mezze recipes

Ful Medames, Harissa Roast Tomatoes & Pickled Chilli Salsa

Ful Medames, Harissa Roast Tomatoes & Pickled Chilli Salsa excerpted from Centerpiece: Bold, vibrant recipes to put vegetables in the spotlight by Helen Graham. Photography by Yuki Sugiura.

Centerpiece: Bold, vibrant recipes to put vegetables in the spotlight by Helen Graham

A celebration of bold, vibrant vegetarian dishes designed to inspire, delight and put vegetables exactly where they belong: centre stage.

Drawing inspiration from the rich flavours of the Middle East and North Africa, as well as Helen Graham‘s Ashkenazi Jewish heritage, this cookbook features 100 inventive, vegetable based recipes that will transform your table. With accessible ingredients and simple methods, Graham’s flavour packed combinations of spices, herbs and sauces elevate vegetables into something truly showstopping.

What’s Inside

The Meal Before the Meal
Mushrooms with Tamari & Pomegranate Skewers
Halloumi Ricotta Fritters with Spiced Lemon ‘Honey’

The Main Event
Harissa Roast Carrots, Mango Labneh & Mint
Hispi Cabbage with Date Butter & Tahini

On the Side
Potato Salad with Basil Zhoug & Coconut Crunch
Hawaij Roast Potatoes with Preserved Lemon Roast Shallots

Something Sweet
Za’atar & Cherry Chocolate Refrigerator Cake Bars
Poppy Seed & Orange Blossom Babka

About Helen Graham

Helen Graham was Executive Chef at the renowned London restaurant Bubala for five years, following roles at critically acclaimed restaurants including The Palomar and The Barbary, as well as the Ottolenghi Test Kitchen.

Praise for Helen Graham

Meera Sodha: “Helen’s recipes are the most exciting thing to have happened to vegetables since Ottolenghi.”

Anna Jones: “Original, do-able, unquestionably delicious vegetable recipes. I love this book.”

Jay Rayner: “Helen Graham has a thrillingly unique way with flavours, which makes you look at familiar ingredients anew. Her bold plant based cookery takes the Middle Eastern repertoire and shakes it by the scruff of the neck.”

Yotam Ottolenghi: “Helen carries the torch for all the ingredients I love most. Vegetables behaving exactly as they should. A cook after my own heart.”

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Tza-zikki

Tza-zikki excerpted from Eat Small Plates: Vibrant, Shareable Dishes for Daily Joy by Ben Siman-Tov and Zikki Siman Tov. Copyright © 2025 Ben Siman-Tov and Zikki Siman Tov. Published by Avery, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC. Reproduced by arrangement with the Publisher. All rights reserved.

Eat Small Plates: Vibrant, Shareable Dishes for Daily Joy by Ben Siman-Tov and Zikki Siman Tov.

The dynamic couple behind @BenGingi share their favourite mix-and-match-ready recipes for effortless everyday dining and easy hosting

From a serendipitous meeting on a street corner in a tiny town in the Italian Alps to their food studio at the heart of the East Village in New York City, Ben and Zikki have been on a culinary adventure since the very moment they met. Ben’s first gift to Zikki? A half loaf of beetroot sourdough. And their first date? Zikki taught Ben to make potato varenyky, secretly prepping him to help her make 1,000 for an event the following week!

These days, with not a moment to spare, they happily host friends and family and run a sought-after catering business in New York City. Their debut cookbook, Eat Small Plates, is an ode to a style of eating at the heart of their lived experiences together: travelling, creating a family, and building beautiful lasting friendships wherever a meal can be shared. Here, they offer their favourite small plate recipes for greater joy and connection every day.

Ben’s knack for vibrant Israeli flavours and Zikki’s passion for shareable, soul-warming Ukrainian-inspired dishes combine in Eat Small Plates to create bold and exciting recipes for every dinner or gathering. With favourites such as Ben’s freshly baked Pita, Zikki’s crunchy chopped Jewelled Celery Salad, and creamy Cashew Basil dip, this ultimate hosting cheat sheet helps home cooks transform simple ingredients into beautiful, intentional dishes. Ben and Zikki share essential cooking techniques—from charring an eggplant to incorporating pickling into your daily routine—and even tips for those who don’t want to cook at all (but still want to host!). This book is a celebration of the feast-ready lifestyle, and a guide to spreading love through food. (more…)

Roasted Red Pepper & Walnut Dip

Souk to Table: Vibrant Middle Eastern Dishes for Everyday Meals by Amina Al-Saigh

In Souk to Table, popular food blogger Amina Al-Saigh (@hungrypaprikas) is here to help you figure out dinner for your family with her easy, quick, and accessible Middle Eastern recipes, inspired by her heritage and using flavours she knows and love. She understands how busy life can get and how sometimes cooking Middle Eastern dishes can be overwhelming, but with the right know-how and the right recipes, you can serve up delicious and bold flavours and not spend all day in the kitchen!

This homestyle cookbook gathers the best of the region—dips, condiments, salads, sides, mains, soups, stews, desserts, and drinks—using easy-to-find, fresh ingredients and delicious Arabic spices. In Souk to Table, you’ll find:

100 easy-to-make and delicious recipes from Amina’s homeland of Iraq, as well as Lebanon, Egypt, Turkey, Morocco, and beyond
Dinners that can be made in under an hour for easy weeknight cooking, as well as traditional dishes “worth the effort” for weekend cooking and hosting
A simpler approach to Middle Eastern cooking without sacrificing any of the authentic flavours
A stunning photo accompanying every recipe
How to stock your Middle Eastern kitchen

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