Summer Meze Recipes by John Whaite

A few friends recently told me that the thought of serving a meze (as opposed to a regimented starter-main-dessert option) was a little daunting. But I want to reassure you that a meze is nothing more than a collection of small salads and meats, many of which can be prepared well in advance. My top tip is to just stick to three dishes that you make yourself: a meat dish, a salad and a vegetable dish (though if serving to vegetarians you could make 2 vegetable dishes instead). The table can be made more abundant with shop-bought bits and bobs, such as flatbreads, olives, hummus and baba ganoush.

To make it even simpler, treat it like a buffet: just plonk piles of plates, cutlery and napkins onto the table and let people dig in at their leisure.

Lamb Kofta on Yoghurt Cucumber Dip

Makes 8 (can easily be doubled)

For the kofta

250g lamb mince

½ onion, very finely chopped

½ tsp turmeric

½ tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp cumin

20g pine nuts

Handful parsley, finely chopped

3 tbsp milk

½ tsp fine salt

Olive oil, for cooking

For the yoghurt dip

200g full-fat Greek yoghurt

1 garlic clove, minced

¼ cucumber, finely grated

2 radishes, finely grated

Fine salt

Coarse black pepper

In a bowl mix together all the ingredients and bring together until well-combined. Portion into 8 even balls and refrigerate on a plate, under cling, until ready to cook. You can store them in the fridge for a day before cooking.

For the yoghurt dip, mix everything together and season to taste with salt and pepper. Spoon onto the plate on which you intend to serve the kofta.

Heat a frying pan over a medium-high heat and add a good glug of olive oil. Add the kofta and fry for 4 minutes a side, or until the kofta reach 75C internally – I use an instant-read digital thermometer. Put the kofta on top of the yoghurt dip and serve.  

Sumac-roasted Carrots with Tahini Sauce

Serves 4

4 carrots, peeled

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp sumac

Fine salt

For the tahini sauce

1 garlic clove, minced

2 tbsp lemon juice

4 tbsp light tahini

3 tbsp cold water

Fine salt

Toss the carrots in the oil, sumac and a generous pinch of salt, and set onto a baking tray. Roast at 200C fan for 25 minutes, then cover with foil and cook for a further 20 minutes.

For the sauce put the garlic into a bowl and add the lemon juice. Leave to soak for 5 minutes to remove the bitter burn of the garlic, then add the tahini and water and whisk to a smooth sauce – it will look dry and curdled as you mix but just carry on. If it’s a little thick, stir in more water as necessary until velvety and smooth.

To serve, set the carrots onto a serving plate and drizzle over the tahini sauce. This can be made in advance, stored in the fridge for a couple of days, and served at room temperature.

Basil and Pomegranate Tabbouleh

Serves 4

45g bulgar wheat 

300g plum tomatoes

4 spring onions

Juice of 1 lemon

½ teaspoon black pepper

½ teaspoon allspice

100g flat-leaf parsley leaves, finely chopped

40g basil leaves, finely chopped

75ml extra virgin olive oil

Seeds from ½ pomegranate

Rinse the bulgar wheat under the cold tap until the water runs clear, then put into a bowl and cover by 1cm with boiling water. Cover with clingfilm (though I prefer using a plate as a lid) and leave to soak for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, roughly chop the tomatoes and finely slice the spring onions and put them into a bowl. Add the lemon juice, pepper, allspice, parsley, basil, olive oil and pomegranate seeds.

Use a fork to fluff up the bulgar wheat and add it to the bowl. Toss everything together, season well and set aside until you’re ready to serve. If you want to make this a day in advance, the flavours will only get better. Though I’d recommend you add the pomegranate seeds just before serving as these can deflate a little.