Notes about Recipes in this book

• Aegean giant couscous salad

  • sarahj22 on August 03, 2025

    A nice side - every mouthful is interesting. I omitted the chickpeas and pine nuts and used coriander instead of mint/parsley. I wondered about the lack of dressing (just lemon zest and juice plus oil) but with strong ingredients like olives, halloumi, dill and sun dried tomatoes, the dressing'a simplicity really works. I served with lamb merguez sausages, salad leaves and a spoonful of yogurt which was a nice match.

  • Pamsy on August 10, 2025

    Used maize couscous (gf) omitted halloumi and olives as it was for Nicky's bbq. As sarahj22 says, every mouthful is interesting and it would have been even better with the salty black olives. Went down very well with guests at the bbq. As written this would easily serve 8 as a side dish alongside other salads. Definite repeat.

• Beetroot & pomegranate salad

  • Lepa on March 02, 2024

    This is good but not my favorite Middle Eastern beet salad recipe. Making it with vacuum packed beets made this quick and easy.

  • annacatdog1 on December 29, 2024

    It was okay but I won’t make again (and beetroot is my favourite)

• Chicken shawarma salad

  • KarinaFrancis on November 14, 2023

    All the good bits from a kebab in salad form, loved it! I added a bit of sumac to the onions for an extra touch. Definitely going to go on repeat

  • Lepa on December 08, 2023

    This was a healthy and yummy dinner, very easy to put together. We liked it.

  • Soulkitchenjen on May 09, 2024

    This was good chicken, but the salad portion was lacking big time. Boring as all get out.

• Nectarine, halloumi & cucumber salad with cashews

  • KarinaFrancis on January 21, 2024

    A lovely, fresh summery salad. It relies heavily on beautiful nectarines (of course you could use peaches). A couple of substitutions- my beloved doesn’t go for halloumi so I torched some feta instead and discovered too late that my mint had expired so I used some basil from the garden, it worked but I think mint would be better

• Roasted vegetable & mixed bean salad with herb dressing

  • Soulkitchenjen on May 12, 2025

    Very good and very healthy. Needs a little more salt and lemon than what it calls for. More than enough dressing (which is always my concern with these things).

• Tuna, tomato & borlotti bean salad

  • veronicafrance on June 23, 2025

    We left out the dried tomatoes for the good reason that we didn’t have any, used EVOO instead of the tomato oil, but used very good quality Spanish jarred tuna. The dried tomatoes would have given it more punch, but it was a decent and very easily put together salad.

• Warm orzo, black-eyed bean & herb salad

  • Lepa on March 02, 2024

    This was really easy and the kids especially loved it. I was a bit skeptical about adding tomato paste and raw garlic to the orzo but it worked and was delicious (I did add a fair amount of olive oil and salt to balance the flavors). I will definitely add this to the rotation.

  • sarahj22 on April 21, 2024

    Thanks to Lepa's note for bringing this recipe to my attention! Really easy and delicious with an abundance of fresh herbs. I've made it twice so far and plan to make it regularly over the spring and summer. I omitted the chives and served with the turmeric fried chicken from the same book and some salad leaves, which was a nice match.

  • sarahj22 on November 15, 2024

    This is still a favourite and a great one to bulk out with more veg for cold packed lunches. I reduce the amount of orzo and add a tin of butter beans, then when cool add to tupperware with chopped baby plum tomato, cucumber, red/green pepper and salad leaves. Delicious.

• Tamarind prawn vermicelli with orange & pomegranate & herbs

  • Maefleur on April 26, 2024

    Use closer to a pound of shrimp. My dressing was quite thick so I thinned with a bit of water. Delicious flavor combination.

• Curried cheese & potato puffs

  • Lsblackburn1 on January 01, 2026

    Tasty accompaniment for tomato soup! Easy to make ahead and bake later. I think they’d be great with a cilantro chutney- definitely are samosa-ish.

• Tamarind chicken wings

  • Maefleur on March 25, 2024

    They lost a bit of their crispiness once tossed with the sauce, but yummy sweet and sour wings!

  • KarinaFrancis on April 25, 2024

    Loved the sauce, sticky, sweet and tangy. The wings crisped up beautifully but next time I might pull back a bit on the bicarb even if it means sacrificing some of the crispiness.

  • Lsblackburn1 on April 29, 2024

    These were crispy and delicious. So easy to make!

  • Cvtbird on August 03, 2025

    Chicken falls off the bone. I might cook the sauce a little longer til it is thicker. Really good taste and very easy to make.

• Minced lamb & cheddar tortillas

  • Happykikkers on December 21, 2024

    Very easy. Don’t skip the harissa-yoghurt dip. It really adds a fresh note and more flavour.

  • Sugoosygee on February 08, 2026

    Easy lunch, which we all enjoyed. I spooned away much of the lamb fat (there was lots) and feel I removed too much. The recipe says to heat the tortilla in a dry pan, but it needed some fat or oil to moisten and look like the picture.

• My sweet, salty & sublime BHT

  • treay on July 29, 2025

    Another easy meal for Sunday dinner. I had some halloumi in the fridge that needed to be eaten and found this very tasty recipe. It took nothing to cook and it was delish. I used toasted Turkish bread rolls instead of pitta bread but followed the recipe for the rest of the ingredients: fried tomato slices with oregano, bacon, halloumi and tomato sauce with homemade rose harissa. Sooo good!

• Chicken, apricot, orange & almond tagine

  • veronicafrance on June 05, 2024

    Appreciated by everyone. I added half a preserved lemon cut into small dice, for a bit of acidity.

  • Lsblackburn1 on March 11, 2025

    Very easy - mostly hands off — and tasty. Served over couscous.

• Lamb, dried fig & preserved lemon tagine

  • Jane on April 18, 2024

    This is so good. There are a lot of dried figs so you need to be OK with sweet fruit with meat, which I am. The preserved lemons and barberries give pops of tartness to offset the sweetness. It takes about 2.5 hours (mostly hands-off) from start to finish so plan accordingly. I served it with Cheat's zereshk polow.

• My ultimate mince & aubergines

  • PickyPalateMom on April 04, 2024

    This was swoon-worthy delicious and dead easy. The three core parts of the dish - the unctuous, savoury eggplant, the spicy beef, and the cooling yogurt topping - work together to make a fantastic whole. I did the baked version of the eggplant and it was so flavourful and tender. I toasted cumin seeds and ground them first, and used smoked paprika.

• Tavuk güveç

  • Astrid5555 on December 03, 2023

    New family favorite, made twice already. Just mash the potatoes that were cooked in the same pot as well into the sauce afterwards, at least this is what my kids did and they liked it a lot.

  • kari500 on January 25, 2025

    This was very pleasant on a cold evening. Not especially exciting, but very nice. Served over polenta.

• Charred broccoli with lemons, chillies & yogurt

  • KarinaFrancis on April 22, 2024

    A great side dish to have in your back pocket. I roasted the broccoli while I was roasting some chicken and I got the nice charred bits.

• Spicy tahini & honey-roasted aubergines

  • et12 on October 27, 2023

    I loved how easy it was to put this together and the flavours are nice. I used the maple syrup instead of honey. The paste was easy to spread over the aubergine and looked good. I think i would prefer salting the aubergine instead of the paste next time.

• Samosa pasta

  • gamulholland on March 27, 2024

    I went light on the pepper flakes as always because of my family, but otherwise cooked it as directed, and it was delicious. My kids thought it was like Cincinnati chili with an Indian flair. :) Also, easy for a weeknight.

  • Lsblackburn1 on April 23, 2024

    Very easy and tasty. I used a pound of ground beef and a whole box of pasta but the other amounts were as written. This seemed fine! I think I’d try it with lamb if I made it again.

• Cheat’s zereshk polow

  • Jane on April 18, 2024

    She does warn not to overcook the basmati but I wasn't paying enough attention and mine was a bit too soft so I didn't get the distinct saffron tinted grains in the finished dish. Still good though. I used half the suggested amount of sugar and it was still a little sweet for me. I served it with the lamb tagine and it was a really good combination.

• Harissa, tahini & lamb spaghetti

  • KarinaFrancis on April 24, 2024

    Yum! Yum! Yum! This was a flavour bomb, we both loved it. Taste before adding salt because of the soy. Will go on repeat!

  • sarahj22 on May 07, 2024

    This was incredible! Thanks to KarinaFrancis's note for bringing this recipe to my attention. I agree it doesn't need any salt because of the soy. I used a 350g pack of lamb mince rather than 500g (keeping all other quantities the same) but it still felt like a nice quantity of meat. The author says it needs no accompaniment and she's right, but I served with garlic bread and salad. That meant it served three of us generous portions with two large portions of leftovers too. I crushed the garlic and omitted the sesame seeds. A very low effort dish for great returns, this will definitely make it onto regular rotation. Yum!

  • tarae1204 on May 10, 2024

    We all loved this. It’s not spicy, just full-flavored. Very easy to make, easier than most bolognese sauces.

  • jenburkholder on February 04, 2025

    I will try this again with changes. I was certain tahini was in the house but could not find it - so subbed chinese sesame paste (may have been problem #1). Then had to use GF spaghetti but should have used a short pasta, given GF noodles and their inability to stay whole when stirred. My end dish had pasta size reminiscent of a can of spaghetti-os. Sigh. Taste was good, not great, but I like the idea and would try again. Maybe more harissa? Hubs said maybe the sauce over something else, rice or potatoes, but that may have been just due to the fail of the GF noods.

  • olliestephen_tijtsc on April 18, 2026

    Definitely a favourite in our house when lamb is on offer!

• Sweet & spicy crunchy aubergines

  • KarinaFrancis on April 30, 2024

    I was too lazy to deal with frying eggplant so I decided to roast them instead, I lost the crispiness but it turned out luscious, sweet and spicy. Perfect with bbq lamb sausages

• Spiced coconut chicken & noodle stew

  • sarahj22 on July 03, 2024

    This was simple and very tasty. The recipe implies to leave the chicken thighs whole and cook for an hour but I chopped them into bitesize pieces, which reduced the cooking time and made them easier to eat within the stew. My two year old loved this. I was conservative with the harissa and salt, and instead of beanspouts used pak choi (chopped and placed in the bottom of each bowl before adding the noodles and stew). The flavour is fairly mild but the salt, coriander and lime juice added at the end really lift it. A definite repeat. Flavour is fast becoming my go-to cookbook for easy and delicious midweek meals.

• Nimroo mirzai

  • Happykikkers on July 09, 2024

    Easy breakfast. Both my husband and I liked it a lot. Not sure if it really does serve 4 or we are just big eaters (or my eggs were too small), because we cleared out the pan in no time at all… Didn’t have enough tomato paste but did have extra fresh tomatoes, so it evened each other out.

• Feta, basil & strawberry cheesecake cups

  • Happykikkers on July 09, 2024

    Made a version with and without the basil, because I wasn’t sure my husband would like it with the basil. Joke’s on me because I’m not sure if I was a fan of the basil but my husband loved his version without and even asked if we still had some left later in the week. Will make again.

• Afghani polow

  • Lsblackburn1 on September 09, 2024

    This didn’t really work for me. I probably got the cooking technique wrong for the rice, but it came out kind of mushy and just not that flavorful.

• Traybaked spicy chickpeas & aubergines with yogurt & herbs

  • Lsblackburn1 on January 19, 2025

    Easy and delicious, but I did roast it for about 20 minutes more than the recipe called for. I served these as a side for lamb chops. Had the yogurt on the side; we spread that on flatbread and then the eggplant and chickpeas on top.

• Tomato & feta fritters

  • KarinaFrancis on November 01, 2025

    Sadly these were a failure for us. They fell apart into a big gloopy mess and I had to throw out the first batch. I added an egg and some more flour to the remaining batter and managed a few fritters.

• Creamy spiced sausage pasta

  • nomeshk on February 17, 2026

    Creamy, easy, delicious. Added some baby spinach because I was too lazy to cook greens separately! Quite spicy, so would consider reducing the quantity of chilli flakes if cooking for someone with a low spice tolerance.

  • olliestephen_tijtsc on April 18, 2026

    Excellent winter warmer