This book was sent by the publisher, Murdoch, at no cost. It’s available now (RRP $39.99).

I can imagine someone telling me that I have enough Middle Eastern cookbooks in my life. They would be wrong.

I have never heard of Kepos Street Kitchen, presumably because I am not a Sydney-sider, so I have no connection with the recipes in this book that are apparently iconic at that restaurant. But that makes no difference in actually browsing and enjoying these recipes, so don’t let that put you off. There is a delicious range of recipes to try, and pretty much all of them are approachable.

Chapters in the book include Brunch, Mezzo, Salads, Feasting, and Dessert. So that was already a good start.

Recipes I have tried:

• Zucchini, sujuk and labneh omelette: I subbed in locally made chorizo for the sujuk. I think this is more like a frittata than an omelette (it’s finished in the oven) and it was fantastic.
• Bourekas (Middle Eastern sausage rolls): I was intrigued by this idea. Uncooked mince with some flavourings, rolled in strips of puff pastry and then curled into snails: magnificent.
• White bean dip: very easy, very tasty.
• Green beans with goat’s cheese, almonds, and lemon: the perfect way to serve beans. No notes.
• Za’atar pita bread: I love making bread, and I love za’atar, so this was always going to be a good choice. The pita recipe is very easy.
• Yemenite pan roti: my one failure. I’m not sure whether it was my fault – maybe the weather was too humid? – but I did also find the instructions a bit hard to follow. Stretching the dough was not as straightforward as it sounded from the instructions, and it wasn’t clear how the folding was actually meant to work. The roti tasted fine but they didn’t have the layers that they should have. I may try this again at some point when I have the nerve.
• White bean and sumac salad: delicious. Any opportunity to use sumac is a good thing.
• Broad bean, tomato, and cumin seed salad: without doubt the greatest discovery from this entire book. I grow broad beans every year and am always looking for new ways to use them. Why the title doesn’t also include the preserved lemon which I think is the star is beyond me. I will be making this salad a lot.
• Hot-smoked salmon and potato salad: another salad I have already made several times. Also includes boiled eggs, olives, sukkah and parsley. The perfect summer salad.
• Chicken chermoula: it’s just a recipe for chermoula, which is then used as a marinade but it was still pretty good. I also used the chermoula for prawns which was delicious too.
• Persian meringue cake: I had no idea how this would turn out, and the answer was “unbelievably delicious.” I made halvah to go in it (because I had been wanting to try making it for ages); it ended up too crumbly and so you couldn’t taste it. The recipe calls for a white chocolate glaze and even I, with my insatiable sweet tooth, think that would be a gigantic step too far. When the cake already includes halvah, dates, rosewater and nuts – in a meringue cake – adding white chocolate seems… irresponsible. But I will be making this cake again, oh yes.

This is a delightful cookbook. It’s not particularly breaking new ground, but it does have some delightful flavour combinations, and I am not sad to have it in my library.