I love spicy food and love to cook, but unfortunately Henry's recipes prove that the best food is often the simplest, letting simple flavors shine. I could try to find a better way to describe it, but why should I when that perfectly captures how I feel about it. Rather than make labneh, I followed her suggestion to serve Greek yogurt with preserved lemon stirred in, and it was a great accompaniment. Great for a weeknight because it needs no marinading or searing, just throw it in the oven and let it do it’s thing.

I really appreciate that she understands how busy life is and has offered recipes that are virtually "hands off" -- the tagline for the book after all is "simple dishes that look after themselves. Diana Henry's favorite way to cook is to throw ingredients into a dish or roasting tin, slide them in the oven and let the heat behind that closed door transform them into golden, burnished meals. I only had undyed shin-shoga ginger not the red slivers of beni shoga used in the picture in the book so it wasn't as pretty but the flavour was very good. Mr lilham and I both loved it, and the children loved the chicken but not a fan of the sweet potatoes.Used boneless skinless thighs which worked surprisingly well (I started the potatoes/onions earlier). The mains, sides, and desserts are simple but with nuanced ingredients that almost made me salivate.

There are lots of vegetarian options, some of which could be the center of the meal and others that could be assembled into a meal.I halved the quantity of potato and lamb, but left the tomatoes, onion and olives the same for two people. Unfortunately, not many of the recipes jumped out at me to put everything down and make them now (probably more me than the book though! But as I say, to choose just one recipe is not the perfect state of affairs: there will be many people getting From the Oven to Table: Simple Dishes that Look After Themselves as a present from me this Christmas.

I reduced the sausage, potato and onion and left the peppers and tomatoes as per the recipe for 2 people. Instead of actively cooking, standing at the stove I used that time my dinner was roasting or baking to tidy-up the kitchen and have a quick sit down in my favourite chair by the window. Even the boy enjoyed it, which is a huge deal as he had cross-country so was already not in the best of moods.

Roasted eggplant puree with soft goat cheese, smoked almonds, chili and rosemary" left me longing for my far simpler baba ganoush recipe. As always, Diana Henry's books are filled with beautiful photographs and delicious sounding recipes, but somehow they never seem like something I want to make. I roasted red onions, eggplant, and red peppers and put them on ciabatta with this and we all loved it.

Packed with hearty, highly flavoured dishes, it's the perfect winter cookbook for those days when you need sustenance without putting in too much effort. I planned to serve it with olive oil roasted potatoes but just before they were done, I transferred them into the main cast iron skillet to finish while coatIng them with all the good stuff in that pan. I suspect that perhaps it is meant to be added to the garlic oil paste that you rub under the skin, but maybe it was a mistake. Not that I’m alone here: she holds, deservedly, a very special place in the hearts and the bookshelves of home cooks.An ode to the oven, Diana Henry’s latest offering delivers delectable dishes which are hassle free and packed full of grains, pulses and seasonal vegetables. It was fine — I’m not sure if all comes together in a special way or if it’s just two or three sets of flavors sitting together on a plate. My husband isn't a fan of chicken skin so I used boneless and skinless thighs, which worked well but may also have affected the flavour.