This book was sent to me by the publisher, Hachette, at no cost. It’s out now, RRP $45.

I have reviewed three of Ghayour’s previous cookbooks, and own all of them. I am confident to say that if I was only allowed to own one writer’s cookbooks, I would be incredibly sad AND I would choose Sabrina Ghayour.

As with all of her books, this one is laid out beautifully and the accompanying pictures are appropriately mouth-watering. Few of the recipes have really extensive ingredient lists; Ghayour is definitely in favour of simplicity and being straightforward. Where there is a longer list, it’s generally herbs and spices, most of which I would regard as accessible in Australia. There are a few points where there’s a translation necessary for Australian audiences – I believe pul biber is usually sold as Aleppo pepper here; and when Ghayour calls for “four preserved lemons”, she does not mean four of the my one-doesn’t-fit-in-your-palm homemade preserved lemons. Ghayour has continued here something I’ve loved from the last couple of books: a suggestion or two of what you might serve with the present recipe – a salad to go with a meat dish, for instance. I love that she has given thought to which flavours complement one another.

The chapters include Salads; Little bites and Savoury treats; Meat, poultry, Fish and Seafood; Vegetables and Pulses; Pasta, Noodles and Grains; and Sweet. Recipes are clearly marked Vegetarian and Vegan.

Things I have made:

• Dried Lime and Spice Marinated Lamb chops – I used steak, because I just cannot be having with chops. I had never blitzed dried limes before but they are a flavour BOMB and this was absolutely delicious.
• Lamb, Dried Fig and Preserved Lemon Tagine – going on high rotation. Love a good casserole, and the flavours are fresh and unctuous.
• Crispy Sticky Harissa Lamb – also delicious. Honey, rose harissa (I bought some because of Ghayour, and it’s great!), rice vinegar, soy and cornflour for the sauce.
• Pan-fried Salmon with Barberry Butter – I have barberries because of a meatball recipe or two, but this is another excellent way to use them.
• Root Vegetable, Chickpea, Feta and Barberry Tart – O.M.G. This was amazing. I think we ate it for three? four? meals in the week. Filo pastry, parsnip, carrot (I didn’t use celeriac – I don’t think it’s that accessible here). This is AMAZING and I LOVED IT. SO EASY.
• Creamy Spiced Sausage Pasta – the creaminess is from mascarpone, which I was surprised by and it was really good. You get the sausage out of its casing, which is always the best way to use it, and then it’s tomato and spice and the mascarpone.
• Harissa, Tahini and Lamb Spaghetti – another to go in high rotation. I was surprised by the harissa and tahini together, but it was brilliant.
• Mushroom Spaghetti with Creamy Pistachio and Garlic Sauce – yes, I know, it’s boring but this is another banger. The creaminess is from tahini again, and it works amazingly with the pistachio. I added some snow peas and asparagus, because I have an abundance, and used noodles instead of spaghetti because I had none.

I haven’t made any of the sweets yet, but I am eyeing off a few; and there are several other recipes that I already know I want to make. This is a great cookbook.