Spiced carrot, pistachio and almond cake with rosewater cream. Photograph: Liz & Max Haarala Hamilton

The arrival of her first book, Persiana: Recipes from the Middle East & Beyond, is a boon to those who long to serve their guests bountiful dishes of exotic, glamorous, unfamiliar food with a casual "I-just-threw-this-together" ...They'll be clamouring for more. And this book, unlike some others, has photographs that show the food clearly" The Independent Place the sliced radishes in a large bowl. I like both the skin and the seeds of the cucumber, but if you prefer, you can peel the skin, then halve the cucumber lengthways and scoop out and discard the seeds. Slice each cucumber half thinly into half moons and add these along with the red onions to the bowl. Give everything a good mix. This dish is more than just a simple broth – it is a wonderfully hearty meal and offers a great way of using up vegetables. There are no rules – it should contain whatever you find lying around the house and in your fridge. Radish, cucumber and red onion salad with mint and orange blossom dressing. Photograph: Liz & Max Haarala HamiltonPreheat a large saucepan over a medium-high heat. Fill the pan with boiling water and add the rice with a generous handful of crumbled sea salt. Boil for 6-8 minutes until the rice is parboiled. You will know it is parboiled when the colour of the grains turns from the normal dullish white to a more brilliant white and the grains become slightly elongated and begin to soften. An award-winning cookbook from the beloved Sabrina Ghayour, Persiana features over 100 flavorful and mouthwatering recipes that highlight the best of Persian culture I keep this cake on a plate covered with clingfilm and find it can be kept like this for up to a week. Sabrina Ghayour was born in Iran and raised in England. She didn’t grow up in a family of cooks. Instead, she started to teach herself at the age of six, first focusing on Persian cuisine before branching out to food throughout the Middle East. Ghayour recommends pairing the Eastern-Style Focaccia with soups, salty cheeses/dips, or using it as the base for a feta and roasted pepper sandwich. As with many fresh breads, this is best the day it is made. Notable Ingredients

Completely dispels any notion that this style of cooking is long-winded and intimidating...brilliant for the novice, the time-poor and even the seasoned cook. (Eve O’Sullivan Guardian) Sumac is a spice made from the berries of the sumac bush and is common in Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cooking. It is available in berry or ground form. Sumac has a lightly bitter, lemony taste and a deep brownish red hue. Middle Eastern food can be heavy and plentiful, so you need to pair it with light, refreshing dishes that cleanse the palate and aid digestion. This is just that kind of dish – it is a perfect accompaniment to heavy meat and poultry dishes, providing a lovely fresh flavour – and it looks beautiful, too. The lightly sweetened dressing works well, counteracting the acidity, and I just love the intense crunchiness of this salad.Persiana: Recipes from the Middle East & Beyond, written by Sabrina Ghayour, features some of the best flavors of the area surrounding the Southern and Eastern shores of the Mediterranean Sea in over 100 recipes.

Nigella seeds come from the fruit of the Nigella sativa, a pale blue or white flower originating from southern Asia and northern Africa.Sabrina, a self-taught cook, food writer and supper club host, is on a mission to make the flavours of the Middle East accessible. Her recipes are essentially Persian but with influences from Turkish, Arab and Armenian cuisines. BBC Good Food Magazine

Preheat a griddle pan over a medium-high heat. Brush the aubergine slices with olive oil on one side and chargrill for about 6‑8 minutes on each side, brushing the reverse side with more oil as you turn them over, until the texture softens and they are cooked through with nice griddle marks. Set aside. There were so many great looking desserts to choose from, but I settled on the Cinnamon and Citrus Almond Pastry Cigars. Ghayour adapted this recipe from the traditional M’hencha (Moroccan Berber coiled pastry). She created single serving rolls that are easier to assemble. Crisp phyllo rolls are filled with ground almonds seasoned with cinnamon, rosewater, orange, and lime.Light the barbecue.In a bowl, mix together the yogurt, ground coriander and fresh herbs and a little of the garlic oil to loosen the mixture, season and add more garlic oil to taste. Aubergine is much loved and revered in eastern culture and I especially love it chargrilled, which gives an added meatiness through the charring. Saffron is the world's most expensive spice. The purest and highest grade of saffron comes from Iran and infusing some yogurt with its potency adds the perfect finish to grilled aubergines.