• Hellyloves2cook on April 14, 2012

  A great collection of tasty recipes.

• RosieB on September 25, 2011

  One of my many favourites from this book. A must make!

Notes about Recipes in this book

• Ricotta pastries with mint and peas

  • Hellyloves2cook on April 05, 2013

    Made several times over the last few years to take to events. Extremely easy to make and always appreciated by friends and family. They are really nice.

• Spicy lamb and pine nut fingers with pomegranate sauce

  • KarinaFrancis on May 31, 2020

    We made these a few weeks ago and had them in the freezer for a night we didn’t want big dinner, they freeze very well! The filling is nicely spiced and sweet, and the pastry crunchy. I only got 15 rolls but I think mine might be “chubbier” than they should be.

• Hard boiled egg curry with spinach, tomato, ginger and yoghurt

  • e_ballad on April 18, 2018

    I wasn’t expecting much of a reception from my family with this dish, but they all gave glowing verdicts. On the table in 30 mins, this was very easy & very tasty.

• Braised peas with cos lettuce and mint

  • KarinaFrancis on January 07, 2014

    Great side dish with roast chicken. I reduced the amount of stock so that it glazed faster.

• Paella with chicken, prawns, chorizo and capsicum

  • Hellyloves2cook on April 05, 2013

    Well what can I say ...this is truly truly tasty- a dinner party splendor.My husband cooks this in his paella pan and when brought to the table gets everyone salivating. A great recipe.

• Pasta with confit of zucchini, peas, garlic and spinach

  • Hellyloves2cook on April 05, 2013

    We love this in our family. We don't always add the spinach in- just depends if we have it around. Great for when courgettes are plentiful. Again husband likes to make this.

• Rigatoni with roasted cauliflower, saffron, currants, pine nuts and caramelised onion

  • e_ballad on July 23, 2017

    Whilst I loved this, unfortunately it won't be on high rotation as this opinion wasn't shared by the rest of my family. There is a whole lot going on, but I thought the flavours well complemented each other. I can't wait to be home alone to have this again!

• Marinated chicken with cinnamon, garlic and rosewater

  • KarinaFrancis on January 07, 2014

    This is delicious. It works in the oven, although you don't get the deep char of the picture. If you're not a fan of rosewater, halve the amount. Update: made again on the bbq, delicious!!

• Syrian chicken with ginger, lemon and saffron

  • ciel on September 20, 2011

    So, so delicious!

  • PiaOC on July 29, 2013

    I used 2 tablespoons of oil instead of 100ml and this was still amazing.

  • Lizzzzy on September 24, 2016

    Delicious, can use chicken thighs to feed the multitudes

• Noodle soup with chicken balls and corn

  • e_ballad on June 28, 2019

    This was really quite bland, despite the aromatics. The author has a recipe for a much more interesting soup containing similar ingredients in another cookbook.

• Beef short ribs in fragrant Thai sauce

  • teaparty on June 10, 2015

    Way too much sugar, but otherwise the recipe has great Thai flavours

• Braised honey, soy and ginger spare ribs

  • RosieB on February 27, 2015

    Theses are so simple to make and so tasty. I have made them many times. I usually cook for longer with the lid off to really brown them before serving.

  • e_ballad on June 04, 2019

    Incredibly easy to prepare: simply chuck in a cast iron casserole pot & cook for 1.5 hours. Done. A lot of flavour for minimal effort.

  • Sparkles75 on July 27, 2019

    First time cooking ribs. The flavour was really lovely but not really something I would make again. I dont think it was the fault of the recipe but found them just a bit too fatty to enjoy.

• Egg, leek and bacon pies

  • e_ballad on November 01, 2016

    Very quick & really tasty. Used a jumbo muffin tin, which made 6x pies, with the cooking time actually unchanged. Did made half with goat cheese & half with blue cheese.

• Mum's Wiener schnitzel

  • Cvryan on September 29, 2011

    Great flavours - used fresh mint rather than dried - still tasted good. Served with tomato salad

• Pea and ham soup

  • RosieB on May 28, 2016

    As usual, Karen Martini does not let me down. This would have to be the best pea and ham soup recipe I have made, and I have made a lot! The addition of the tomatoes, barley and fresh herbs make all the difference. I also used a free range smoked ham hock which added to the flavour.

  • e_ballad on March 12, 2017

    True stick-to-your-ribs fare. Really tasty & really filling, a real meal in itself. Yum.

  • Queenotisblue on June 10, 2022

    Suggest substituting stock (e.g. chicken or vegetable) for the water to bolster the flavour. Otherwise the soup, while very hearty, is underwhelming flavour-wise. The addition of the pearl barley lightens the soup slightly, when compared to a traditional pea & ham soup, which I like.

• Moorish pork skewers with orange and smoked paprika

  • e_ballad on January 02, 2017

    Used this as a last minute back-up when another pork marinade dish failed miserably. This was ok, but nothing too much more than that. Despite the ingredients, the flavours didn't really shine.

• Florentine biscuits

  • KarinaFrancis on August 29, 2021

    These are yummy and very easy to make as they use condensed milk instead of any tricky sugar work. I used egg rings as moulds and ended up with 30 Florentines

• Mandarin ice-cream with Campari and orange granita

  • KarinaFrancis on June 28, 2015

    I only made the mandarin ice cream. It's tangy, delicious and has a really great texture. I found taking to the mandarins with a peeler too difficult so I used a micro plane and used the zest from 10. Note on quantity: makes less than 1ltr

• Sticky date pudding with caramel sauce

  • e_ballad on July 10, 2016

    I always use an oven thermometer & this took closer to 40 mins to cook, rather than the 25 mins in the recipe. Very easy to whip up, with seconds had by all!

  • Juleslovesgoldies on March 11, 2026

    Love this recipe, a family favourite. Also agree that it does take longer to cook than the time specified.

• Chestnut flour and honey rosemary cake with pine nuts

  • e_ballad on July 16, 2018

    Very nice cake with a lovely soft crumb & an interesting flavour combination of pine nuts & rosemary within this dessert.