• Idril on January 27, 2025

  Scotch bonnet broth - this was an interesting one. First of all the halloumi with coconut crumb is absolutely delicious. The scotch bonnet in the broth is great, but this was crying out for a bit more balance - a pinch of sugar and most importantly a splash of fish sauce for depth would do wonders here, with no extra effort or time. However the biggest problem I had is I’m just not convinced that the two elements - chilli SE Asian style broth and crumbed halloumi - actually worked together. I think it was the overt saltiness and bang of flavour from the halloumi. It was absolutely delicious but almost too much so - it made the broth taste bland by comparison (again this may be helped by some additions) but you can’t over season the broth or it will all be too salty. I feel I want to find another use for the coconut crisped halloumi - tacos maybe, where they could shine with some salad and a mild tortilla? - or alternatively use something else with the broth like coconut crumb tofu.

• Idril on January 27, 2025

  Umami mushrooms - interesting technique of marinating mushrooms and tofu in oyster sauce, soy and butter and then grilling them leaving the leftover juice behind to make a sauce. My problem was that there were a lot of slightly gross looking bits from the tofu and mushrooms left lingering in the juice, too much to sieve out, so I just made a new sauce on the pan and poured this over at the end - this was fine but made it a little harder to judge how much sauce to use (just taste test). In terms of sauce flavour, I found this quite aggressive and harsh and added a tbsp maple syrup at the end which made it much nicer and balanced out the harsh saltiness. It was nice but my go to buttery Asian mushroom dishes is still to roast them semi enclosed in foil with a bit helping of butter and miso in there. Nothing else needed - utterly delicious and less work than this one.

• Idril on January 27, 2025

  Caramelised honey and zaatar toastie - deliciously decadent! Would make again many times. Use a nice homemade seeded sourdough and it takes it to the next level, the earthy taste complements the zaatar and contrasts with the honey.

• Deja1 on January 12, 2025

  Spicy tuna rice bowl (p341) - Great way to use leftover rice for lunch and it takes less than 10 minutes to put together. Added edamame, avocado and nori sheets.

• Deja1 on December 20, 2024

  Caramelized Honey & Za’atar Cheese Toastie (p106) - So good and addictive! I’m already looking forward to making these again.

Notes about Recipes in this book

• Mum's emergency 10-minute dal

  • manifestoflove on March 19, 2026

    a nice base recipe. i added some diced potatoes and just cooked them and the lentils in the tomato/water mixture for longer instead of pre-boiling them. added some fenugreek & mustard seeds i bought for another dal recipe. had some coconut milk to finish so added a little of that too. made for a wonderful curry!

• Bombay fish finger sandwich

  • EmilyR on July 20, 2025

    I used pre breaded fish and drenched it in egg and bombay mix. For the tarter sauce that everyone was raving about it was ingredients as listed with atomic pickles and Penzey’s curry now. The mango chutney always reminds me of my honeymoon in the Maldives - same they served on the island (MD original mango chutney). It doesn’t say to toast the bread, but I would. This goes great with salt and vinegar chips and a cold beer like Pacifico. My husband deemed it one of the best things and that it needs to go to “the permanent file”.

• Caramelized honey & za'atar cheese toastie

  • EmilyR on July 18, 2025

    I have previously made za’atar cacio e pepe from Ottolengi’s Flavor, so I kind of knew what I was in for, but this is outstanding! I used aged honey cheddar and an alpenzellerkäse with hot honey. Use a little caution before tucking in because that sizzling honey is hot. Pairing with white peaches in the Summer is a chef’s kiss.

• Cheese & onion borek

  • Lsblackburn1 on February 10, 2026

    Delicious flavors, but I’m not sure it came out right. The filo split when I rolled these and even though I tried to patch it up, a lot of the the cheese came out during baking. They didn’t get super crisp either.

• Secret cheesy masala egg muffin

  • gootenbeez on November 25, 2025

    Delicious. Used spicewalla garam masala. I used 5 eggs for two sandwiches because our chickens are still young and laying small eggs. I feel like it is a lot of filling for and english muffin (a lot of egg fell out). Didn't have bacon but I could see that being very tasty. Didn't have tomatoes either. It wasn't a beautiful sandwich but it was tasty. Husband said it tasted like a sloppy joe made with eggs.

• Peanutty salsa macha noodles

  • EmilyR on July 20, 2025

    I went with the guajillo chillies, minced chicken, buckwheat noodles, and chunky peanut butter options. I already loved salsa macha - This reminds me of a peanut buttery dan dan noodle. A hit for kids and adults alike.

• Cabbage dumplings

  • shelbstirr on November 26, 2025

    These are fun! Easy to put together. I added some sugar to the dipping sauce and it is really good. I started with a half cabbage and ran out of leaves big enough so next time I would start with a whole cabbage.

• Fudgy banana bars

  • EmilyR on July 23, 2025

    I did a variation : black sugar (50g less, as well) and 1/2 tsp of cinnamon. Since this felt like an easy way to make it even easier I also blitzed it through the vitamix and then tapped the pan on the counter to get rid of the air bubbles. This was just OK. A bit mochi like. The frosting was far darker than in the book, so I got out a handmixer. I appreciated it wasn’t cloyingly sweet but the brown butter was the highlight. I added a splash of milk to make it easier to pipe.

• Emergency dumpling soup

  • Happykikkers on March 21, 2025

    Nov 23, 2024 - Came together extremely fast and will be going into my rotation for when I want something… Now! Made this lots of times since then.

  • katmagdunn on December 20, 2025

    I’ve made this many many times now. It really is a lifesaver and possible to make even if you feel near death….!

• Bursting cherry tomato & harissa pasta

  • Happykikkers on May 06, 2025

    This was good. Quick to come together and tasty. The egg yolk adds a nice richness to the sauce.

• Tomato & peanut udon

  • Happykikkers on March 21, 2025

    Nov 23, 2024 - Good flavour to time spent ratio. Used spaghetti cooked with baking soda in a pinch, but will try with udon next time.