Baklava is a delicious Middle Eastern/Turkish/Eastern European dessert made with phyllo pastry, nuts and honey. I decided to make this Baklava with 3 types of nuts (pistachios, hazelnuts and walnuts) but you can really mix and match adding a little more of one and a little less of the other. Some people make their Baklava with only walnuts or only pistachios but I wanted to mix things up and try them all together.

I am usually not a big fan of orange cakes but this orange olive oil cake really changed my mind. The batter is absolutely delicious and yes - it does have the taste of olive oil which I loved! The top part is crunchy yet soft and gives the cake an extra layer of taste. I have to admit I failed at my first 2 attempts when making this cake: once because I cut the orange slices too thinly and they broke during caramelisation while the second time I added too much orange juice and the cake was not firm enough.

Hummus has become one of our favorite dips and we have all had Baba Ganoush but have you tried Muhammara? Muhammara is a hot red pepper dip that originated from Aleppo, Syria and apart from being vegan and delicious it’s also super easy to make! Muhammara has got it all, it’s spicy yet sweet, thick but creamy and fits perfectly on a mezze platter with some Pita Bread, Hummus, Babaganoush or with meat/ fish. Something delicious you can also make are sandwiches with Muhammara and grilled vegetables.

Who doesn’t love Falafel? Apart from being delicious they are also a good source of fiber and protein and get you full quite fast so you usually don’t overeat. Falafel is made mainly of chickpeas which are full of vitamins, minerals and are known to aid in digestion and weight control. The only problem is that falafel is usually fried which adds calories and fat to this actually very healthy meal.

Baba Ganoush is a delicious dip made with grilled Aubergines. Similar to Hummus, Baba Ganoush is eaten with pita bread or raw vegetables such as carrots, fennel, peppers or cucumber. Traditionally Baba Ganoush is made by grilling the eggplants on an open flame which gives the dish an additional layer of smoky flavour but for this recipe you will only need your oven.

Baklava’s can be found all over the Middle East in many different shapes and sizes as well as different nut and spice adaptations - my personal favourites are Pistachio Baklavas but you can easily exchange the Pistachios with for example walnuts - you can also play with the spices or leave them out all together. Baklava’s are extremely fun to make, yes they are quite the calorie bomb but your guests will love them (plus it’s one of those things people think takes AGES to make and will be even more impressed).