Sabrina Ghayour's top 5 Middle Eastern kitchen essentials

Award-winning British-Iranian chef Sabrina Ghayour is on a mission to get more Middle Eastern cooking essentials into British kitchens.

The Persiana author lists preserved lemons, sumac, harissa, pul biber and zaatar as her key ingredients.

“I really love having those things and they really transform little things that I do and I use them again and again and again but in many different guises,” said the ‘Sabrina’s Kitchen’ supper club host.

For Sabrina, preserved lemons are a must for a Persian kitchen. They are great for Martinis, jam-making, salads and marinades.

Tangy, lemony spice sumac, which is excellent sprinkled on chicken, fish, rice, raw onions or over salad dressings, is another one of Sabrina’s favourites: “I love sumac, it’s very Persian,” she added.

Harissa, a fragrant, hot chilli, made from a variety of spices and herbs is a key ingredient in North African and Middle Eastern cooking. Sabrina “absolutely loves” roasted harissa.

Pul Biber are Turkish pepper flakes also known as Aleppo pepper, which is commonly used in Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cooking or as a condiment at tables in Turkish homes and restaurants. It’s not particularly hot but adds an intensely coloured, aromatic twist dishes.

Zaatar, or wild Thyme mix, is another key ingredient in every Persian kitchen. This herb blend is ubiquitous in Middle Eastern cooking. It is a mixture of thyme, sumac, sesame seeds, herbs and salt.

“The one thing I like about Middle Eastern food is that it’s very, very simple to deviate and change and vary with the ingredients that you use,” said Sabrina whose second cookbook, Sirocco, is out now.

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