Celebrating 30 years in operation, its cookbook Fatimas, by co-founder Kirsty Senior and Sophie Gilmour, is a collection of its recipes which have defined the restaurant.
"You’ll find Middle Eastern and Mediterranean ingredients woven through everything from classics that we’ve gently reimagined, to new dishes that reflect how we love to cook and eat today."
Fatimas was started in 1995 by Senior and Krista Dudson, who had worked at Metropole under Ray McVinnie and Peter Chichester where they learnt how to "work properly, organisation, all details considered" in a "system that made sense".
"It gave us the tools and discipline we needed to bring our vision to life."
Their recipes reflect their flavour-first philosophy and their love of herbs, spices, citrus and bold, fresh ingredients.
"What we discovered in putting this together is how true we’ve stayed to who we are, while still growing with the times."
There are also suggested menus for everything from Sunday family dinners to rugby night or festive barbecues.
Quirkily, the recipe section starts with a recipe for a pomegranate margarita to set the "tone".
"This is simple, striking, and layered with flavour, much like the food that follows. More than anything this drink is an invitation: to pause, to prepare, to enjoy the process. We hope you take your time with these recipes — learn a new sauce, taste a spice you haven’t used before, and find joy in building flavour slowly."
They hope the book will help people rediscover the joy of cooking, or "maybe just dinner on a busy Tuesday night".
"Food is so much more than a meal — it’s how we celebrate, connect and live well."
The book
Fatimas by Kirsty Senior and Sophie Gilmour, photography by Vanessa Wu, published by Beatnik, RRP $59.99
Courgette, corn, coriander and avocado
This salad is attractive, substantial and a great way to showcase raw courgette. We think it’s best in summer when the corn is fresh (although you could use thoroughly drained frozen corn in a pinch), and we love the punchy flavour of the coriander dressing. It’s a fantastic accompaniment to barbecued meats and has become a firm favourite in our rotation for summer dinners with its ability to tick both the salad and vege box simultaneously. If we’re feeling indulgent, we add feta as well, which suits it perfectly.
Serves 6
For the salad
½ small red onion, peeled and sliced
½ lemon, juiced
½ tsp sumac
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 corn cobs, kernels removed (1½ cups frozen corn, defrosted)
small handful coriander, stems finely chopped and leaves roughly chopped
flaky sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 courgettes, trimmed and peeled into ribbons with a peeler as far to the core as possible
2 avocados, peeled and cut into chunks
For the dressing
60ml (¼ cup) extra virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp maple syrup
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed
small handful coriander, stems and leaves
Method
Pickle the red onion with lemon juice and sumac in a small bowl while you prepare the rest of the salad.
Heat the oil in a frying pan over a high heat. Fry the corn for 2 minutes until it is just tender and some pieces are charred. Season generously and stir in the chopped coriander stems. Set aside.
Place the ingredients for the dressing in a jug and blend with a stick blender.
Place the courgette ribbons on a flat plate. Layer with corn, avocado and red onion. Spoon over the dressing and gently toss to mix. Sprinkle with almonds and coriander.
Chocolate hazelnut cookies
Kirsty’s mother taught her how to toast nuts in a small pan until the shells were released when she was a child. When the nuts cooled, she would rub them between her palms, then take the dish outside and blow the shells away. This memory formed the basis for this recipe which we called a grown-up cookie in recipe development due to its mix of milk and dark chocolate and the inclusion of cinnamon and cardamom. We love a cookie that is crunchy at the edges and soft in the centre, and after many iterations we think this recipe cracks it every time.
Makes 12 cookies
Ingredients
120g butter
160g (1¼ cup) flour
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp ground cardamom
½ tsp baking soda
pinch salt
80g (½ cup) brown sugar
70g (⅓ cup) caster sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
50g hazelnuts, toasted, skinned and chopped
60g Whittakers milk chocolate
60g Whittakers dark chocolate
sea salt
Method
Line a baking tray with greaseproof paper.
In a saucepan melt the butter over a medium heat for 5 minutes until the butter turns a deep amber colour and develops a nutty aroma. This happens quickly so stay next to the stove. Set aside to cool.
Mix together the flour, spices, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
Prepare the chocolate. Leave the chocolate as a block. Slice lengthways by shaving the blocks of chocolate using the whole length of the knife. Chop the shavings into ½ cm pieces. Set aside.
Using a cake mixer with the whisk attachment, whisk the butter, brown sugar and caster sugar for 2 minutes until a smooth paste forms. Add the egg and vanilla extract. Whisk for 1 minute until combined. With a large spoon fold in the dry ingredients until just combined. Do not overmix. Stir in the chopped hazelnuts, milk and dark chocolate.
Roll the mixture into 12 balls using the palms of your hands. Each cookie will weigh approximately 55g. Slightly flatten with a fork. Chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 170°C.
Sprinkle each cookie with sea salt. Bake for 12 minutes until golden and crispy at the edges. Allow the cookies to cool slightly on the tray to set before transferring to a wire rack.
Spiced pork belly
This is a great dinner party dish because it can be prepared in advance and cooked for a couple of hours while you’re mingling. The spices in this dish somehow work to lighten the richness of the pork and take it in an exotic direction. Cooking the pork in liquid ensures it comes out moist every time. We love to serve it with the freshness of a crunchy Green Slaw and our Middle Eastern Sweet Potatoes.
Serves 8
Ingredients
1.5kg pork belly skin on, boneless, in one piece
1 heaped tsp flaky sea salt
2 tsp coriander seeds
2 tsp fennel seeds
2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground sweet paprika
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp turmeric
5 green cardamom pods, cracked
1 cinnamon stick
175ml apple juice
juice of 1 orange
175ml (¾ cup) water
Method
Score the fat on the top of the pork belly in straight lines about 1cm apart. Rub the pork all over with flaky sea salt. Place in a roasting dish lined with baking paper.
Grind the coriander seeds, fennel seeds, ginger, paprika, cumin seeds and turmeric in a mortar and pestle or spice grinder. Rub the spice mix all over the meat and between the scored lines.
If time allows, leave the pork belly uncovered overnight (or as long as you can) in the refrigerator to dry. The next day, take it out of the fridge an hour before cooking.
Preheat the oven to 240°C.
Put the green cardamom pods and cinnamon stick under the pork. Pour in both juices and water up to where the fat begins so all the meat is submerged in liquid. Some pork bellies are fatter than others, so you may not need all the liquid. Roast for 30 minutes. Decrease the oven temperature to 170°C and roast for a further 2 hours, until the pork is soft and the skin is crispy. Top up with a little more water if the roasting dish goes dry.
Remove from the oven, cover loosely with tinfoil and leave to rest for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.
