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Sirocco: Fabulous Flavours from the East
From the golden girl of Middle Eastern cookery, Sirocco will bring tastes of the East to Western-style dishes in a collection of 100 delicious and accessible recipes. With an emphasis on simple ingredients and strong flavours, Ghayour will bring her modern inspirational touch to a variety of dishes ranging from classics and comfort food to spectacular salads and sweet treats.
240 pages, Hardcover
First published May 3, 2016
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
May 3, 2016
Originally published on my blog, In the Stacks: http://nikkitheknack.blogspot.ca/2016...
These recipes are inspired by the flavours of the East, but use the ingredients and cooking styles of the West.
As the introduction suggests, it's easy to find most of the ingredients required in this cookbook. For the recipes I decided to make, all the ingredients were either things I had at home, or things that we regularly buy for our household anyway. It was convenient to not have to look for "special" ingredients!
I ended up making two appetizer/snack recipes, one main dish, and a dessert. All of them were delicious. I think my personal favourite was either the Kofta Burgers or the Two-Cheese Melts with Thyme-Roasted Onions, but it's a tough competition.
Everything was pretty simple/easy to make and didn't require a whole lot of effort, which is a plus. I think people of most skill levels in the kitchen would be able to make these recipes with no problems.
To top it all off, these recipes are approved by everyone in my family who tried them, which means that in some cases, they're even picky-people-approved!
Sirocco is full of simple, delicious recipes and it has quickly become my favourite cookbook!
These recipes are inspired by the flavours of the East, but use the ingredients and cooking styles of the West.
As the introduction suggests, it's easy to find most of the ingredients required in this cookbook. For the recipes I decided to make, all the ingredients were either things I had at home, or things that we regularly buy for our household anyway. It was convenient to not have to look for "special" ingredients!
I ended up making two appetizer/snack recipes, one main dish, and a dessert. All of them were delicious. I think my personal favourite was either the Kofta Burgers or the Two-Cheese Melts with Thyme-Roasted Onions, but it's a tough competition.
Everything was pretty simple/easy to make and didn't require a whole lot of effort, which is a plus. I think people of most skill levels in the kitchen would be able to make these recipes with no problems.
To top it all off, these recipes are approved by everyone in my family who tried them, which means that in some cases, they're even picky-people-approved!
Sirocco is full of simple, delicious recipes and it has quickly become my favourite cookbook!
October 30, 2016
I will officially thoroughly read this in 2017; I flipped through it, and it looks pretty decent. I'm putting the rating up because I really want this to at least be nominated in 2016 Goodreads Choice Awards for "Food & Cookbooks"; so anyone who does read cookbooks, please consider checking this one out? xD
My hopeful candidates for 2016 Goodreads Choice Awards "Food & Cookbooks" category:
My hopeful candidates for 2016 Goodreads Choice Awards "Food & Cookbooks" category:
(In book title's alphabetical order)
May 18, 2018
I was given this book by the publisher a couple of years ago and never got around to cooking from it or reviewing it until recently. There are some great recipes in this book, most are not difficult--although some do require Middle Eastern spices and ingredients. I found my Aleppo pepper at Whole Foods and can buy other spices at my local Indian market. The book is beautiful-- the food photography well done, and a good number of the recipes have photos accompanying them. They also include a recipe intro about the dish with Sabrina Ghayour's notes--something I look for in a good cookbook. Although it's not a vegetarian or vegan cookbook, there were plenty of meat-free recipes for me to make. If you are looking for a Middle Eastern cookbook with tasty and accessible recipes, this is a good one.
Here are two of the recipes I cooked from it--both were delicious:
Sweet-Spiced Roasted Nuts (maybe my new favorite nut recipe) http://kahakaikitchen.blogspot.com/20...
Persian (Adassi) Lentil Stew (I adapted this slightly--adding coconut milk and Aleppo pepper and it was delicious) http://kahakaikitchen.blogspot.com/20...
Here are two of the recipes I cooked from it--both were delicious:
Sweet-Spiced Roasted Nuts (maybe my new favorite nut recipe) http://kahakaikitchen.blogspot.com/20...
Persian (Adassi) Lentil Stew (I adapted this slightly--adding coconut milk and Aleppo pepper and it was delicious) http://kahakaikitchen.blogspot.com/20...
October 5, 2022
Nothing whatsoever wrong with it, it just struck me as kind of "meh." Maybe it's just I own some really outstanding books that utilize Persian influences, so this one pales in comparison to those.
February 18, 2019
Another cookbook from Sabrina Ghayour to live or die for. I made the dark chocolate, cardamom and espresso mousse cake, and could have died happy once it was eaten with much lingering and savouring...
February 14, 2017
Sirocco is one of my favourite cookbooks (vegetarian-friendly!). Written by Sabrina Ghayour, it melds her family’s Persian background with a life lived in London to make something new – modern British cuisine at its very finest. I love her strong, bright, bold flavours – sumac, za’atar, chilli and harissa, lemon, barberries, nigella seeds, pomegranate molasses, garlic, pickles, big handfuls of fresh herbs – making fresh vegetables and pulses taste amazing. This is my kind of vegetable cooking.
The book is a riot of colour – the food, props, backgrounds and graphic design. To me, this book is exceptionally well designed and everything matches absolutely beautifully. When I wrote my own cookbook, How to Cook Halloumi, I had Sabrina Ghayour’s wonderful effort very firmly in mind. This book gave me the permission to fill my photography with bright, happy colour and to really celebrate up close the luscious textures of delicious, healthy, made-from-scratch food.
I have cooked all kinds of dishes from this lovely book. Broccoli, barberry and chilli fritters, Courgette fries with sumac salt, Courgette, saffron and potato kuku (frittata), Chickpea and potato latkes, Puy lentil, caper and red onion salad, Cumin-roasted aubergine wedges, Roasted cherry tomatoes with goat curd, pine nuts and grape molasses, also sweets like Nectarine pavlova with mint, almonds and tea syrup.
And this is just the tip of the iceberg. There is so much more I want to cook. This is not just a book to look at – although it is absolutely beautiful – it is a book to cook from again and again and again.
The book is a riot of colour – the food, props, backgrounds and graphic design. To me, this book is exceptionally well designed and everything matches absolutely beautifully. When I wrote my own cookbook, How to Cook Halloumi, I had Sabrina Ghayour’s wonderful effort very firmly in mind. This book gave me the permission to fill my photography with bright, happy colour and to really celebrate up close the luscious textures of delicious, healthy, made-from-scratch food.
I have cooked all kinds of dishes from this lovely book. Broccoli, barberry and chilli fritters, Courgette fries with sumac salt, Courgette, saffron and potato kuku (frittata), Chickpea and potato latkes, Puy lentil, caper and red onion salad, Cumin-roasted aubergine wedges, Roasted cherry tomatoes with goat curd, pine nuts and grape molasses, also sweets like Nectarine pavlova with mint, almonds and tea syrup.
And this is just the tip of the iceberg. There is so much more I want to cook. This is not just a book to look at – although it is absolutely beautiful – it is a book to cook from again and again and again.
November 10, 2018
Lots and lots of recipes of familiar food that has been giving a new twist, wether in marrying ingredients from different cuisines or with herb and spice additions. Too many falvours in my opinion per any one dish, and a long list of ingredients.
That does not mean that I totally disliked the fare, I do recommend the courgette fries, hibiscus drink, cantaloupe salad, eastern slaw (with some omissions) and the nectarine pavlova just for it's original scented tea syrup.
That does not mean that I totally disliked the fare, I do recommend the courgette fries, hibiscus drink, cantaloupe salad, eastern slaw (with some omissions) and the nectarine pavlova just for it's original scented tea syrup.
July 12, 2018
Beautiful,healthy &Delicious
From the cradle if civilization comes the most wonderful dishes. Good Whole Foods with warm and wonderful herbs and spices. I will definitely buy the author’s other cookbook.
From the cradle if civilization comes the most wonderful dishes. Good Whole Foods with warm and wonderful herbs and spices. I will definitely buy the author’s other cookbook.
April 7, 2023
Great flavor combinations!
Inspirational and innovative ideas on familiar foods. It is a fun book! I love the author and have her other books. I have the hard copy of this one but the price was right so I added the ebook.🙂
Inspirational and innovative ideas on familiar foods. It is a fun book! I love the author and have her other books. I have the hard copy of this one but the price was right so I added the ebook.🙂
July 17, 2023
Another book by one of my favourite cookery writers, Sabrina Ghayour. I have already made Citrus and Za’atar Chicken and it was delicious (and easy!). I’m looking forward to cooking more. Highly recommended.
September 17, 2018
Interesting!
I am interested in international cuisine and this book has some unique recipes that are going to be a lot of fun to try!
I am interested in international cuisine and this book has some unique recipes that are going to be a lot of fun to try!
December 29, 2018
I am in love! I checked out this book from our library and this has made the ‘must have’ list. I was looking for new flavors and it didn’t disappoint.
December 19, 2019
Fantastic Cookery book. Great recipes and so easy to follow and they taste good as well x
April 5, 2020
Some interesting dishes. look forward to trying.
September 20, 2020
Borrowed from the library and loved it, so bought my own copy! Great recipes and beautiful to look through too
June 25, 2024
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.
March 3, 2025
I made the butternut squash tagine, and it was fantastic!
April 12, 2018
I love this book. Lots of finger foods for apro or amuse-bouche.
Lots of amuse-bouche ideas for drinks nights or buffets.
As long as you buy the spices before hand you're fine most I had in and what I didn't I ordered from Amazon.
Pictures to show you how to present.
If you love spicy food this is the book for you.
Lots of amuse-bouche ideas for drinks nights or buffets.
As long as you buy the spices before hand you're fine most I had in and what I didn't I ordered from Amazon.
Pictures to show you how to present.
If you love spicy food this is the book for you.
December 20, 2016
Originally posted at www.ramblingsthebookblog.tumblr.com
I’m a huge Sabrina Ghayour fan. I bought Persiana and it’s one of my favourite cookbooks; my boyfriend always loves it when I make recipes from it. We’re big Sabrina fans in my house. It made my day when this turned up in the post.
Sirocco is the sequel to Persiana and it’s full of delicious, tasty middle eastern recipes. I mean, look at this.
It’s actual food porn. Everything is bright, colourful and it makes you want to reach inside the book and pull everything out. All the recipes are detailed and easy to make. Thank to the internet, it’s easy to get hold some of the trickier ingredients. It doesn’t matter If you can’t get any of the specialised stuff, the recipes aren’t meant to be followed to the last letter.
There are a lot of recipes which fuse west and east together: Bacon Naan, Cardamon Doughnut French Brioche Toasts, toasties. If you’d like to introduce your family to middle eastern cooking, this is the book for you. Like a lot of recipe books these days, there’s a whole section devoted to Breakfast. There are also sections for desserts, main meals and sides.
What I love about this recipe book is that it focuses on making good tasty food. The recipes are healthy but there’s none of the wellness nonsense that dominates other cookbooks. This is a cook book for people who want to make tasty, great food.
I’ve already had a go at making one recipe from the book (stir fried prawns) and it was delish. Fairly certain I’m going to be turning to this book for the forseeable future!
I’m a huge Sabrina Ghayour fan. I bought Persiana and it’s one of my favourite cookbooks; my boyfriend always loves it when I make recipes from it. We’re big Sabrina fans in my house. It made my day when this turned up in the post.
Sirocco is the sequel to Persiana and it’s full of delicious, tasty middle eastern recipes. I mean, look at this.
It’s actual food porn. Everything is bright, colourful and it makes you want to reach inside the book and pull everything out. All the recipes are detailed and easy to make. Thank to the internet, it’s easy to get hold some of the trickier ingredients. It doesn’t matter If you can’t get any of the specialised stuff, the recipes aren’t meant to be followed to the last letter.
There are a lot of recipes which fuse west and east together: Bacon Naan, Cardamon Doughnut French Brioche Toasts, toasties. If you’d like to introduce your family to middle eastern cooking, this is the book for you. Like a lot of recipe books these days, there’s a whole section devoted to Breakfast. There are also sections for desserts, main meals and sides.
What I love about this recipe book is that it focuses on making good tasty food. The recipes are healthy but there’s none of the wellness nonsense that dominates other cookbooks. This is a cook book for people who want to make tasty, great food.
I’ve already had a go at making one recipe from the book (stir fried prawns) and it was delish. Fairly certain I’m going to be turning to this book for the forseeable future!
February 16, 2017
If Sirocco was a cage fighter it would be a bombastic, no-holds barred affair wearing the brightest neon leotard ever. Luckily, it is not a cage fighter and instead an exciting and flavour-driven cookbook.
Read our full review: http://cookthesebooks.com/sirocco-sab...
Read our full review: http://cookthesebooks.com/sirocco-sab...
cookbooks-i-own
May 15, 2016I picked this cookbook up on a whim while shopping on Tuesday (10th May) and I'm so glad I did. The recipes I've tried so far are simple and delicious, and with the exception of Sumac (which I had seen at the market and wondered how to use) I had everything I needed in the kitchen already. The recipes are complimented with beautiful photography throughout the book.
I can see this book becoming a favourite in my kitchen, and have ordered the author's first work Persiana: Recipes from the Middle East & Beyond now too.
I can see this book becoming a favourite in my kitchen, and have ordered the author's first work Persiana: Recipes from the Middle East & Beyond now too.
July 12, 2016
I love looking through this book I find it inspirational for trying new and exciting recipes that are fresh and flavourful with wonderful ingredients, I have only tried a couple of recipes so far and they have been delicious. I would recommend this book.
May 13, 2016
A regular recipe book. Nothing spcial. And the 'East' is mostly Iranian.
June 10, 2016
Delightful cookbook from Persiana author.
November 20, 2016
Most of the recipes are straightforward and simple, with rich, delicious Mediterranean and Middle-Eastern flavors. There are a lot more specialty ingredients needed than the book advertises.
December 21, 2016
This is a great go to cookbook! Lovely Illustration & the recipes are doable and impressive highly recommend
November 20, 2020
Salmon with turmeric and black pepper is good. A few other good or great things, but a lot of time wasters, or recipes that are similar or better in other books.
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews