather mushy wedges. I still think it was worth cutting them into wedges to get them tossed in that limey bath. Just a higher temp next time. And there will be a next time, as this was delicious!

  • TrishaCP on March 17, 2020

    We loved this delicious side dish. The chile sauce and the yogurt together are great.

  • FJT on April 24, 2017

    Based on previous reviews I popped the sweet potatoes into the oven while it was warming up to bake bread at 450F and I probably left them there for almost an hour. Glad I cooked them in a foil-lined tin as I would have been scrubbing the pan forever to get rid of the baked honey in the marinade! I loved the sauce and would make that again to go with all sorts of things; the zing of the sauce was great against the sweetness of the potatoes. YUM!

  • KarinaFrancis on February 08, 2020

    We really liked these. The salsa elevated these to something special. I forgot to buy coriander (d’oh) so used some parsley and mint which worked well. Our chillies had some heat to them, which was nicely balanced by the yogurt. All in all, a great side dish.

  • sjwill82 on September 05, 2017

    We loved this. The only thing is I think we would use one garlic clove next time as I think the garlic was a bit over powering. At least we both are it! We also used sour cream instead of yoghurt.

  • LPlume01845 on July 01, 2019

    I loved the sauce and yogurt toppings. Not sure the lime juice-honey added much. As mentioned 350 did not get the crispness I wanted - which I should have known. Next time I will simply toss in olive oil and roast (450). That sauce though, a keeper...

  • paulabee on April 15, 2017

    Based on L.Nightshade's review, I cooked the sweet potatoes at 400, and chopped them into smaller pieces. Otherwise, made the recipe as written. Delicious- loved the cooling yogurt along with the cilantro sauce (this sauce was great leftover on eggs in the morning). Will make this again.

  • raybun on May 03, 2017

    These were great. I baked them together with the roast chicken (Marcus Samuelsson's Helga Jönsson's roast chicken) @ 350F for 40 minutes, turning them halfway. Excellent duo and delicious meal.

• Olive oil-braised leeks & peas with feta & dill

  • lorloff on December 12, 2021

    This was lovely. Our version browned a bit but it was still great. The leeks, peas and dill are a wonderful combination. We made this a vegan version so left off the cheese and did not miss it at all.

  • SheilaS on April 18, 2022

    Excellent! I used sugar snap peas but otherwise followed the recipe. I'd like to try it with another herb as the dill was a bit overpowering.

  • pattyatbryce on July 31, 2020

    This was fantastic. I tried as written and loved it. The ricotta and mint version wasn't as good to me.

  • joneshayley on April 15, 2017

    What an Inspired side dish! This fits the bill of effortless big flavour and then some! The dill is essential- it imparts a lot of the flavour magic.

• Asparagus, goat's cheese & warm butter

  • southerncooker on April 08, 2017

    This was truly a simple and delicious dish. I will make again. The lemon butter and goat cheese was a lovely addition to asparagus.

  • stockholm28 on May 02, 2017

    This is a very simple dish that is much better than the sum of its parts. It is just steamed asparagus (1 kg) drizzled with melted lemon butter (75g butter + juice of one lemon), topped with goat cheese (350g), and salt and pepper. She says this serves 4 as a main or 6 as a starter. I made 1/4 of the recipe and had this with some good bread and it was a lovely way to enjoy the local asparagus.

  • Lepa on March 07, 2018

    I made this for a quick lunch today and it was so, so good. Do not overlook this dish. It is almost effortless and the results are stunning.

  • baking4two on April 24, 2017

    I might never eat asparagus again without lemon butter and goat cheese!

• Baked sweet potato, chorizo, mushrooms & egg

  • southerncooker on April 08, 2017

    I used baby bella's in this one for the mushrooms. It was delicious. I used the optional cilantro and had intended to use the optional smoked paprika but forgot. This was still delicious. I made a half recipe for myself. I did have to bake my sweet potato much longer than stated in the recipe. My potato was on the small side but at the 30 min. mark it was not done. I added 10 more minutes but still not done so I popped in microwave for 5 minutes - perfect.

  • L.Nightshade on January 14, 2017

    I wanted to make this as soon as I set my eyes on the photo. No Spanish chorizo available around here, but we managed to find linguiça. While the potatoes bake, cremini are sautéed, set aside, then the sausage is sautéed in the same pan and set aside. Sausage and mushrooms go onto the opened sweet potato (red garnet here, thought it would be the prettiest), are topped with cilantro, then an egg fried at the last minute. Everything is topped with smoked paprika. A great combination of flavors, this would be a lovely brunch dish for guests.

  • Jane on May 28, 2017

    I shouldn't really be reviewing this as I messed with it a bit. I had some kale and half a baked sweet potato to use up and wanted eggs for brunch. So this recipe fitted the bill if I subbed kale for the mushrooms (and a poached egg rather than fried as I prefer those). Anyway, it worked well for me. Though I would also like to try it with mushrooms.

  • FJT on October 01, 2018

    Loved the chorizo with the sweet potato. The mushrooms were OK but they lose the fight to be noticed against the chorizo and sweet potato. I fried my egg to save on washing-up and because it’s what the recipe said to do, but I think I’d prefer a poached egg next time... and there will be a next time!

  • baking4two on April 12, 2017

    I used bacon instead of chorizo. I too had to add more bake time to my potato and then finished it in the microwave. Next time I will make the sweet potato in the Instant Pot (https://www.pressurecookrecipes.com/instant-pot-sweet-potato/). Delicious and simple weeknight meal!

  • julesamomof2 on August 19, 2017

    This quote from my daughter says it all 'My taste buds are confused'. We did not like this flavor combination. I used chorizo, threw the majority of the unused package away.

• Butternut strata

  • veronicafrance on May 02, 2022

    I've been meaning to try cheese strata for a while, and this recipe leapt out because it ticked a lot of "need to use up" boxes: stale sourdough, a butternut squash, mozzarella close to sell-by date, bacon ditto. It's not difficult, but it turned out to be rather time-consuming -- start several hours before you want to eat it! The end result was good, but I'm giving it 3 stars because the butternut squash didn't really fit with the rest of the dish. It seemed like she'd had sone left over and just chucked it in. Next time I'd happily make this without the squash, and with more cheese -- not cheesy enough for us.

• Roast potatoes with chilli, mint & preserved lemon

  • Jane on April 19, 2017

    The potatoes were very good and easy to do. Just oil-roasted small potatoes tossed with golden garlic, mint and preserved lemon at the end. I served them with the Seared tuna with preserved lemon, olives and avocado. Yes, I know it's a lot of preserved lemon but I love it.

  • dinnermints on January 05, 2026

    Great flavors - would be even better with some fresh Fresno chiles. I added some sliced olives, stirred in the garlic towards the end instead of sautéing it separately, and served with fried eggs (will serve leftovers with some roasted shrimp).

  • Frogcake on November 05, 2017

    Great recipe! As noted by Jane, it comes together very easily. I happened to have some minced garlic in olive oil already so I just tossed the potatoes in that along with the minced preserved lemon (before roasting). Very delicious!

  • puddlemere on January 18, 2019

    Super simple and flavorful. Topped with a fried egg.

  • clcorbi on May 13, 2018

    Yum. What an amazing flavor combination, and so different from my standard roasted potatoes! These will definitely be made again. They're also dead simple.

• Roast aubergines with tomatoes & saffron cream

  • kari500 on December 30, 2023

    I made this as a main for myself. Served over leftover mashed potatoes. At first I thought "meh, not that interesting" but I think that's because I was so hungry and dove in before it had a chance to let the flavors get strong. When I went to get seconds (not THAT meh, obviously) it was so incredibly good. So I'd say don't serve this piping hot, let it have a bit of time before serving. Oh, and I very feeling very lazy and didn't bother straining the shallots out of the sauce; I actually kind of like the texture.

  • veronicafrance on July 31, 2018

    No-one will be surprised by how excellent this was -- it's Diana Henry. Easy and delicious. I burnt the shallots a bit, so my sauce was slightly darker than hers, but the flavours overall were superb. Will definitely be repeated.

• Roast apricot & orange blossom fool

  • Astrid5555 on August 12, 2021

    A quick little dessert for when your apricots are not perfect anymore. Will make again!

• Sherry-roasted pear & chocolate sundaes

  • caitmcg on April 17, 2022

    This is a decadent and delicious sundae, perfect for fall and winter, when pears are in season.

• Rhubarb & raspberry crumble cake

  • darcie_b on October 21, 2020

    Soft cake and a sugar crunch make excellent contrasts to the tart fruit. I halved the recipe and baked in a 6 x 3 cake pan. I didn't use all of the crumble.

  • Pinkrupee on March 26, 2022

    My brother described this crumble as 'Awesome' - half the recipe would have fed four of us very well.

• Marmalade baked fruit with boozy orange cream

  • pomona on April 26, 2019

    Only used apples.

  • veronicafrance on January 17, 2020

    The fruits were simple to do and very good; she didn't specify what type of sherry, so I used fino to avoid it being too sweet. And no golden syrup, so I used maple syrup, which worked very well. I wasn't that impressed with the cream; that said, you can only get tasteless UHT whipping cream here. I'd go for crème fraîche or a scoop of vanilla ice cream in future.

  • Pamsy on February 18, 2023

    This was very good. No pears and subbed blood orange jam for marmalade. Used sherry and served with custard rather than the cream. Good way to use up fruit languishing in the bottom of the fridge.

• St Clements & rosemary posset with blackberries

  • eliza on April 18, 2023

    This was a nice variation on a lemon posset with the addition of rosemary and orange. Keeps well in the fridge for several days. Make ahead since it needs to be in the fridge for 3 hrs to firm up. Really delicious and will def repeat.

• Sgroppino

  • SheilaS on August 31, 2023

    I made this without the vodka and used the lemon sorbet from Zuni Cafe Cookbook. A sweet treat!

• Lemon & lavender cake

  • eliza on March 23, 2023

    This cake was delicious, and it’s nice to have a cake that uses oil and yogurt instead of butter. I made 2 smaller cakes which took about 35 min to bake. My lavender was quite old, so I would increase it a little bit next time. I used Balkan yogurt. Took to a group and everyone liked it.

  • ingabritt on February 18, 2022

    B+/A-. This cake came out very nice even with the changes i made. I used an 8x8 square pyrex pan. I used nonfat greek yogurt. I used canola oil instead of olive oil. Made on 2-18-22

  • e_hothersall on May 16, 2026

    Includes eggs

  • Sanell on March 17, 2023

    I would add a tiny bit more lavender, otherwise perfect!

  • bcarpenter on March 26, 2017

    a delicious fragrant cake with a moist crumb. I used regular yogurt and canola oil since I didn't have Greek yogurt and had just run out of olive oil, and it was still perfect.

• Lemon & ricotta cake

  • Emily Hope on January 15, 2020

    Made this to take to a friend's house for dinner and it was a hit -- extremely moist, nice lemony flavor, and light texture. I used a 9 inch springform and it worked fine--baking time was similar to what she indicates for 8 inch pan. I added a generous 1/4 teaspoon of fine sea salt, which I'd do again. I had Meyer lemons that were gigantic, so I used the juice of 1 of those plus half of a regular lemon. (Wish that she had given a volume amount for the lemon juice!) Served it with creme fraiche and a huckleberry sauce made from frozen huckleberries boiled with a bit of sugar, and thickened with tapioca starch (note to self--too gooey, next time cornstarch or potato starch).

  • SheilaS on May 03, 2017

    Lovely cake! I made a half recipe in a 6-inch springform pan and it worked perfectly.

  • Jane on April 23, 2017

    I've made this cake three times in the last week, for various parties and dinners, so you can tell how much I like it. It's a lovely spring cake with a fresh light flavor and texture. It's like a cross between a cake and a cheesecake. I made it with regular supermarket ricotta - I'm sure it would be even more delicious with fresh homemade ricotta.

  • FJT on February 09, 2020

    Tangy, light, moist ... perfect! Will definitely make this many, many times.

  • meggan on December 07, 2017

    I liked the texture which was not very cake like. The cake fell a lot when I removed it from the oven and end up being thinner than I expected. The almond flour is interesting but I might reduce it a little next time because it is a little bitter. I used Meyers lemons.

  • PinchOfSalt on August 25, 2023

    The EYB ingredient list is missing one ingredient - flour. It's a significant amount, not a spoon or so.

  • BasicStock on May 02, 2017

    I've made this once, and will definitely make it again for company. Lovely when fresh out of the oven and still warm. I made ricotta for the first time (from Melissa's Clark's recipe on the New York Times site), and it was really easy and delicious. I used a 9 1/2" springform, and will definitely find an 8 1/2" one for the next bake to get more height.

• Raspberry yogurt cake

  • FJT on August 31, 2023

    We really enjoyed this. I'm not a big fan of icing and substituted it with a tangy lemon drizzle which worked really well.

  • Jane on May 19, 2017

    I made this for a sunset picnic on the beach. It's a firm cake and quite transportable though the icing runs off the cake. I'm not a huge fan of firm cakes so I don't think I will repeat this though my friends seemed to like it. If I do make it again I will use only a smidgen of icing with the raspberries for the topping so it doesn't slide off.

• Smoky couscous

  • ksg518 on June 18, 2018

    I'm not sure what I was expecting here since this is a very unusual couscous recipe. It's very good but not flavors I would normally associate with couscous. My daughter correctly notes that it's really a paella couscous. The smoked paprika and the smoked almonds give it a very Spanish flavor. I added several diced roasted red peppers which are listed as an optional ingredient but otherwise made it as directed.

  • pattyatbryce on July 28, 2024

    This was good, but it was an odd flavor. I think it had too much paprika. Easy to adjust to taste for next time.

• Eastern black rice, mango & tomatoes with coconut

  • Cbrennan on May 23, 2026

    Looks and tastes amazing. Great with a bbq sauce

• Salmon & cucumber with miso dressing

  • grindabod on November 11, 2019

    I loved the dressing, which is actually the only component for which I was faithful to the recipe (oops!). Gave it a little more autumnal sustenance by baking a crispy salmon fillet skin side down and adding some rice noodles to make it dinner.

• Baked sea bass with baby leeks, potatoes, raki & dill

  • Silverscreensuppers on March 09, 2025

    I thought this was delicious! I admit, I was LIBERAL with the Pernod (which I used instead of Raki). Like @Foodycat I used sea bass fillets. I gave the potatoes/lemon zest/dill/olive oil about 5 minutes in the oven before adding the bass fillets. Steamed the leeks separately. Yum! Quick and easy lovely Sunday evening supper x

  • Foodycat on October 05, 2020

    The smell of the raki as it cooked off was lovely, but I don't think it left much flavour in the dish. I cooked the baby leeks in the same pan instead of separately and I should have added them earlier, they weren't quite done enough. Pleasant but probably won't make again unless someone else brings me a bottle of raki from a holiday.

• Poussins with sherry, raisins & pine nuts

  • saarwouters on December 29, 2018

    Delicious! This is super easy and hands-off. Ideal dinner party food, that will impress your guests. I had 2 poussins, so I used only 200 ml of sherry, which was enough. My poussins needed 10 extra minutes to be ready.

• Roast maple & mustard spatchcock with figs

  • Foodycat on October 19, 2020

    Cooked it in the barbecue, offset for 45 minutes with a chunk of oak wood for smoke. Absolutely delicious - I thought I was really pushing Mr I-don't-like-meat-and-fruit but he loved it - the maple syrup and mustard make a much more complex flavour than I expected and the vinegar on the figs balances them very well.

• Yogurt-marinated spatchcock with herbs & pomegranates

  • Laurel21 on August 20, 2021

    Muy fácil y delicioso. Lo hice con buttermilk, lo dejé marinar toda la noche. Y al hornear puse una cama de zanahorias baby que coseché por la mañana. Aconsejo hornear 40 min tapado y 15 minutos destapado para dorar la piel del pollo.

• Pork loin with pumpkin purée & pecorino

  • Foodycat on October 24, 2020

    I used a bought porchetta joint, and added extra chilli and fennel to try to copy the seasoning. I couldn't get mascarpone, so I used creme fraiche in the puree and I didn't use pecorino because I couldn't be bothered but my husband found the puree a bit sweet and the pecorino would have balanced it better. Next time I would probably just roast cubes of squash around the meat rather than making the puree.

• Balinese roast pork

  • grindabod on March 15, 2020

    I added a little bit of water when processing the aromatics, to help make it a little more paste-like and it kind of steamed the inside of the "belly roll", which was very nice.

• Oregano lamb chops with Greek htipiti

  • Foodycat on October 07, 2020

    I roasted the onion and peppers in the oven while lunch was cooking, and then grilled the lamb chops on the barbecue for dinner. Not my favourite htipiti recipe but a delicious combination with the lamb. I added some courgettes to the marinade and grilled them as well.

  • Skamper on August 10, 2020

    The marinade was great and added to the flavor of the chops. The sauce was good, but I felt it overwhelmed the flavor of the chops.

  • e_ballad on October 22, 2017

    Very quick (provided you remember to marinate!) & very tasty. I was in a rush & didn’t wait long enough for the red capsicums to cool before adding the feta, leading to a tasty htipiti soup to go with the lamb!

• Chicken with haricots & creamy basil dressing

  • purrviciouz on August 05, 2019

    This was a fantastic light and delicious summer dinner. I chose to bake the chicken breast as that's my preference. I couldn't find haricots verts in a can so I used great northern beans. I doubled the tomato and chose to pickle the shallots in the lemon juice before adding the beans and tomatoes.

  • sjwill82 on September 24, 2017

    Very popular in our household. Quick and easy to make and felt light for a lighter supper. I warmed my beans a little for a warm salad.

• Chicken with Indian spices, mango & coconut

  • Smokeydoke on January 05, 2017

    Not my favorite Diana Henry recipe, there's so many things I didn't like, it's just easier to say it was a miss. The flavor is ok, adding mangoes to curry is ingenious. Way too many onions and not enough curry.

  • VineTomato on July 31, 2017

    I was not thrilled by the idea of using a store brought curry paste, but for the sake of the recipe I gave it a go - however used half a jar, rather than the 2 tablespoons she recommends. The flavour of the curry was a bit too sweet and I felt tasted like a microwave meal - not good! Had for lunch the next day and the flavoured had improved. I then had the left overs for dinner a few nights later - this time adding the double cream at the end (I had forgotten first two times) and I have to say it was pretty delicious. So I think the flavours develop over time, but if you are after an authentic Indian curry, this is not it. I doubt I will make again. Adding mango reminds me of a Ragavan Iyer curry of prawn and mango is is substantially better than the addition of mango here.

  • stepharama1 on December 21, 2022

    We found this delicious! I used Thai red curry paste (since I didn't have Indian) and added a couple of teaspoons of curry powder to intensify the spices. I also used a can of coconut milk rather the combination of coconut cream and heavy cream suggested in the recipe.

• Roast squash with ricotta, smoked cheese & sage

  • mfranklin125 on February 28, 2017

    Dressing is a bit eh. But it's fine. Nothing special

• Ginger-miso pumpkin & mushrooms, black sesame

  • Foodycat on November 28, 2017

    There are a couple of processes involved in this one (pumpkin in one dressing, bake half an hour, add mushrooms and another dressing, bake another half hour) but the flavours are worth it. A very nice vegetarian main course.

• Roast cauliflower with Spanish flavours

  • Pamsy on April 06, 2026

    Easy and enjoyable side dish served with Rick Stein's slow roasted leg of lamb with fennel seeds, pimenton and potatoes. The numerous flavours in the cauliflower worked well together. Perfect Easter Sunday dinner with S and C.

  • e_ballad on September 04, 2019

    The recipe indicates that this will make 4x side serves, however, it definitely serves a lot more - almost 8x serves. It was ok, but I prefer Hetty McKinnon’s take on a very similar dish.

  • KarinaFrancis on September 21, 2019

    I’ve made this twice now and really like the flavours. Depending on the size of your cauliflower it makes a generous dish and the flavours are nicely balanced between sweet and sour. When cool it’s great on a bed of mixed salad greens with a sprinkle of feta on top

  • anniecc on September 26, 2022

    I really liked the flavours in this recipe. I substituted Marsala wine for the sherry and it worked fine. The amount of pine nuts is really generous, I would reduce it next time.

• Bacon lardons, onions & Gruyère

  • JJ2018 on April 22, 2018

    Used a mix of onions and leeks and cheddar cheese but this was absolutely delicious.

• Roast beetroots with goat's cheese, rye & dill

  • ksg518 on February 03, 2019

    We thought this was very good. I roasted the beets my normal way (wrapped in aluminum foil) and cut back a little on the goat cheese - 8 ounces just seemed like too much for the amount of beets. The rye crumbs are a great idea but can be a little finicky to toast since there aren't any visual clues to show you that they're getting crispy.

  • Lepa on December 24, 2016

    This was good; the flavors went well together.

• Fragrant Sichuan aubergines

  • Foodycat on April 23, 2018

    I used Korean chilli paste instead of Chinese chilli bean paste (which is a substitution mentioned in the recipe) and found the sauce thick enough without adding starch. It's delicious - silky, luscious aubergine in a really nicely balanced tangy sauce.

  • anniecc on December 11, 2023

    Good but not life changing. I had all the correct ingredients, the only departure I made from the recipe was to steam the aubergines before proceeding with the recipe. I just wasn’t convinced that they’d get to the right texture if following the author’s technique. Pre-steaming came out perfect, texture wise.

• Pears baked with lemon, bay & Marsala

  • Foodycat on September 29, 2019

    I'm a big fan of old-school pears in red wine but I had most of a bottle of marsala on the shelf so I gave this a go. Wonderful. If I hadn't cooked it myself I would have guessed that there were a lot more spices in it. We didn't have appetite for dessert the night I cooked it, but they refrigerated really well, with the remaining juices jellying around them. We had some alongside a honey cake and some in a salad with rocket, walnuts and St Agur blue cheese.

• Roast apple & maple Eton mess

  • Foodycat on October 10, 2020

    I used maple sugar instead of soft brown. This is really good - the yoghurt in the cream and the tartness of the apples cuts through the sweetness of the maple syrup and meringue. It's hard to cook Bramleys to just tender instead of fluffy puree, but keeping the texture is good. A very nice seasonal variation.

  • gootenbeez on January 21, 2026

    This was delicious. I had leftover egg whites from some Christmas cookies so I wanted to make some meringue (plus toddler loves them). I used the Meringue Girls recipe. The yogurt is a great addition and I subbed walnuts.

• Summer fruit & almond cake

  • Lepa on July 27, 2017

    This made my house smell lovely but in the end it disappointed me. The cake portion was a bit rubbery. Maybe the marzipan changed the texture?

• Baked plums in sloe gin

  • Foodycat on October 05, 2020

    Delicious. I'd leave out the juniper berries next time, they didn't add much.

• Baked apples with marmalade & Southern Comfort cream

  • ksg518 on October 26, 2020

    The baked apples are the pretty standard baked apples with raisins and nuts but what sets this recipe apart is the whipped cream. The addition of marmalade to the whipped cream is wonderful. We used applejack instead of Southern Comfort. I can see all sorts of ways to use this whipped cream on other desserts!

• Roast banana & brown sugar fool

  • Foodycat on October 24, 2020

    My bananas were only small and after 30 minutes in the oven they were starting to dry out rather than softening and caramelising. The flavours are excellent but next time I would briefly fry the bananas in some butter before adding the lime, sugar and rum to make it a bit saucier. It could also do with some chopped nuts or something for a bit of texture.

• Bitter flourless chocolate cake with coffee cream

  • Barb_N on May 28, 2017

    I have been eyeing this for a while- it is not only in Simple but was featured on Food52, and appears in DH's online column. This is GF by virtue of being flourless but has a tad of almond flour so it's not ganache in disguise. I was afraid the coffee cream would not hold if made in advance, which was true. In the future, I will explore toppings that can be made ahead so as not to interrupt the conversation with guests to whip up the cream. That said, it was delicious and we used it to top our coffee too. Note to lazy self - adding entire sticks of butter to Bain marie is not a time saver.

  • Barb_N on February 14, 2021

    I made this again for Valentine’s Day, without benefit of a grocery run. I was forced to use sour cream instead of whipping cream; ironically this kept its shape like I wished for back in 2017!

• Espresso loaf cake with burnt butter & coffee icing

  • MmeFleiss on August 29, 2019

    My cake was completely cooked at the 40 minute mark, so check your cake early.

• Turkish mocha pots

  • Foodycat on October 16, 2020

    Very simple! I made a half quantity and used powdered cardamom and cinnamon, used decaf instant coffee and skipped the straining step. The half quantity made 4 dainty portions. It's very good - a really good balance between chocolate and coffee with a faint hint of spice. Rich but not cloying - there's a good bitterness that comes through.

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