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227 recipes
A creamy, smoky dip of baked aubergine blended with tahini dip, yogurt, lemon juice, garlic, a touch of chilli and olive oil. Sprinkled with parsley, it is perfect with toasted pitta or a plate of vegetable sticks as a starter or part of a mezze spread.
Crumbly, buttery biscuit dough is rolled out, spread with a soft date filling flavoured with cinnamon and lemon, rolled into logs, sliced and baked into pretty pinwheels. They make a big batch of 50 and keep well in an airtight tin. Serve with tea, or with ice cream as a dessert.
Tamia is the Egyptian cousin of falafel: soaked raw chickpeas are ground with dill, coriander, onion, garlic, chilli and cumin, shaped into small patties, coated with sesame seeds and deep-fried until crisp and golden outside and green and fluffy inside. Serve hot with coconut and tamarind chutneys, or tuck them into pitta with salad.
Soft dates cooked briefly in butter with cardamom, shaped around a fried almond and rolled in desiccated coconut. A simple no-bake sweet that is rich, chewy and naturally sweet, perfect for festive trays and with coffee. Makes about 40.
A fragrant Middle Eastern rice pilaf: rice simmered in vegetable stock with onion, garlic, chilli and cumin, then finished with golden vermicelli and pine nuts toasted in butter, sweet currants and fresh parsley. Serve warm with cacık.
A full falafel meal: crisp chickpea fritters flavoured with fenugreek, spinach, chilli and ginger are stuffed into pitta pockets spread with hummus and tahini, then packed with a crunchy cabbage, cucumber and carrot salad and a fiery home-made red chilli sauce. Serve with green, red and tamarind chutneys.
Ma'amoul are delicate shortbread-like pastries made for Eid and Easter across the Middle East. A soft, rose-scented butter dough is wrapped around a filling of dates, walnuts, almonds and pistachios cooked with cinnamon, marked with a fork, baked pale and dusted with icing sugar. Makes 35; they keep well in a tin.
Konafa (kunafa) is a celebration sweet of shredded kataifi pastry tossed in butter and baked in two layers around a filling of coconut, almonds, pistachios and mixed peel with glacé cherries. The hot pastry is drenched in cold rose-water syrup and pressed so it holds together, then cut into squares. Crisp, syrupy and nutty; serve cold with fresh cream or ice cream.
A fresh, crunchy Lebanese salad of tomatoes, cucumber, rocket, celery, spring onions and green pepper with lots of mint and parsley, tossed just before serving with crisp toasted pitta and a sharp lemon, garlic and olive oil dressing. Serve as a starter or alongside falafel and dips.
A classic Turkish dish whose name means 'the imam fainted', supposedly with delight. Aubergine shells are fried in olive oil and filled with their own flesh cooked with tomatoes, onion, red and green peppers, garlic and herbs, then baked until meltingly tender. Finished with lemon and parsley; good hot or cold with bread, salad and creamy garlic dip.
A hearty, family-friendly bake of shell pasta and baked beans in a spicy tomato, ginger and garlic sauce, topped with cheddar and capsicum rings. Serve hot with garlic bread.
Mixed vegetables in a mild, creamy coconut gravy, spread over milk-soaked bread, topped with a buttery tomato sauce and cheese and baked until melting. Serve hot with naan or pitta bread.
A spiced vegetable filling of potatoes, carrots, cauliflower, beans and peas with tomato, spring onion and warm cinnamon-clove, baked in a potato and bread crust and piped with a potato topping. Dotted with chilli sauce and ketchup, it makes a colourful centrepiece.
Instant cannelloni tubes stuffed with feta, ricotta, walnuts, spring onion and lemon, baked in a gingery tomato and spinach sauce and finished with melted mozzarella.
An Indian twist on spaghetti and meatballs: soft paneer kofta, fried until golden, served on buttered spaghetti with a sweet and tangy tomato gravy and a sprinkle of cheese. Children love it.
A quick, nutty pesto of fresh coriander, garlic and roasted peanuts, blended with peanut oil. It is dairy free and vegan, and great tossed through noodles or pasta, or drizzled over grilled vegetables.
A bright green pesto of fresh coriander and mint, made creamy with toasted cashews and sharp with lime juice. Toss it through pasta, swirl it into rice or use it as a sandwich spread.
Pasta and crisp green vegetables in a light coconut milk sauce flavoured with coriander-chilli paste, lemon and fresh basil. Fresh, gently spicy and dairy free.
Cannelloni tubes filled with a gently spiced stuffing of ground peas, grated potato and carrot, baked slowly in a herby tomato sauce under a layer of cheddar. The long, gentle bake cooks the dry tubes in the sauce.
A creamy, cheesy bake of sweetcorn, baby potatoes and spaghetti in a sauce of blended capsicum and cashews mixed with white sauce, topped with cheese and capsicum rings. Serve hot with tomato ketchup and chilli sauce.
An eggless quiche: a crisp wheat and potato pastry case filled with a herby tomato, vegetable, pasta and paneer mixture, topped with cheese and tomato slices. Serve hot with salad and baked potatoes.
Thin pancakes folded around a spiced paneer and vegetable filling, baked in a garlicky tomato sauce under cheese and capsicum. Serve hot with green and mint chutneys.
Boiled potato halves scooped out and filled with a creamy, gently spiced vegetable stuffing, baked in a sweet tomato cream sauce under cheddar. Serve hot with garlic bread. For a change, fill them with fresh corn or mushrooms instead of mixed vegetables.
A moist eggless cake made with semolina, coconut and yogurt, baked with slivered almonds on the bottom and top and moistened with orange juice. Serve with coconut ice cream or custard sauce.
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