Simply

by Sabrina Ghayour

Easy. Everyday. Simple.




Sabrina Ghayour's new collection of unmissable dishes in her signature style, influenced by her love of fabulous flavors, is full of delicious food that can be enjoyed with a minimum of fuss. With sections ranging from Effortless Eating to Traditions With a Twist, Simply provides over 100 bold and exciting recipes that can be enjoyed every day of the week.



Recipes
Baked sweet potato & za'atar chips
Pomegranate molasses & honey glazed meatballs
Kabab koobideh
Marinated steak with labneh, pul biber butter & onions
Chilled pistachio & cucumber soup
Chorizo, goats' cheese & cumin borek
Goats' cheese, vegetable & za'atar filo tart
Albaloo polow (lamb & sour cherry rice)
Harissa chicken noodle lettuce cups
Tahini, almond & orange brownies
Saffron & sesame shortbreads
Turmeric, orange & coconut rice pudding

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking, Food, Nonfiction, Food and Drink, Cultural, Food and Wine

240 pages, Hardcover

Published October 6, 2020

Reviews

[Rosemary Standeven · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the second cookbook by Sabrina Ghayour that I have bought. While ‘Persiana’ (as the title suggests) is specifically about Iranian food, this book is more Persian and Turkish (and other cuisines) inspired cooking, often adapted to suit the availability of ingredients in Europe, and to be straightforward to prepare and cook.
The book is subtitled ‘easy, everyday dishes’, and for most of the recipes that is true. We did have one disaster – the ‘Tahdig e Makaroni’ looked fantastic in the book, a mince sauce encased in a spaghetti mould, but was impossible to get right. We ended up with something that looked like spaghetti Bolognese, but did not taste as good.
However, that was the exception. Overall, we tried twenty of the recipes. Eight we considered excellent, and another eight were very nice. Most of those we would like to repeat – with one proviso. My husband who does all the actual cooking, serving, dishes and cleaning up, has placed a ban on the use of turmeric. It is a real shame, as the ‘Turmeric chicken kebabs’ made with a yoghurt and fresh turmeric marinade, was excellent, and the left-over marinade made very tasty chard patties – but also a real mess in the kitchen. I’ll wait a few months, and maybe try again if he has forgotten..
One of my favourite recipes was the ridiculously simple ‘Tepsi kebap’, minced lamb cooked in a shallow dish. Slightly more involved, but every bit as good were the ‘Ghayour house chicken kari’ and ‘Fish, okra & tamarind stew’. From the very nice ‘Crispy prawns with a mango & tomato dip’, I used the left-over prawn coating with added egg to cover some ox liver before sauteing it – outstanding.
There were a number of very tasty salads, such as ‘Sweetcorn, black bean and avocado salad’, ‘Cauliflower & Asparagus black rice salad’; Smoked aubergine, tomato, tamarind and peanut salad’, ‘Tomato & peanut salad with tamarind, ginger & honey dressing’, ); ‘Carrot, pistachio & dill salad with lime & honey dressing’, ‘Tomato & peanut salad with tamarind, ginger & honey dressing’ as well as ‘Green Hummus’, and hot dishes of ‘Pomegranate shallots’ and ‘Charred courgettes with lemon, oregano and pul biber’ that were every bit as good cold the next day.
Each of the recipes comes with personal comments from the author – origins, how she found/adapted it, and some tips or possible substitutions. There is also suggestion of other recipes in the book that would be “simply delicious with” it, as well as full page photos of the finished food.
I did find some of the recipes a bit sweet for my taste, and tended to cut the sugar content by at least half. I also used crushed fresh garlic instead of the stated garlic granules.
I didn’t try any of the ‘Cakes, Bakes and Sweet Treats” section, as I tend to prefer savoury dishes, though did make the ‘Coriander & feta spiced loaf’.
There are lots of very interesting and tasty recipes in this book, and I’m sure everyone who loves food will find inspiration here.

[Anna Richland · Rating 5 out of 5]

This has become one of my three or four most used cookbooks since I gifted it to myself at Christmas, and I expect that to continue. I've already made the curry-spiced parmesan toasts (pg 19) twice -- they are excellent! Paired with the spiced carrot soup on the previous page, I had an excellent pandemic family lunch (oh, how tired I am of lunches after a year of this everyone home all the time thing). The dressing on the green bean salad with lemons, tahini and pine nuts was a little too watery for my taste, but I was able to thicken it with more tahini. So glad to have ideas to change up our usual vegetables.

Instructions are easy, photos are glorious, ingredients are fairly straightforward for a cook who already uses a fair amount of curry powder basmati rice, turmeric, etc. I really like the way Ms. Ghayour takes Persian recipes, mixes them with ingredients from around the world, and then makes them fairly simple for the way busy families cook today. She assumes we're going to use a can of chopped tomatoes, not dice a bunch ourselves, but she also assumes we're going to use fresh herbs and lots of citrus -- it's exactly the way I like to cook. And so far all the recipes have been delicious!

[Lindsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Relatively simple, delicious-looking recipes. Can't wait to try some of these out! Most recipes are 1 page max and don't feel overly intimidating.

[Michele Wyckoff · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received Simply in the post today and sat down to read it. I hungrily flipped through it cover to cover and can say that this gem of a cookbook will be my go to cookbook for the next year. Honestly, there are so many easy, flavour packed recipes that will make my lockdown cooking stress free. And isn’t that what we all want? It will be great to couple some her kebab recipes with the great salads in Sabrina’s other books. It also looks like many of the recipes are quite economical, as many use beef or lamb mince. I’m so excited to get cooking! Thank you Sabrina for another great cookbook.

[Aasinathena · Rating 4 out of 5]

Waited so long to get this book from the library and love the listed recipes !

[Alena · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mouthwatering read.

[Jamad · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don’t normally review cookery books but have decided to start doing so. This book is wonderful. It is not often I pick up a cookbook and want to make nearly every recipe. It is very rare when I then start making a lot of the recipes. That is why this is a five star.

I have made nine of the recipes so far and only one didn’t quite cut it (lamb and mint kofte p78 since you ask - needed something more).

I posted a couple of pictures to IG (I know) and got a comment back from Ms Ghayour herself…might be becoming a groupie!

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful, simplified, vegetable-centric, Middle-Eastern cuisine

Ghayour provides a variety of gorgeous, colorful, dishes, adapted for the American cook. Everything from appetizers to desserts, simple suppers to more banquet-appropiate meals. The author provides many vegetarian options, and the dishes with meat, chicken, and fish are heavy on grains and vegetables. So many of these meals looked appealing: I would have a hard time selecting the first to try out. These recipes seem created for a home cook with average experience.

[William Schram · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Simply" is a cookbook with Persian-style recipes. The recipes look delicious, but I do have some questions about the ingredients. For example, what is "za'atar?" It's in my spelling dictionary, but I have never heard of it.

Sabrina Ghayour wrote this book to bring you authentic recipes of her youth. I liked the pictures from the book. I am not a chef by any means, but I would try some of these if I could find the ingredients.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

I haven’t yet cooked anything from this one just yet, but I can’t wait to jump into the kitchen and cook my way through Simply! A delightful collection of recipes that are for the most part easy and simple and everyday-appropriate as the title suggests. The flavours throughout sounded delightful - my mouth watered a few times as I made my way through.

[Teal Veyre · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great cookbook. I can't wait to make the sweet potato fries with za'atar and garlic.
I've only recently discovered the wonders of za'atar. I had never heard of it until I started binging Middle Eastern cookbooks. Y'all, it is so good. Put it on everything. Seriously. I haven't been this excited about a spice since I discovered curry powder.

[Sharron Davies · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mouthwatering

I haven't yet cooked anything from the book, but everything makes my mouth water. Recipes are well written, with reasons for certain actions making complete sense. Great photography too.

[Nikki Rich · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this cookbook. The author has a somewhat unusual approach which I appreciate, blending Persian with British while I am reading in the US. I look forward to trying some of the recipes.

[Suzanne · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very disappointed in the recipes. Very little flavour. I would say that out of the over ten recipes tested only two were worth making again and I has such high hopes. The book is gorgeous and very appetizing.

[Carol Rosenberg-fox · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another fantastic cookbook

Even though I'm a vegetarian I still loved this book. As I read the meat recipes I was mentally putting in vegetarian substitutes. Thank you Quorn mince.

[The Contented · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some really, really lovely Persian-inspired fusion cuisine recipes in here. But then she ruins it all with the inclusion of her pork recipes which I found to be not very Iranian.

[Kate]

Made tepsi kebap, tomato garlic rice, and the salad with harissa vinaigrette, all of which were great. Lots of interesting recipes that I wish I’d had time to try.

[Ellen · Rating 4 out of 5]

An entertaining recipe book with lots of interesting ideas to explore

[Gail Wylde · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every recipe I’ve made from this book has been a hit. Sabrina is now one of my favourite chefs and I recommend this if you want to cook tasty food.

[Beka · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absolutely gorgeous!! So grateful for editors and authors who know you want a beautiful picture for every recipe.

[Eloise Desoutter · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of 3 of a wonderful collection of books I use regularly - for simple suppers, for sharing plates, for all out hosting show stoppers. Winners every time.

[Loes Lammertink · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastisch boek! Ik had beter niet met plakkertjes kunnen bijhouden welke gerechten ik wilde maken, want alles leek me lekker :) nu zin om te koken

[Mskychick · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn’t not find a single new recipe that was simultaneously a) something I am interested in trying and b) something I think my husband would be willing to try.
So 1 star for the cookbook, unfortunately
Although some of the recipes sound interesting, or are ones we already make in some iteration