What a week to kick off July. A homemade tray pizza with a story that goes all the way back to my childhood days, the pasta everyone on the internet is talking about right now — made properly, the way it deserves — golden tuna puff pastry parcels that come from a Tupperware party memory, a Lebanese pea stew that is pure comfort in a bowl, and sahlab to end the week. Warm, creamy, fragrant — the kind of thing you make on a cold night and drink slowly.
A week full of stories and full of flavour. Every recipe is linked below — let’s have a great one.
This Week’s Meal Plan
Meal 1: Homemade Tray Pizza
This one takes me straight back to childhood — but not to my dad’s takeaway shop. The pizza I really grew up eating was the one our mums made at home, in a pan, without a second thought. No dough obsessing, no measuring anything twice — they were not Italian and they were not trying to be. What they cared about was the topping. All the vegetables thrown into one bowl together, tossed, and piled on generously. That spirit is exactly what this recipe is. Thick, pillowy base, golden on the bottom, cut into generous squares straight from the tray — with a small spoonful of yoghurt in the dough to keep it soft, and enough olive oil in the tray to give you those slightly crispy edges that make a homemade tray pizza so completely irresistible.
👉 Get the Homemade Tray Pizza recipe
Meal 2: Marry Me Chicken Pasta
The name says it all — this is the dish that makes people stop mid-bite and ask what on earth is in it. Golden chicken thighs, a rich cream sauce built on tomato paste and sun-dried tomatoes, a pour of cream and a handful of fresh basil, all tossed through pasta until every strand is completely coated. It comes together in one pan, the sauce builds in layers, and the one step you cannot rush is cooking down that tomato paste until it darkens — that is where the flavour lives. Make it on a weeknight and watch it become a regular.
👉 Get the Marry Me Chicken Pasta recipe
Meal 3: Tuna Puff Pastry Parcels
These come from a Tupperware party — and if you were around in that era, you know exactly what I mean. My friend made them that day, I could not leave without the recipe, and then somehow life got busy and I forgot all about them. A recent catch-up with her brought them straight back, and I am so glad it did. A rich tuna and tomato filling tucked inside puff pastry, folded using a technique I picked up from too much time on the internet, opened into a little parcel and finished with melted mozzarella in the centre. They look impressive, they come together in under 40 minutes, and they are always the first thing to disappear.
👉 Get the Tuna Puff Pastry Parcels recipe
Meal 4: Bazella wu Ruz — Lamb Pea Stew
I used to avoid peas at all costs as a kid. Now this is one of my ultimate comfort meals — and I think that says everything about what a good stew can do. Diced lamb simmered low and slow with peas, potatoes, carrots and a rich tomato broth, fragrant with coriander and bharat, until everything is deeply tender and the house smells incredible. Serve it over vermicelli rice and do not skip the extra coriander on top. It tastes even better the next day, so make a big pot and let it do its job all week
Dessert: Sahlab Winter Drink
This one is for the cold nights — and there is nothing quite like it. Warm milk thickened with cornflour, sweetened with a little sugar or honey, and finished with rosewater, then dusted with cinnamon and ground pistachio. It is ready in six minutes, it costs almost nothing to make, and it is the kind of thing that wraps you up from the inside out. Serve it in small cups with a biscuit on the side. A perfect end to a winter week.
A week of stories, comfort and one very good pasta.
I hope this makes your week in the kitchen feel a little easier — and a lot more delicious. Tell me which one you’re making first! 🤍
