I know I’m prone to witter on for hours, but let me change the habit of a lifetime and get straight to the point: you need this book in your life. It’s just that simple. And this is no impulsive verdict: the publishers sent me the manuscript at the beginning of the year, and I’ve had a very happy few months with it. Sabzi is an absolute boon in the kitchen. I may be a carnivore, but I’m emphatically a vegetable-loving one. Even so, it is easy to get into a rut; sometimes we just need someone else to do the thinking for us. And Yasmin Khan really comes to our rescue with Sabzi, packed as it is with bright, fresh, faff-free recipes infused with the flavours and fragrance of the exquisite food of her Persian heritage, as well as from the kitchens of the Mediterranean and Middle East. And they’re all just so do-able, even in the middle of a fast-paced working week.
Obviously, this has no bearing on my decision to choose this book for CookbookCorner, but I was immeasurably moved by the dedication to her infant daughter. Khan has written so movingly about the pain of miscarriage, that it is quite something to read the words at the beginning of the book: “For Mitra, finally”.
Oh dear, I promised not to witter on, and just look what’s happened! So I’ll leave you in peace now, but let me quickly tell you first that the recipe I’m delighted to be sharing with you today is her beautiful Spicy Tomatoes with Walnuts and Pomegranates, which is exactly what I want to be eating now.
Extract taken from Sabzi by Yasmin Khan (Bloomsbury Publishing, £26, Hardback).
Photography © Jonathan Gregson.
