3 Middle Eastern-Inspired Summer Recipes From Honey & Co.

A group of London restaurants and delis, Honey & Co has become one of London’s most beloved spots for vibrant Middle Eastern food since opening its first outpost in 2012. It’s the brainchild of husband-and-wife duo Sarit Packer and Itamar Srulovich, who bring their heritage to the menus: Sarit grew up in Northern Israel while Itamar was born in Jerusalem, moving to Tel Aviv in the ‘90s.

Their latest cookbook, Honey & Co Daily, features dishes that taste delicious but don’t take all day to prepare – drawing on the menu served at the Sloane Street cafe. Below, we share three from the book which are perfect for summer.

Summer Dirty Rice: Chorizo, Capers, Tomato and Chilli

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 300g/10½oz raw cooking chorizo. diced into large cubes
• 2 red onions, peeled and cut in large dice (about 200g/7oz)
• 4 garlic cloves, peeled and halved
• 8 large sage leaves, roughly chopped
• 1 red chilli, sliced (use less if the chorizo is spicy)
• 360g/13oz mixed seasonal tomatoes, large ones diced, small ones halved
• 1 small bunch of coriander (cilantro), roughly chopped (about 20g/¾oz)
• 2 tsp flaky sea salt (kosher salt) plenty of freshly ground black pepper
• 250g/9oz baldo, bomba or other paella rice
• 30g/1oz capers
• 350ml/12fl oz boiling water

Method:

1. Heat a large deep skillet or wide saucepan on a low heat and add the chorizo without any oil. Cook for about 7–8 minutes, stirring occasionally, so the oil starts to come out of the chorizo cubes and they colour all over.
2. Add the onions, garlic, sage and chilli and fry for 2 minutes.
3. Stir in the chopped mixed tomatoes, coriander, salt and pepper, cover the pan and simmer for 12 minutes, stirring a couple of times, until some of the tomato pieces have collapsed a little.
4. Add the rice and capers and stir well to coat. Pour over the boiling water, cover the pan and cook on a low heat for 12 minutes. Turn the heat off, but don’t move the pan or uncover for another 12 minutes. Finally uncover, fluff up the rice and serve.

Chicken, Cashew & Mango Salad

Serves 4

Ingredients:

For the salt rub

• ½ tsp flaky sea salt (kosher salt)
• ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
• ½ tsp ground coriander
• ½ tsp ground fenugreek
• A pinch of ground turmeric

For the chicken and cashews

• 2 chicken breasts, ideally with the skin on (about 200g/7oz each)
• A drizzle of olive oil
• 1 tsp whole coriander seeds
• 80g/2¾oz raw cashews
• 1 tsp honey
• Zest and juice of 1 lime

For the salad

• 1 banana shallot, peeled and finely sliced (about 100g/3½oz)
• 1 green chilli (about 10g/⅓oz), deseeded and finely sliced
• A generous sprinkling of sea salt (kosher salt)
• Zest and juice of 1 lime
• 100g/3½oz rocket (arugula), washed
• 1 mango (about 300g/10½oz), peeled, stoned and sliced (about 200g/7oz prepared weight)
• 1 small bunch of coriander (cilantro), chopped (about 20g/¾oz)
• 2 tbsp olive oil

Method:

1. Mix the salt rub ingredients together and sprinkle all over the chicken breasts. Leave to rest for at least 10 minutes before cooking. Alternatively cover and store in the fridge for up to 12 hours.
2. Heat your oven to 200°C fan/220°C/425°F/gas mark 7.
3. Heat a drizzle of olive oil in an ovenproof frying pan on a medium-low heat. Add the seasoned chicken breasts, skin-side down, and fry slowly for about 8 minutes until the skin is golden. Flip and cook the other side for 4 minutes, then flip again so the skin side is down once more.
4. Add the coriander seeds, cashews, honey, lime zest and lime juice to the pan, and transfer to the oven. Roast for 7 minutes, then remove from the oven and flip the chicken breasts so the skin side is facing up again. Half-cover and leave to rest for 10 minutes.
5. In a bowl mix the finely sliced shallot and green chilli with the salt and the lime zest and juice. Set aside.
6. Place the rocket on a large serving platter. Slice the chicken breast and scatter over the rocket along with the mango slices. Top with the lime- and honey-roasted cashews and chopped coriander. Stir the olive oil into the chilli-shallot mixture to make the dressing.
7. Pour over the salad just before serving.

Lemon & Raspberry Drizzle Loaf

Makes a 900g/2lb loaf

Ingredients:

For the raspberry topping (which is actually on the bottom)

• 150g/5½oz raspberries
• 1 tbsp cornflour (cornstarch)
• 1 tbsp caster (superfine) sugar

For the cake

• 130ml/4½fl oz vegetable oil
• 200g/7oz caster (superfine) sugar
• 3 eggs
• 200g/7oz plain flour (all-purpose flour)
• 1 tbsp cornflour (cornstarch)
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• A pinch of salt
• Zest and juice of 1 unwaxed lemon

To finish

• 80g/2¾oz caster (superfine) sugar
• Zest and juice of 1 unwaxed lemon
• 150g/5½oz raspberries

Method:

1. Heat your oven to 170°C fan/190°C/375°F/gas mark 5. Line a 900g/2lb loaf tin with baking paper.
2. Mix the raspberries for the topping with the cornflour, sugar and a tablespoon of water, then scatter over the bottom of the tin.
3. Whisk together the oil and the sugar, then whisk in the eggs one at a time until the mixture emulsifies nicely.
4. Stir in the flour, cornflour, baking powder and salt, then add the lemon zest and juice and combine to form a smooth batter. Transfer to the loaf tin, pouring evenly over the layer of raspberries.
5. Place in the centre of the oven and bake for 20 minutes, then (without opening the oven) reduce the heat to 160°C fan/180°C/350°F/gas mark 4 and bake for a further 30 minutes.
6. Now open the oven to rotate the loaf tin 180 degrees, then bake for another 10–15 minutes until the cake is nice and bouncy.
7. While the cake is baking, put the sugar and lemon juice in a pan with 4 tablespoons of water. Bring to the boil to form a syrup, then remove from the heat.
8. Pour the syrup all over the cake, still in its tin, when it comes out of the oven. Cool in the tin for about 20–30 minutes, then carefully flip onto a serving plate and decorate with the fresh raspberries. This is nice served warm and comforting, but also keeps really well for the next day.

Extracted from Honey & Co. Daily, Itamar Srulovich & Sarit Packer (Quadrille, £27.00) Photography by Patricia Niven.