EASY MEZZE

Middle Eastern small plates that anyone can tackle

A LARGE CIRCULAR plate loaded with a mound of silken hummus (chickpeas and chilli-red oil in its crater); herby tabbouleh; a nubbly pile of grains shot through with juicy chopped tomato; big, burly falafels; and endless warm triangles of flatbread. This was a recent lunch out with friends – the most satisfyingly simple mezze platter, into which we dunked and scooped and wiped clean, while sipping rose mint tea – and one that we concluded with nut-dense baklava, dabbing at the crumbs of flaky pastry with licked fingertips. It felt, since the recent influx on menus of Hawaiian poke, Mexican mole and Korean bibimbap (which pose a linguistic challenge if nothing else), rather reassuring to return to some familiar Middle Eastern dishes, a cuisine that has become mainstream without losing any of its exoticism.

In the hands of Glasgow-born food writer Ghillie Basan, who has travelled extensively throughout Africa and the Middle East and runs cookery workshops at her Highlands home, mezze becomes a magical food that is not inconceivable to attempt at home. It can be as simple as sliced oranges in sticky pomegranate molasses, or shredded parsley intermingled with strands of spring onion and bulgur wheat. I was reminded of this by an upcoming reprint of her book on the subject, which tackles more time-consuming stuffed pastry dishes as well as the quick-wins of hummus and citrusy dips. For the home cook, she translates these intricate cuisines with ease. Mezze: Small Plates to Share by Ghillie Basan (Ryland, Peters & Small, £9.99). To order your copy for £8.99 plus p&p, call 0844 871 1514 or visit books. telegraph.co.uk

Delectable dishes from Mezze: Small Plates to Share by Ghillie Basan