In 2014, the British-Iranian chef and food writer Sabrina Ghayour published the award-winning Persiana: Recipes from the Middle East & Beyond, which quickly became a classic – one of those titles that could always be spotted on the shelves of enthusiastic home cooks. That was followed by Persiana Everyday, then Easy, and now, this month, Persiana One. “The older I get,” she writes, “the more I prefer less mess in the kitchen and more simplicity in recipe ingredients and methods.” Her new book is her response to what has become a very popular cooking style – the one-pan approach. “I’ve scaled back on ingredients where I can, simplified methods and process as much as possible and I’ve been mindful to recreate the minimum amount of waste and washing up, too,” she says. “It’s a win on so many levels.”
The author's recipes are in many ways an ode to her cross-cultural upbringing. Ghayour was raised by her mother in west London after the pair left Tehran on the eve of the Iranian revolution. Her mother, Mama G, though never a cook, passed down an easygoing yet adventurous attitude towards food that is reflected in Ghayour’s recipes.
Of the dish she shares here, Sabrina says it is good for “a mezze-style vibe – ideal for sharing and quick to put together”.
Words by Bea Clarke
Sabrina’s roasted spiced aubergine and tomato with yoghurt and herbs
Serves 4-6
Ingredients
1 large aubergine, cut into discs just over 1cm thick and then cut into 1cm cubes
½ tsp paprika
½ tsp ground cumin
1 tsp dried mint
Olive oil
2 large tomatoes, halved, and each half cut into 6 pieces
500g thick Greek yoghurt
1 fat garlic clove, crushed
Handful of mint leaves and fresh coriander, finely chopped
½ tsp pul biber chilli flakes
Maldon sea salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper
Method
Preheat the oven to 200C, 180C fan, Gas Mark 6. Line a large baking tray with baking paper.
Place the aubergine on the lined tray and sprinkle over the paprika, cumin, ½ tsp of the dried mint and a heavy seasoning of salt and pepper, then drizzle generously with olive oil and use your hands to coat the aubergine cubes in the seasonings.
Spread out the aubergine so that it occupies half the tray, then spread out the tomatoes on the other side. Season the tomatoes with pepper only (no salt), drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with the remaining ½ tsp dried mint.
Roast the aubergine and tomatoes for 35 mins or until soft and browned. Remove from the oven and leave to cool until warm.
Mix the yoghurt with the garlic and a generous amount of salt and pepper in a bowl, then spread on to a platter. Season the warm roasted veg with salt and stir carefully, then arrange the veg on top of the yoghurt.
Sprinkle over the chopped herbs and pul biber and add a little extra olive oil before serving.
Persiana One by Sabrina Ghayour is published by Mitchell Beazley, £28; to order from the Nerve Bookshop at a discount click here
Photographs by Kris Kirkham