This book came to me at an opportune time: the food of the Middle East (and beyond) is something I often cook when the weather starts to get warm. I can (and have) cooked entire meals out of mezze - the light, often vegetable-based sharing dishes that are usually served as a precursor to the main course. Many of them are served cool, at room temperature or just warm, which means they can be made in advance, taking the stress out of dinner parties.

Chefs frequently learn how to cook from their mother or grandmother. But Sabrina Ghayour got her start in the kitchen because her mother and grandmother didn't know how to cook. "So home-made cooking consisted of a handful of dishes often thrown together out of convenience or necessity rather than joy or love of feeding people. Experimenting in the kitchen was commonplace for me and, by my late teens, I decided it was time to teach myself how to cook Persian food," she writes.

"Fast forward to the present and I have found every shortcut possible to simplify many Persian and Middle Eastern recipes, to create a style of cooking that fits comfortably into my everyday life. Although some recipes in this book are authentic, some draw inspirations from the Middle East and combine the wonderful flavours and ingredients of the region with everyday produce that's available in supermarkets everywhere."