Notes about Recipes in this book

• Matbucha

  • Yildiz100 on August 23, 2018

    Delicious. A nice way to add make ahead vegetable dish to a meal. I am just not sure if the 2 to 3 hours of simmering time is really necessary. I have made quicker recipes for matbucha in the past, and I remember that they were good-just can't remember if they were AS good. Will need to compare!

• Labneh

  • joneshayley on January 08, 2020

    Wonderfully easy and delicious. Don’t know why I’ve been substituting with yoghurt for so long when it’s this easy to do

• Mahkuda with harissa

  • raybun on September 17, 2017

    I'm a bit perplexed by the ingredient list on EYB as it's very different from the one in the book (no peppers, paprika, caraway seeds, chillis etc). Needless to say it was delicious, if not a little tricky to manipulate when flipping over. Get those slices thin if you don't have a mandoline. Great flavour, and leftovers were great for midweek lunches.(Photo)

  • wester on September 18, 2017

    @raybun: the ingredient list on EYB probably also includes the ingredients for the harissa. I do agree this can sometimes be confusing.

• Chicken shawarma with Jerusalem and Lebanese spices

  • Yildiz100 on August 02, 2018

    Subbed breast for thighs. This was very tasty and turned out to have a great texture. Smelled very cinnamon heavy (husband called it Christmas chicken) but the flavors were good in the end. Bonus, it only requires 5 minutes on the stove. Perfect to make in hot weather.

• Baharat spiced chicken

  • raybun on September 17, 2017

    This is another excellent chicken recipe from one of my most recent aquisitions, Fress. The cumin, coriander, baharat & sumac give the chicken thighs a wonderfully fragrant flavour, but the preserved lemons and onion sauce really makes this dish. (Photo)

  • TrishaCP on June 07, 2021

    We also enjoyed this dish. Please let your chicken marinate overnight- I only had 3 hours and it could have gone longer. Also, serve it with something to sop up all of the delicious sauce.

• Chicken and pistachio meatballs with cilantro tahini

  • raybun on September 17, 2017

    This was an excellent recipe. The texture of the meatballs was just perfect and held up well during baking. I used panko instead of matzo meal but otherwise followed the recipe. The coriander tahini sauce was divine, don't skip this part! (Photo)

  • hirsheys on September 09, 2018

    This recipe did not disappoint. Super delicious, even though I had to make a few replacements/omissions. Notes: The recipes didn't say what size onion, so instead of 1/2 of one I used one whole small one, I also used panko because my matzo meal was stale and couldn't get fresh tarragon so I used a few pinches of dried. Next time I would definitely also use the pomegranate seeds... The whole meal was pretty simple to make, all in all, and most of the clean up happened while the meatballs were roasting, which is such a win! The final dish was also super delightful - the green meatballs are quite nutty and moist on their own, but the sauce also adds a lot. This recipe makes me excited to try other ones from the book!

• Seared duck breast with a black za'atar crust and braised Puy lentils

  • joneshayley on January 14, 2020

    An unusual and beautiful recipe. The crust on the duck is great (though I have lots left over) and the lentils are very flavourful- even though I used tinned. A delicious meal.

  • TrishaCP on October 23, 2021

    This is a great tasting dish- but the recipe instructions could be improved. There is too much spice blend for the duck- you don’t need that much. (Half of what is called for should be plenty.) The black sesame seeds are tasty, but since they made the spice blend blackish, it was pretty hard to see if the duck is cooking properly or scorching. I had to scrape off some of the crust to test. Also, the lentils need much longer cooking time than specified-at least mine did. Having said all this, the flavors are really lovely together- it seems like a lot of fennel but it’s not!

• Lamb shank tagine

  • Foodycat on October 15, 2018

    I added the rind of a couple of preserved lemon at the same time as the black garlic, since I didn't have any dried lime powder. It's a very good tagine - not too sweet, very aromatic, lovely melting lamb shanks.

• Sea bass over spiced chickpeas with confit cherry tomatoes and Moroccan pesto

  • kari500 on August 04, 2018

    Delicious and really easy (especially with canned chickpeas). Lots of flavors going on here. I halved the amount of preserved lemon (which can be too strong for me), and thought it was perfect chermoula.

• Sticky pomegranate salmon

  • Yildiz100 on April 05, 2018

    Really delicious. The shorter baking time of 8 mins was just about perfect for my 125 gram filets. I didn't time the sear phase but just flipped them when they would release from the pan but 2 mins was probably about right. Used homemade pomegranate molasses which is more sour and less sweet than a lot of commmercial brands. If using sweet commercial pom molasses I would reduce the sugar at least by half, but with my pom molasses no alterations were needed. Pom molasses seems to hold in the moisture and gives the fish a great texture.

  • TrishaCP on October 23, 2021

    Simple and delicious. I agree with Yildiz100 that it makes sense to keep an eye on the sweetness level based on your preferences. I used the “Just Pomegranate Molasses” brand and the called for sugar, and I thought it was great that way.

• Salmon and sweet potato fishcakes with lime za'atar yogurt

  • Yildiz100 on December 11, 2018

    The salmon cakes were fine and the yogurt sauce was quite tasty, but they did not go well together at all. After eating a bit of it I gave up and mixed some Sriracha mayo, which I always like with sweet potatoes. This was better, but not good enough to make this a favorite. They were also quite soft and very messy to make. The cakes needed to be fried a bit longer than directed to ensure they were hot through.

• Moroccan spiced monkfish with fennel, leek, and cream sauce

  • Yildiz100 on June 14, 2018

    Another delicious, though not my favourite, recipe from this book. Very easy too. Followed pretty closely but subbed cod for monkfish. Husband raved about the sauce but I thought it was missing something. I think maybe a bit more acidity would help. I loved the fennel here, to my surprise. The texture was very nice. I do wish she either gave a recipe for, or recommended favourite brands of ras el hanout. I flipped through several and they vary wildly, so the choice can definitely affect the final product. I ended up making the ras el hanout from Mediterranean Feasts for this recipe. It is heavy on the cinnamon but that compliments the fennel nicely.

  • Kduncan on February 03, 2022

    The sauce was the star here, it was really good. I didn't pick up that much of the spice rub on the fish which was pretty disappointing. Would probably make again with a fish like cod that seems to pick up spice rubs better.

• Hot red bell pepper fish stew

  • Yildiz100 on April 22, 2018

    Subbed olive oil for the canola oil since this is an oily dish and I don't enjoy the taste of canola oil. Didn't care for the cilantro here. Now I use parsley instead and with parsley this is one of my all time fav meals. Cook times were just right for the 140 gram fillets of cod. It sounds like a long time to cook fish, but with the oiliness of the sauce, somehow it really makes the final texture just right.

• Schupfnudeln with creamy mushroom sauce

  • Yildiz100 on January 24, 2018

    Delicious but makes a lot. Leftovers keep well, but halve recipe to save time. Cooking all this in batches takes forever.

  • danielis on March 06, 2018

    These are so delicious. Fried little potato dumplings in a rich homey mushroom sauce - the sauce itself over pasta or rice is delicious. The schupfnudeln freeze well.

• Spicy mushroom and cashew rice

  • Yildiz100 on July 05, 2020

    This recipe calls for too much water. I reduced mine to 350 ml and it was still a bit soggy. Ingredients are added to the pan in a strange order, which means some things get scorched while others are under cooked. I would not, for example, add the powdered turmeric until almost time to add the water next time.

• Fennel and potato latkes with lemon and chive aïoli

  • joneshayley on April 18, 2020

    Good recipe for latkes but not enough fennel for it to shine through. I’d make this but omit the fennel- as an expensive veg it’s not adding anything that the seeds don’t. The texture is perfect and they cooked exactly as described

  • Yildiz100 on May 05, 2021

    Very good. (I didn't make the aioli.) I agree that the fennel didn't shine through but I would still use it if I happened to have it on hand. I reduced the salt but next time I think the full amount is ok.

• New potato and egg salad with spicy cucumbers

  • Foodycat on July 25, 2018

    Not life changing but good. Very few ingredients, so it really comes down to how good they are. I used baby new potatoes and I didn't bother peeling them, as they were so tiny.

• Pan-fried cauliflower with caramelized red onions, toasted Israeli couscous, and almonds

  • meggan on May 03, 2023

    cheated and used jarred caramelized onions. This is good but the idea that it serves 6 is ludicrous.

• Israeli "chik chak" salad

  • Yildiz100 on August 02, 2018

    I have made a version of this salad for years but this is the first time I followed a recipe. I had doubts about the olives and the generous black pepper. Loved the olives, but not the pepper. Ruins the freshness of a cucumber heavy salad. Fortunately I had separated a small portion to test with the pepper so I didn't ruin the whole thing.

• Aunty Rochele's cabbage salad

  • Yildiz100 on August 03, 2018

    Delicious. Next time try without the pine nuts. Thought they were a little overwhelming.

• Apple and cinnamon muffins

  • Yildiz100 on April 22, 2018

    Just meh. Too heavy on the buttermilk. Over all this seemed like a filler recipe.

• Ms Marmite Lover

  She's honest about her homely food - portions err on the generous and plating is something she had to learn on MasterChef.

  Full review