Middle Eastern food rewards you every single time you cook it. The spice combinations are complex without being complicated, the techniques are approachable, and the results are the kind of deeply satisfying, flavour-layered cooking that makes people ask for the recipe before they’ve finished eating. Growing up in Liverpool in south-west Sydney meant this food was never a discovery for me, it was just part of the landscape. The Lebanese bakeries, the shawarma spots, the home cooks who treated a proper tabbouleh or a silky hummus as a matter of personal pride. I was paying attention.

I’ve been told my tabbouleh is the best outside of Iran, which is the kind of compliment you don’t forget and spend the rest of your life trying to live up to. Middle Eastern cooking has earned a permanent place in my kitchen because it consistently delivers bold, beautiful food with a generosity of spirit that I find completely irresistible. From mezze plates built for sharing to slow-cooked mains with warmth and depth, this collection is the food I grew up eating, refined over decades and cooked with genuine love.