Preheat a large saucepan over a medium-high heat. Fill the pan with boiling water and add the rice with a generous handful of crumbled sea salt. Boil for 6-8 minutes until the rice is parboiled. You will know it is parboiled when the colour of the grains turns from the normal dullish white to a more brilliant white and the grains become slightly elongated and begin to soften. Grind the saffron (if using) with a pestle and mortar, then pour over the 2 tbsp of boiling water and leave to infuse. This dish is more than just a simple broth – it is a wonderfully hearty meal and offers a great way of using up vegetables. There are no rules – it should contain whatever you find lying around the house and in your fridge. Iran boasts dozens of versions of meatballs and we Persians love adding fruit to them for a burst of sweetness. I often make these meatballs for guests, with a good homemade sauce, which makes the perfect base to plunge them into. You can buy sour cherries frozen or dried, both sweetened and unsweetened. Sweetened sour cherries work best for this recipe, but you can substitute dried cranberries instead. Chef Sabrina Ghayour’s new recipes deliver maximum flavour with the greatest of ease – perfect for busy lives’– Sainsbury’s Magazine

Think maximum flavour, minimum fuss: chef Sabrina Ghayour’s Middle-Eastern inspired recipes will add zing to your everyday’– Mail on Sunday YOU Magazine To make the meatballs, preheat a large frying pan over a medium heat. Put all the ingredients, except the oil, in a large mixing bowl and, using your hands, mix everything together really well for 6-8 minutes, ensuring you break up all the clumps of lamb so that everything is combined and the mixture is smooth – this will make for light and smooth meatballs. Middle Eastern food can be heavy and plentiful, so you need to pair it with light, refreshing dishes that cleanse the palate and aid digestion. This is just that kind of dish – it is a perfect accompaniment to heavy meat and poultry dishes, providing a lovely fresh flavour – and it looks beautiful, too. The lightly sweetened dressing works well, counteracting the acidity, and I just love the intense crunchiness of this salad.Towards the end of the cooking time, drain and rinse the mussels and clams. Pull the beards off the mussels and give them a gentle scrub. The recipes in Persiana are laid out clearly and include a lovely chatty little blurb about the dish; a clear and usually short list of ingredients; step by step instructions and a beautiful, inspirational photo. My main complaint is that there is no guide to how long the recipes take to make. I would also have liked the steps in the method to be numbered to make it easier to find my place as I am following a recipe. I keep this cake on a plate covered with clingfilm and find it can be kept like this for up to a week. Because of this I had to adapt the recipe slightly… Sabrina cooks her tagines on the stove top, but I don’t really like to do this as I can’t really go out and leave something chuntering away on a gas stove and I have small children so I sort of feel I can’t really leave the kitchen if I have something on the stove…being cooped up in the kitchen for 2 hours is not really my idea of fun! Consequently, I popped this tagine in the oven and it cooked fine. I don’t think she could write a dull recipe if she tried. Every one an elegantly spiced delight.’– Tom Parker Bowles

Sabrina Ghayour’s Middle-Eastern plus food is all flavour, no fuss – and makes me very, very happy’– Nigella Lawson

The latest cookbook from Sabrina Ghayour is another winner.

Sabrina Ghayour's Middle-Eastern plus food is all flavour, no fuss - and makes me very, very happy" - Nigella Lawson

It’s no secret — nor should it be — that I am a huge admirer of Sabrina Ghayour; indeed, all five of her books thus far have earned a starring role in CookbookCorner. The things is, with a Sabrina book you just know that the recipes will be unfussily do-able, exuberantly flavoured, and blessedly reliable. On top of which, her books are infused with her warmth, greedy impatience (and that’s a compliment in my book!) and generosity. She writes recipes that allow both beginners and more experienced cooks to create joyful food without stress, because she properly understands what is manageable within a busy life. This, her sixth book, does the same — only more so! It’s geared towards those times when shortcuts are needed, when the daily business of life doesn’t allow for protracted sessions in the kitchen, but meals need to be got on the table promptly and still give pleasure. Not that many of the recipes in Persiana Everyday couldn’t be part of the loveliest entertaining menus, too. Just to name three, let me draw your attention to her Baked Halloumi with Lemon, Thyme and Honey; Fennel, Feta, Orange & Pistachio Salad; and the beautiful Rhubarb, Rose & Pistachio Trifle Pots. I don't think she could write a dull recipe if she tried. Every one an elegantly spiced delight." - Tom Parker Bowles I am not a natural baker, so I work hard to perfect foolproof, crowd-pleasing recipes that work with my style of cooking. Iran has a huge nut-producing trade and pistachios are the king of Persian nuts. I first made this cake when I started doing supper clubs – we don't really have puddings in Iran.

Radish, cucumber and red onion salad with mint and orange blossom dressing. Photograph: Liz & Max Haarala Hamilton