Notes about Recipes in this book

• Pearl couscous with anchovies, tomatoes and olives

  • westminstr on January 22, 2023

    I had to use whole wheat couscous & was short on canned tomatoes (just one cup) so also used 2 tbsp tomato paste. This was pretty easy, we have it a b+, not sure I would bother to make again though.

• Beetroot and lentil chilli

  • breadenthusiast on December 08, 2025

    Not wow, but it was an easy recipe for a weeknight dinner. The beetroot disappears in the chilli and indeed, even beetroot-haters enjoyed it.

• Carrot, lemon and tahini soup

  • westminstr on December 30, 2022

    My only change was to cook in the instant pot. I skipped the sautéing step, just cooked the roughly chopped veg in 4 cups water with 1tsp salt for 15 min at HP. Then puréed & seasoned as directed. It was delicious! I don’t normally like carrot soup but the tahini & lemon transformed it and added lush texture with no dairy. Easy too. My first from this book & it was a winner!

• Pasta with sauerkraut, caramelised onions and soured cream

  • snackbaby on July 09, 2023

    delicious and easy

• Meatballs with basil, cream and mustard

  • ccav on January 02, 2025

    Great flavor with basil/mustard. Sauce was a bit thin; next time don’t add entire amount of water, just add as needed. We used meatballs made from Rick Rodgers’ chafing dish meatball recipe (“I love meatballs “ book)

• Tomato and fennel risotto

  • westminstr on March 28, 2023

    This was quite good and everybody liked it or at least ate it. I adapted for instant pot as follows: 200g shallot, one large fennel bulb, 2 cups tomatoes, 2 cups water, spoonful of BTB, otherwise as directed. Sautéed onion, then added fennel, then rice, all liquids, made sure it’s well-seasoned. Cooked HP 6 minutes w quick release, then simmered to finish. Try 7 minutes next time. ETA: made again, 9/25. 7 minutes worked perfectly.

• Courgette pearl barley bowls with soured cream and dill

  • snackbaby on April 13, 2024

    love this! really simple but tasty dish. great for a week night.

  • breadenthusiast on January 15, 2026

    Enjoyed this and will make again! When seasoning it it tasted boring but with the sour cream and dill it really came together.

• Red lentil dal with lime

  • Apollonia on August 28, 2024

    Not the best dal I've ever made, but easy and tasty enough. I liked the lime - a full four tablespoons was great.

  • crowlands on February 17, 2026

    This is a great pantry recipe that comes together relatively quickly. The flavour didn’t blow me away but it was quite tasty and I’m sure leftovers will be delicious. All in all I would make it again.

• Back-of-the-net pasta: salmon pasta with crème fraîche, sun-dried tomatoes and spinach

  • andrew_hd6oa8 on April 14, 2026

    Loved it. We added green beans instead of spinach as my partner can’t have spinach. I think it could have been improved with a bit of chilli

• Tofu and greens with hot and sour chilli sauce

  • snackbaby on July 11, 2023

    made with napa cabbage instead of greens -- delightful, we both really loved this (served with brown rice)

• Korean soft tofu stew with mushrooms (Sundubu jjigae)

  • emstovall on January 30, 2023

    I used red cabbage instead of green and other than light purple tinge it seems to work.

  • westminstr on March 06, 2023

    This recipe turned out to be a hit with the whole family! I was surprised. I served with the kimchi cheddar muffins but would also be good with rice as suggested.

• Gnocchi with harissa butter and broccoli

  • westminstr on January 27, 2023

    This was a decent fast dinner. I used 1 package of gnocchi & 2 heads broccoli, upped the butter & harissa to 3 tbsp each. This made a good amount. For our family I think it would be better to roast everything with no parboiling so the gnocchi crisp on the bottom.

  • ChelseaP on March 29, 2023

    We really enjoyed this considering how simple it is to make and how few ingredients it uses. Happily surprised! A quick satisfying weeknight dinner.

  • breadenthusiast on June 20, 2025

    Probably the recipe I make the most out of this book! It's just a nice simple weeknight dish with plenty of veg. I usually roast some sunflower seeds (because they are cheap) for sprinkling on top. Sometimes when I'm not in the mood for spicy food I reduce the amount of harissa to one tablespoon, still tastes good.

• Eden rice with black beans and plantain

  • snackbaby on April 13, 2024

    liked: flavors really good, but perhaps a little on the dry side for my preferences.

• Gnocchi with chilli crisp oil, capers and Parmesan

  • annettle on October 18, 2022

    Delicious. Brilliant.

  • JessicaRFisher on February 09, 2023

    This is so easy and absolutely delicious. One to return to again and again. Nice with some steamed broccoli for some extra vitamins.

  • NatalyaM on October 02, 2024

    Tasted great with pumpkin gnocchi from Trader Joe's (a grocery store chain here in the U.S.). Excited to try this with plain gnocchi next. Served it with the cheesy kimchi cornbread muffins from the book.

• Roasting-tin orzo with broccoli and mozzarella

  • andrew_hd6oa8 on May 08, 2026

    Not all the orzo was cooked at the end so needed to add a bit more water and let it cook for a few minutes longer. Not sure if it’s my roasting tin or oven. I also felt it needed some Parmesan. It was lovely in the end though

• Mushroom and gochujang udon noodles

  • westminstr on February 04, 2023

    I really liked this (plus the leftovers) but I think the rest of the family wasn’t in love. I used 1 package udon, 2 packages sliced mushrooms and dressing as written & thought amounts worked well.

  • djnielsen64 on November 03, 2024

    Simple and tasty.

• Salted, malted, magic ice cream

  • eleanor_a29a0o on April 11, 2026

    Unbelievably easy and SO delicious

• One-tin smashed potatoes with lemony sardines and pesto

  • saladdays on January 29, 2026

    Cut this recipe down to a one portion size. It's very good, particularly the potatoes but takes quite a long time for a quite simple meal.

• Chilli-stewed greens with black-eyed beans

  • kristin_loj7ip on March 09, 2026

    The page numbers are wrong. Recipe is on pg. 117

• Fish fingers with Japanese curry and rice

  • kshell on July 01, 2023

    Will use this recipe for proportion of water:curry brick going forward. I thought it was perfectly salty as is despite even box directions using less water. Was originally going to make something similar in "A Splash of Soy" but after comparing I went with this to not have leftover curry brick. Addition of chopped apple is nice. Made with fish sticks.

• Buttered miso linguine with leeks

  • snackbaby on July 09, 2023

    am very fond of this pasta and make it regularly. I up the miso, though, and like using gochugaru for the chili flakes. I have used vegan coconut yoghurt instead of creme fraiche, which to my amazement worked really really well.

• Pea, mint and chilli toast with crispy paneer

  • breadenthusiast on May 02, 2026

    I can make this in ten minutes, it's filling and it has veg and it tastes great too. I usually make it with basil and halloumi, but have made it with parsley, dill, coriander and feta (not crisped), all taste good. I love this cookbook and these easy pantry recipes!

• Seeded rye cake with Demerara crust

  • Apollonia on November 18, 2021

    Love a good seed cake, and this was a very nice one. We really liked the additional crunch of the poppies and the demerara topping.

  • Lepa on February 12, 2022

    I love seed cakes and try every recipe I can find. This one is good but not my favorite (I LOVE Delia's).

  • snackbaby on July 09, 2023

    very fond of this cake, and works well as muffins as well.

• Orange, olive oil and black pepper cake

  • snackbaby on April 13, 2024

    good cake! black pepper adds a nice touch

• Lemon mochi squares

  • eclairea on July 06, 2025

    Nice but maybe too intensely lemony, if that’s possible somehow

• Spiced apple pudding with brown sugar crisp

  • Apollonia on September 18, 2023

    A basic but tasty and easy crisp, and best of all, used up a lingering bag of homemade bread heels in my freezer. I'll make this again.

• Jollof rice

  • kristin_loj7ip on March 15, 2026

    Wrong page, should be 178.

• Marbled chocolate and almond cake

  • westminstr on January 22, 2023

    We loved this cake! Came together quickly and was yum. Baked 25 minutes in 9 inch round, seemed about right. ETA: try 22 minutes on convection

• Salted chocolate chunk cookies, three ways: rosemary, dark chocolate and sea salt cookies

  • westminstr on June 30, 2024

    Yum! Easy and good (rosemary variation). Used flaky sea salt in the batter & on top

• Mince pies you can count on

  • Pimlicocook on December 10, 2023

    What took me so long to make mince pies from scratch? Simple and completely delicious, miles better than anything shop bought.

• Cheesy kimchi cornbread muffins

  • westminstr on March 06, 2023

    Made as directed & they turned out good - everybody liked them.

  • NatalyaM on October 02, 2024

    Made these with Jiffy mix because I had some on hand, and the recipe worked, but I look forward to making them from scratch next to understand the difference.

• Herb-packed courgette farinata

  • Pimlicocook on April 26, 2025

    Not like farinata I’ve made before - in the oven, and with a thick crust and almost creamy filling (see Elizabeth David recipe) - but easy, packed with veg, reheats well and gluten free. Will make again.

• Lemony green lentil soup

  • snackbaby on October 04, 2023

    great soup, and a reminder of the excellence of hardy greens (I use savoy cabbage) and lentils. I served it with a little parmesan grated on top. (edited to add I now make variations on this all the time: really a good back pocket recipe and super adaptable)

• Stuffed flatbreads, three ways: Mumbai chilli cheese filling

  • lhaddad7 on February 13, 2026

    This was a hit! Very easy and I’d definitely make again.

• Sauerkraut, potato and black pepper pierogi filling

  • snackbaby on July 09, 2023

    really loved this recipe, dough was great to work with and the filling was delicious. I did have quite some filling left over, but that was fine, just ate some of that on the side. they freeze super well and are a treat to have in the freezer.