The Members’ Kitchen

This was the stand-out among the sharing platters we enjoyed on a visit to Apartıman Yeniköy, one of the new wave of Istanbul restaurants cooking Turkish flavours in new ways. Obviously, I had to recreate it at home!

I enjoy this as one of a few sharing plates, or alongside chicken or a legume-based salad. If you’re lighting up the barbecue, grill the peppers instead — it’ll be even tastier.

Many chefs will tell you that a seasonal and delicate ingredient like asparagus should be enjoyed with as little preparation and additional flavour as possible. I disagree. I’d rather add a couple more layers — cool yoghurt, mildly fiery chilli butter and a sprinkling of beautifully nutty Egyptian dukkah — and fire on all the flavour cylinders.

Serve immediately, while the asparagus and chilli butter are still warm.

Consider this a small masterclass in building flavour around beetroot. Salt-roasting concentrates its sweet earthiness, a marinade of pomegranate molasses and sumac answers with sour depth, and feta cream, pistachios and dill bring salt, crunch and freshness. Not a traditional dish, but a more than worthy addition to any meze table.

A wonderfully autumnal starter, and an excellent side to roast lamb or game. For a veggie meal, serve it with a spiced rice pilaf such as mujadarrah.

Latkes are among the most beloved dishes of the Jewish kitchen. Za’atar is a Palestinian ingredient now so at home in Israeli kitchens that some mistake where it came from. As anyone who has tried it knows, za’atar pairs perfectly with potatoes.

The key thing here is to squeeze the shredded potato properly dry — that’s the difference between crisp and soggy. Serve hot, as a snack or anywhere fried potatoes would go.

The entire day had been building up to this moment. On a last-minute trip to Tel Aviv, I’d let it slip that I wasn’t particularly fond of fresh tomatoes. What?! A “foodie” who doesn’t like tomatoes? This needed immediate rectification, and Talia booked a table at one of her favourite restaurants for that very night. Their tomato salad, she promised, would change my life.

And change me it did — if not my life, then my view on tomatoes. Safely back home, I replicated the recipe from memory. It’s been one of my most popular recipes with my Norwegian readers since it was first published in my third cookbook in 2022.

Make this salad only with very, very good tomatoes, preferably an array of varieties. I prefer it just the way I had it in Tel Aviv: on its own, as a starter — white tablecloth optional.

I’m usually no fan of pasta salads. Too often, they’re bland and very much like eating underseasoned pasta, but cold and mixed with the side salad.

This one turns the hierarchy upside down: orzo stays in the background while fresh tomatoes, olives, sun-dried tomatoes and feta do the talking.

The flavours may even improve if you let it sit for a couple of hours before serving, so this is perfect for picnics or the lunch box. Keep the mint separate and mix it in just before serving.

This salad is inspired by a wonderful lunch I had at Perdix, a winery on the outskirts of Urla. Back home, I rebuilt it, in the process upgrading it to a meal in its own right.

Substantial enough to be served on its own for lunch or a light dinner — best enjoyed in sunshine with a glass of something you like. Drop the lentils and feta for a lighter side for grilled fish or roast chicken.

Courgettes can be tricky to cook. If you’re not careful, you’ll quickly end up with something watery, overly soft, tasteless — or all of the above. My favourite trick: subject them to a blistering-hot grill pan until just softened, but still with a bite, then straight into a delicious marinade.

If you’re a mustard lover, this recipe’s got your name on it. Excellent on its own for lunch, or alongside simply prepared chicken or fish.

A variation on a recipe by Honey & Co, and proof of how far cumin and lemon — that unmistakably Middle Eastern street-food combination — can take a pot of chickpeas. The black olives sound wrong here, but they’re just what the salad needs to come together.

This can be lunch on its own, or the star side to simply prepared fish or chicken.

This soup is a real heart-warmer, making use of all the tricks in the soup-making book for a result that’s filling and full of flavour. And it looks pretty good too.

Serve with a generously buttered slice of rye bread, or another bread you like. For a fuller meal, add a handful or two of chickpeas or shredded chicken.

This dish came about during a sourdough crouton moment a few summers ago. The big, golden croutons are still what make the dish, so it’s worth seeking out a good-quality sourdough if you don’t make your own.

A summer lunch, best when tomatoes are at their peak.

Further proof that everything gets better when smothered with tahini. This is a take on siniyet samak bil tahineh, the Levantine dish of fish with tahini sauce and onions — but pan-fried rather than roasted, for that crispy skin.

I serve the sauce alongside, so everyone decides how much they want. Roast potatoes, rice or lavash bread are all good with it.

This is one of those dinners that I keep returning to when I want a little feast, but without the effort or expensive ingredients. Inspired by two rather different dishes — the layered Levantine feast fatteh and a simple Turkish serving of plain chicken on top of rice — it’s all about layers and comfort food.

This dish is a meal in itself. That said, a sharp salad, cutting through the spices and tahini, is excellent alongside.

If you haven’t tried sumac on your roast potatoes before, you’re in for a treat! The two work wonderfully together. Think of this as Greek lemon potatoes, but with sumac added for extra depth of flavour.

Works well with chicken, fish or grilled meat — or as a hot addition to a table of sharing dishes.

Just because you want dinner to be easy, healthy and quick to make doesn’t mean you should sacrifice flavour. This spiced chickpea traybake is a perfect example — spices, tahini yoghurt and fresh toppings work together to create something really special.

Don’t leave out the herbs and pomegranate seeds on top — they’re not just visual garnish, but essential for binding everything together.

Serve on its own for a light lunch with fresh bread, or as a side to simply prepared meat or fish.

This one’s a wonderful mixture of sweet, sour and savoury. It may not be a traditional dish, but the flavours are most certainly Levantine. Dates are added twice, in their natural form and as date syrup, while olives — in a nod to Moroccan tagines — bring a slightly bitter, deep umami flavour that balances everything perfectly.

The tray brings so much flavour that little else is needed: fresh bread and a simple salad, or Turkish-style rice.

Banana bread’s great trick — turning bananas that are too soft to eat into a cake that never feels overpoweringly sweet — gets a Middle Eastern accent here. Walnuts and dates are a classic combination in the region. As it turns out, they were made for bananas, too.

The most difficult step is your own patience: a good amount of time in the oven, then some more on the counter. Slice it too soon, and that beautiful texture will dissipate.