Persiana Everyday: Easy Everyday Dishes

Perennial favorite Ghayour (Persiana) is back with a follow-up to the cookbook that started it all. Simple, fresh recipes are the basis of the new collection, which delivers no-cook, quick weeknight, and one-pot meals but steers clear of gimmicks. Persian-influenced flavors are dominant, but readers will also find a variety of East Asian and South Asian influences. Recipes encourage shortcuts like using canned beans and clever time-savers, such as ice cream whipped up in a food processor in no time. Ghayour shares the inspirations and philosophy behind dishes in her introductions and encourages readers to make adaptations to tastes and what’s on hand. “Serve with” suggestions for recipe pairing help to make the dishes into a meal, and pages are tagged if vegetarian or vegan, although both meat and seafood have their own chapters. Each plate is temptingly photographed with rich color and seemingly ready for the table. A public library can never have enough simple weeknight cookbooks, but Ghayour’s focus on simplicity, flavor, and quality ingredients will make this a new favorite.