A celebration of Persian food

Persiana: Recipes from the Middle East & beyond, by Sabrina Ghayour. (Hachette, $39.99.)

Marinated Feta

Serves 6–8 as part of a mezze

Bread and cheese (or naan-o-paneer in Persian) are the opener to any classic Persian meal. We usually pair them with fresh herbs, fresh walnuts, radishes and spring onions. I came up with this dish as an alternative to the classic version and it has become a firm favourite with my diners and friends alike. It's great in salads and the marinade makes a tasty salad dressing with just a little extra lemon juice. Or simply scoop up the chunks of feta with bread.

400g feta cheese

500-600ml olive oil (the quantity depends on the size of the dish used to marinate the cheese)

75ml garlic oil

finely grated rind of 2 lemons and juice of ½ lemon

sea salt

3 long banana shallots, peeled and thinly sliced

10-12 pickled chillies, thinly sliced (and 3 tbsp of the pickle brine)

2 x 20g packets of coriander, stalks and leaves finely chopped

You probably have two packets of feta. Cut each into chunks – I would suggest 12 per pack, but do as you wish. Put the chunks into a shallow bowl or airtight container.

Pour the olive oil, garlic oil, lemon rind and juice and salt to taste into a mixing bowl. Add the shallots, pickled chillies and coriander and mix well to ensure all the aromatics are evenly distributed in the marinade. Pour the pickle brine into the bowl and mix well.

Arrange the feta in your chosen container, leaving a little space between each cube. Pour over the marinade, shaking the container to ensure the marinade covers the feta. Cover with clingfilm and leave to marinate for a minimum of three hours before serving. This dish stores well overnight but keep it in an airtight container in the refrigerator and eat within a few days.

Tip: To replace the brine in the jar of pickled chillies you use – just add cold water to cover the remaining chillies and a couple of pinches of salt before resealing.

Saffron & Lemon Chicken

Joojeh Kabab

Serves 4

One of the most popular poultry dishes of Iran, joojeh kabab probably features on the menu of every Persian restaurant in the world. Traditionally made using poussin, what really makes this dish so special is the way in which the chicken is marinated in yoghurt and lemon juice, which breaks down the fibres and tenderizes the flesh beautifully. The addition of saffron and onions creates the signature flavour that makes this a much-loved dish. This is my simplified version of the recipe, which can be made at home in a conventional oven if, like me, you don't have a barbecue or flame grill.

4 onions, cut in half and thinly sliced into half moons

juice of 5 lemons

4 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp ground turmeric

400g Greek yoghurt

3 tbsp crushed sea salt

generous pinch of saffron threads

3 tbsp boiling water

6 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 5cm pieces

Put the onions, lemon juice, olive oil, turmeric, yoghurt and sea salt into a large mixing bowl and mix well. Using a pestle and mortar, grind the saffron to a powder, then pour over the boiling water and leave to infuse for 5–10 minutes.

Add the chicken to the mixing bowl. Mix well to evenly coat the chicken pieces in the yoghurt, then add the saffron water to the bowl and mix thoroughly. Cover the bowl with clingfilm and leave the chicken in the refrigerator to marinate for a minimum of 1 hour or preferably overnight.

Once the chicken has been marinated, preheat the oven or grill to the highest setting possible. Line a large baking sheet with non-stick baking paper.

Remove each piece of chicken from the marinade using a slotted spoon. Lay out all the pieces of chicken on the prepared baking sheet and bake or grill for 18-20 minutes maximum, or until the pieces have slightly charred edges but remain beautifully moist on the insides. Serve with flour tortilla wraps or basmati rice with a little salad and some yoghurt.

Belly-Stuffed Rainbow Trout

Mahi Shekampor

Serves 4

Literally meaning "belly-stuffed fish", mahi shekampor is a classic recipe from southern Iran. I like to use rainbow trout for this recipe, but you can use any whole fish you like. My addition of preserved lemons give the stuffing a wonderful citrusy kick that provides the perfect accompaniment to the trout, so there's no need for additional lemon to season your fish.

75g pine nuts

olive oil

1 garlic bulb, cloves bashed, peeled and thinly sliced

2 red chillies, thinly sliced

1 bunch of spring onions, thinly sliced

1 large bunch of coriander, stalks and leaves roughly chopped

4 preserved lemons, finely chopped

2 large whole rainbow trout, about 500-600g each, gutted and de-scaled

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 200C.

Line a baking sheet with non-stick baking paper. Scatter the pine nuts on the baking sheet and toast them in the oven for 3-4 minutes, checking them frequently to prevent burning. Once toasted, set aside.

Set a large frying pan over a medium heat, drizzle in enough olive oil to coat the base of the pan generously, then add the garlic and chillies and stir well to prevent burning. Once the garlic is translucent, add the spring onion slices, followed by the coriander stalks and leaves, give everything a good stir and cook until the herbs and spring onions soften. Add the preserved lemons, stir well again, then add the toasted pine nuts. Give the ingredients a last stir, then take the pan off the heat and allow the contents to cool for at least 15 minutes.

Place the whole trout on to the same paper-lined baking sheet you used to toast the pine nuts. Open up the belly cavities of the fish, divide the stuffing mixture into 2two and pack one portion of the stuffing into the belly and head cavities of each fish. Once done, drizzle a little olive oil on to the fish skins, season well with sea salt and black pepper and bake for 25-30 minutes (or less, if your fish are smaller). Once cooked, serve immediately. Two people can share each fish.