Clockwise from top left: author Georgina Hayden, seadas saganaki (cheese and honey triangles), basil semifreddo and lablabi party (chickpeas and toast). PHOTOS BY LAURA EDWARDS

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Jump to the recipes: seadas saganaki (cheese and honey triangles), lablabi party (chickpeas and toast) and basil semifreddo.

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Growing up above her grandparents’ Greek Cypriot taverna in North London, cook, food writer and stylist Georgina Hayden jokes that her life was like My Big Fat Greek Wedding. “It is uncanny,” she says. “But I had these amazing women who taught me to cook, and there’s inevitably a real maternal sense to that, and the way I cook is very maternal. I’m not about foams and pearls and squeezy bottles. I want to cook the best food I can for you in the most delicious way, because I’m telling you I love you.”

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It may not be the fanciest or the fussiest, and she keeps the pots and pans to a minimum, “but it’s going to be with heart,” Hayden adds. In her fifth cookbook, Medesque (Bloomsbury, 2026), she tapped into just this style of cooking — the kind she practices at home, living a busy life in London with her family.

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Hayden thinks of Medesque and the book that came before it, Greekish (2024), as sisters. While her first three cookbooks — Stirring Slowly (2016), Taverna (2019) and Nistisima (2022) — were traditional and involved plenty of research, she wrote the last two with the same lightheartedness, but in Medesque, features recipes inspired by the broader Mediterranean region.

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“I’m playful with my recipes. I want to make them more achievable: one-pan, weeknight, all that kind of stuff,” says Hayden. “I think everyone feels the same pressure. We want authenticity, and we want to eat delicious food, but we need ease.”

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Though Hayden spent her childhood in her grandparents’ restaurant, it wasn’t until her last year of university, studying fine art and art history, that she saw a career in food. After starting as a food stylist, Hayden spent 12 years working for Jamie Oliver. As part of Oliver’s food team, she travelled extensively in places including France, Italy, Malta, North Africa and Spain.

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Memories of those adventures played into the writing of Medesque. While Hayden considers Greekish a reflection of the first 20 years of her life, she sees Medesque as representing the second 20 years.

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“I made a wedding cake for an Italian wedding in Amalfi, cooked on a fishing boat in Malta, learned how to make warqa pastry (like a really thin phyllo) in Marrakesh and worked on Antonio Carluccio’s show in Italy. Some really great stuff.”

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Medesque is Georgina Hayden’s fifth cookbook. Photo by Bloomsbury

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For her third book, Nistisima, which means “fasting food,” Hayden looked at Orthodox traditions in the Mediterranean, the Middle East and Eastern Europe. One of the things that struck her then was just how many similarities there are along the Mediterranean coastline. Take Greek Cypriot moussaka, for instance.

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“Most people know what a moussaka is, but you go to Turkey, and it’s the same, but without the béchamel. Then you go to Lebanon, and it’s something different still, and I love that fluidity,” says Hayden. “If you’re going to look at, say, a specific Spanish book, look at José Pizarro. If you’re going to a specific Italian book, go to Gennaro Contaldo. But I want to have fun with them, and I think the ‘-esque’ in the title is reflective of that.”

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Medesque begins with breakfasts, such as seadas saganaki, and ends with sweets, including basil semifreddo. As in Greekish, the weeknight chapter is the biggest “because that reflects the way we live.” Hayden’s take on lablabi (chickpea stew), a Tunisian breakfast that she transforms into an evening meal with plenty of accompaniments, is one of the many recipes featuring legumes, which are a cornerstone of the book.

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“I like to make sure that the majority of the book is vegan or vegetarian, and then with options. There’s always fish and meat in there as well, but I like to think of the bulk of it to be pulses, beans and vegetables.”

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Aside from Greece and Cyprus, Hayden has spent the most time in Italy, working with Italian chefs. As much as she adores the country, Hayden was mindful of maintaining a balance. In her “pasta party” sub-chapter in “Weeknight Wins,” which one might assume would be Italian-themed, she highlights various influences throughout the Mediterranean, from Tunisian macarona (spiced chicken ditalini) to Spanish fideuà, a pasta-based seafood dish similar to paella.

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“Tunisia in North Africa is the second biggest consumer of pasta in the world, which is fascinating,” she says. “I grew up always eating pasta. (Greek Cypriots) eat a lot of vermicelli, orzo and macaroni.”

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One of Hayden’s favourite recipes in the book is an impressive fish stew in “The Weekend” chapter. It leans toward French bouillabaisse, but she called it “a Medesque fish stew” because she didn’t want to assign it to one country. “Be playful, and don’t be scared that something is authentic or not, just if it feels good to you and tastes delicious,” she says. “I hope the -ish and the -esque encourage people to push those boundaries.”

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Seadas saganaki marries the Sardinian fried cheese-filled pastry with the iconic Greek pan-fried cheese and Middle Eastern knafeh. “It’s a really good representation of what the book’s about,” says Georgina Hayden. Photo by Laura Edwards

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Cheese and honey triangles

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Serves: 4

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4 oz (113 g, 1 cup crumbled) feta (vegetarian, if needed)
1 1/2 oz (43 g, scant 1/2 cup grated) pecorino (vegetarian, if needed)
1/2 unwaxed lemon
1 cup store-bought shredded mozzarella (vegetarian, if needed)
Leaves and spriglets from a few thyme sprigs
1/4 cup shelled unsalted pistachios
8 sheets of phyllo dough (from a 16-oz/454-g box), thawed if frozen
Olive oil
2 tbsp honey
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp Aleppo pepper, or a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes, to serve (optional)

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In a mixing bowl, break up the feta with a fork until it is finely crumbled. Finely grate in the pecorino and lemon zest. Add the shredded mozzarella and most of the thyme leaves. Mix everything together and set aside. Finely chop the pistachios.

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When you are ready to make the triangles, get the phyllo dough out of the fridge. Lay a sheet out in front of you, short side closest to you, and brush with olive oil, then lay a second sheet on top. Spoon one-quarter of the cheese mixture over the bottom corner of the phyllo, leaving a gap around the edge, then fold that corner over into a triangle shape. Repeat, folding the triangle away from you up the phyllo sheet, tucking in the edges as you go, until you have a sealed folded parcel. Repeat with the remaining phyllo dough and cheese filling. When you have made all the triangles, set a large frying pan over a medium heat and pour in enough olive oil to just cover the base. Fry the parcels for 2-3 minutes on each side, in batches if need be so as not to crowd the pan, until golden all over. Remove from the pan onto a plate lined with paper towels to blot off excess oil, then transfer to a serving plate.

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Drizzle each triangle with 1/2 tablespoon honey and sprinkle with a good pinch of seasoning, some of the chopped pistachios and a few thyme leaves. I love a pinch of Aleppo pepper too; it adds a lovely heat. Serve straight away.

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“I really love the playfulness of lablabi,” Georgina Hayden says of the Tunisian breakfast. Here, she proposes it as an evening meal with plenty of accompaniments. Photo by Laura Edwards

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Chickpeas and toast

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Serves: 4

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3 × 15-oz (400-g) cans of chickpeas (roughly 750 g/4 1/2 cups drained, cooked chickpeas)
Ciabatta, or baguette (gluten-free, if needed)
2 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp coriander seeds
Extra virgin olive oil
3 garlic cloves
1 tsp Aleppo pepper
1/2-1 tbsp harissa, plus more to serve
Small bunch of Italian parsley
Very small bunch of cilantro
1 bunch of scallions
5 oz (142 g, about 4 cups) baby spinach
2 lemons
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

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Other serving suggestions:
Capers
Pitted olives
Pickles
Boiled eggs

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Preheat your oven to 425F (220C). Start by simmering the chickpeas. Empty the cans of chickpeas into a large saucepan and top with 3 cups of water. Bring to a boil over a high heat, then reduce the heat to a simmer and leave to gently bubble away for 15 minutes while you get on with preparing the rest of the ingredients.

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Tear the ciabatta or baguette into 1 1/2-inch (4-cm) chunks and spread them out on a baking sheet. Crush the cumin and coriander seeds a little in a mortar and pestle. Drizzle the torn-up bread with olive oil, then sprinkle over most of the crushed spices. Season well and toss everything together, then massage in the flavours and spread the bread out into an even layer. Transfer the pan to the hot oven. Bake for 8-10 minutes, until the bread is golden and evenly toasted. Remove and set aside to cool.

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Meanwhile, peel the garlic, place in a mortar and pestle with a good pinch of sea salt and bash until creamy. Add the Aleppo pepper and crush that in, then mix in the harissa and 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil. Get the rest of the toppings ready: finely chop the parsley and cilantro. Trim and thinly slice the scallions.

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When the chickpeas are ready, stir in the garlic-harissa paste, the baby spinach and most of the chopped herbs and scallions. Squeeze in the juice of 1 lemon and season to taste.

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Set up the table for your chickpea party as a big spread: divide the toasted bread between the serving bowls. Place the leftover toasted spices in a small bowl and take to the table along with the jar of harissa with a teaspoon and a bottle of extra virgin olive oil. Then any extra toppings you want to include: a bowl of capers and olives or pickles, boiled eggs if you wish. Then ladle the hot, brothy chickpeas into each bowl, top with the remaining chopped herbs and scallions and let everyone pimp their chickpeas as they wish.

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Georgina Hayden’s take on the Viennetta ice cream cakes popular in the 1980s and ’90s swaps mint for basil. “It looks like it should be mint because it’s beautiful and pale and green,” she says. “Basil sweet is stunning.” Photo by Laura Edwards

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Serves: 10-12

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6 oz (170 g) bittersweet chocolate (preferably 70 per cent cocoa solids)
Good pinch of flaky sea salt
Large bunch (about 4 oz/113 g) of basil
1 1/2 cups superfine sugar
1 2/3 cups heavy (whipping) cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup mascarpone
2 tbsp whole milk

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Line a 2-lb (900-g) loaf pan with plastic wrap, leaving some to hang over the sides. Roughly chop 5 oz (142 g) of the chocolate and melt in a microwave, or in a heatproof bowl over a small saucepan of simmering water (make sure the bowl does not touch the water). Keep stirring until just melted, stir in the salt, then set aside for 10 minutes.

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Meanwhile, pick most of the basil, stalks and all, place in a high-speed blender and blitz with 3/4 cup of the sugar, 7 tablespoons of the heavy cream and the vanilla until smooth. Blitz in the mascarpone and milk. Place the remaining heavy cream in the bowl of a stand mixer (or use a large mixing bowl and an electric hand mixer) with the remaining 3/4 cup of sugar, then whip until you have medium-stiff peaks. Fold in the basil mascarpone mixture. Evenly drizzle one-fifth of the molten chocolate into the base of the lined pan, then spoon in one-quarter of the basil cream. Repeat these layers with the remaining chocolate and cream: you should have 4 layers of cream, topped and tailed with chocolate. Cover with the overhanging plastic wrap and place in the freezer for at least 6 hours.

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When you are ready to serve, melt the remaining 1 oz (28 g) of chocolate, then set aside for 10 minutes as before. Turn out the ice cream onto a serving plate, drizzle with the cooled molten chocolate, scatter with the remaining basil leaves (unless you are keeping the flavour a secret!) and serve.

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Recipes and images excerpted from Medesque: Everyday Recipes with Mediterranean Roots. Used with the permission of the publisher, Bloomsbury. Text copyright ©2026 by Georgina Hayden, photography copyright ©2026 by Laura Edwards.

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