• dc151 on March 20, 2020

  I have made the chraime, and, as another poster mentioned, the fish took much longer to cook than the directions stated. But wonderful flavor! I've made the yogurt challah bread, which is wonderful. The babka version is in the oven as i type.

• DKennedy on December 14, 2019

  Attended Lior's dinner at Manuela on December 12th, 2019. What an incredible experience. I think this is his most approachable book so far - all EYBers should read up on Lior and his line of spices and books if they are not already familiar. I'm a fan (obviously)!

• blintz on November 16, 2019

  CHRAIME: Seafood in Tomato sauce. Made this with almost 2-inch thick hake loin tonight and it was wonderful! After the fish was added to the fabulously spicy, tomato-y lemony sauce, it did take 12 minutes instead of 5, but those were thick filets. Next time I’ll rub less spice on top of the fish because it was a bit grainy. Definitely repeating for company.

Notes about Recipes in this book

• Smoky chickpeas with garlic and ginger

  • DKennedy on March 04, 2020

    Made these as a component recipe for our supper club. The spices really make a difference in the taste of the cooked beans.

• Crisp fried chickpeas with ajowan and amchoor

  • DKennedy on March 04, 2020

    Made these for supper club. They were tasty, but I think I prefer the Dinner recipe for sheet pan chicken.

• Cumin and garlic hummus

  • DKennedy on March 04, 2020

    Made this to use up excess amounts of cooked chickpeas. I haven't made a lot of hummus in my life, but I think the ratio of tahini to chickpeas is off - too much tahini imo. I think I'd opt for a thinner more acidic hummus in the future. Still, I loved the spice aspect and would add this to my usual humus.

• Eggplant and olive baked penne with feta

  • DKennedy on February 03, 2020

    We picked this book for both our supper clubs this month, so I am getting an early start and trying out some recipes in advance. This one was first on the list. Super easy to put together, a perfect choice for a busy weeknight. I loved the tip about seasoning the pasta water with the spice blend, I will do that from now on. The pasta, straight out of the water, was tasty. I do think next time I would tent the pasta while it bakes and then take it off the last few minutes. I would also add some more pizzaz to the tomato base. Maybe sautéed garlic or onions?

• Baked white beans with feta and spiced panko bread crumbs

  • DKennedy on March 04, 2020

    Made this for my supper club entree. I think the beans were better before the addition of the panko and feta. Next time, I would cut way back on the toppings. The base bean recipe is outstanding.

• Bay leaf and garlic roasted chicken with savory and paprika

  • DKennedy on February 16, 2020

    Made this chicken as a component of the chicken soup with amchoor. The cooking times were way off but otherwise very good flavor. First time trying silan (date syrup).

• Chicken and white bean soup with turmeric and amchoor

  • DKennedy on February 16, 2020

    My first introduction to amchoor. This made a wonderful soup. I added kale.

• Cardamom and cinnamon banana bread with poppy seeds

  • DKennedy on March 04, 2020

    Carol made this and 3 other breads for supper club. This was my favorite.

  • dc151 on November 25, 2020

    So good! Great texture. Banana was a bit subtle for my tastes but spice blend was nice. I didn’t have poppy seeds so subbed in nigella seeds. Added chocolate chips on top. I doubled it and baked in two different pans - the glass one took quite a bit longer than the directions.

• Apple and prune crème fraîche clafoutis with nutmeg and allspice

  • DKennedy on March 04, 2020

    Made this for dessert Monday night and it was a huge hit. I made a few modifications: I cut down the amount of nutmeg to 1 teaspoon. I added lemon zest to the custard. I substituted Pear de Pear liqueur in place of the rum and I added the step of soaking the prunes in hot water for 5 minutes, draining, then soaking in the liqueur for 30 minutes. I think the custard could have been looser so next time I might try 2 eggs.

  • kshell on October 04, 2023

    I needed to use up a lot of sour cream and this fit the bill. It was also excellent! I balked at the amount of rum but it cooked off very quickly.

• Cod simmered in turmeric-coriander tomato sauce

  • Astrid5555 on December 26, 2019

    This was very good! Next time I would use less of the spice mix on the fish and just add it to the sauce since it made the fish fillets a little grainy as noted already by the other reviewer. Omitted the lemon in the sauce because of husband’s citrus aversion in savory dishes.

  • dc151 on March 21, 2020

    Wow, the flavor of this sauce was amazing! The only thing I would change is the lemon rind is chewy in diced pieces. Maybe either grate it or put it in a food processor? The fish did take significantly longer to cook through, so be patient if you have a thicker cut.

• Sumac roasted vegetables with fennel seeds

  • Astrid5555 on December 26, 2019

    Delicious! Made as a side dish for Christmas dinner. Savory, sweet and spicy at the same time. Used shallots, Brussels sprouts, purple heirloom carrots, celery root and sweet potatoes, perfect mixture of vegetables.

• Coriander and black pepper chicken breasts with balsamic glaze

  • meggan on April 13, 2020

    I don't know how this was boring but it kind of was.

• Feta-stuffed meatballs with green olives

  • br22 on May 30, 2020

    Reduce the amount of salt called for in the master recipe to 1 1/4tsp when using the feta and olives. Otherwise, delicious. For my oven, bake for 18 minutes and broil for 5.

• Smoky cumin and chipotle carrot soup

  • lean1 on April 15, 2020

    Made this today. I love the spice mix . I left out the peppercorns because I didn't have any, but it was very flavorful. Easy to make easy to blend. 3 minutes in the blender is enough. I will use the leftover for a carrot pasta sauce tomorrow!

• Tunisian braised white beans with charred spinach, fennel, and cumin

  • jdjd99 on January 22, 2024

    Super flavorful, and will definitely make again with some modifications. In spite of following directions, including soaking, my Rancho Gordo cassoulet beans took more than two hours to cook. I wondered if this was from adding salt and acid early in the cooking process. I generally haven’t had that issue with Rancho Gordo beans before.

• Golden turmeric challah with nigella seeds

  • dc151 on March 21, 2020

    I really liked this recipe. Clear to follow the directions, which was nice since this was the first bread I've ever made. I've made it with both yogurt and labne, not sure it made that much of a difference. I cooked it a minute or so less than the directions indicated. Edited to add that I have made this over and over, it's consistently turned out fabulously.

• Hazelnut chocolate babka with nutmeg

  • dc151 on March 21, 2020

    After mastering the base recipe for Challah bread, I decided to try this recipe out during corona-virus inspired downtime. My only complaint is that you have to turn the pages back and forth because this is a variation of the master recipe (for turmeric challah). I didn't cover the top quickly enough, so the top was a little darker than I would've liked by the time the loaf was cooked through, but really amazing flavors! It did take a long time, but I'm new to baking and I'm sure I'll be faster next time.

• Kitchn

  Leave it to a literal spice master to write the latest home cook’s guide to spices...Lior Lev Sercarz, renowed spice expert and owner of NYC spice shop La Boîte, is the right person for the job.

  Full review