Meliz Berg says: “My hellimli zeytinli kek has to be one of the most popular recipes on my blog and Instagram pages. My mum always makes her zeytinli (olive cake) separate to her hellimli (halloumi cake), but the combination of both the dry black olives and halloumi together, with the freshness of the coriander and the sweetness of the onions and dried mint is basically the best kind of double whammy, so I’ve merged my mum’s recipes into one epic cake. Is it a breakfast dish? Sure, why not, because when people ask me what to serve it with, my response is simply ‘a cup of tea’.”

Serves 8–10

Ingredients

• 3 tbsp olive oil, plus extra for oiling
• 1 small brown onion, finely chopped
• 3 large eggs
• 250ml milk
• 200ml olive oil
• 400g self-raising flour
• 1 level tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 1⁄2 tsp sugar
• 165g pitted black olives
• 200g halloumi cheese cut into 2½-cm cubes
• 4 tbsp fresh finely chopped coriander
• 2 tbsp dried mint
• 1 heaped tsp sesame seeds
• 1 heaped tsp nigella seeds
• 25g halloumi cheese, finely grated

Method

Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/400°F/gas mark 6.

Line a 23-cm springform cake tin with greaseproof paper and brush the paper with a little olive oil.

Place a large frying pan over a medium heat and add three tablespoons of olive oil. Once the oil is hot, add the onion to the pan, and immediately turn down the heat. Soften the onion for 12–15 minutes until beautifully translucent and lightly caramelised.

Remove the pan from the heat and transfer the onion to a plate to cool down.

In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, then add the milk and oil and stir well. Sift in half of the flour and the baking powder, then add the salt and sugar and whisk everything together, before sifting in the rest of the flour and whisking until there are no visible lumps in the mixture.

With a wooden spoon or spatula, gently fold in the caramelised onion, olives, hellim cubes, coriander and dried mint until combined.

Pour the mixture into the cake tin, sprinkle over half of the sesame and nigella seeds, then the finely grated hellim, and finally, the rest of the seeds.

Bake on the bottom shelf of the oven for 40–50 minutes. After 40 minutes, insert a cocktail stick into the middle of the cake.

If it comes out clean, it’s ready. If not, give it another few minutes.

Leave to cool slightly in the tin, then carefully remove the ring and base and allow to cool fully on a wire rack for an hour before serving in slices with a cup of spiced Cypriot tea.   

From Meliz’s Kitchen by Meliz Berg (£25, Ebury Press), out now

Alex Jackson says: “This tart is extremely simple. Given the right tomatoes, it’s a highlight of the summer table. At Sardine, we wait until the heavy, deep-coloured Amalfi bull’s heart tomatoes are in season and throw over some datterini or small plum tomatoes to fill in the gaps. A sprinkling of fragrant basil at the end is essential, as well as a drizzle of your best olive oil. Nyons olives make amazing tapenade, but any soft black olives will do nicely.” 

Makes 1 large tart (enough for 4 people for lunch or lots of small squares for a party)

For the tart:

• 4 bull’s heart tomatoes
• 1 x 500g block of pre-rolled puff pastry
• A handful of small Italian plum tomatoes, red and yellow if possible
• Olive oil
• 1 bunch of basil
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the tapenade:

• 100g black olives, drained of any brine or oil and pitted
• ⅛ garlic clove, peeled and crushed to a fine paste
• ½ tsp picked thyme leaves
• 1 salted anchovy fillet, washed and patted dry
• 1 tsp salted capers, soaked well, washed and drained
• 1 tsp brandy
• 4 tsp olive oil
• 1 tsp red wine vinegar

Method

First, slice the bull’s heart tomatoes into thick 1-cm rounds. Transfer to a sieve suspended over a bowl and season well with salt. Leave the tomatoes for a good half hour to allow the juices to drip into the bowl. This will prevent your pastry becoming soggy if the tomatoes hold a lot of juice.

To make the tapenade, put all the dry ingredients in a blender. Blitz well.

Add the wet ingredients and blitz further until everything is fully incorporated.

The tapenade should be very smooth.

Preheat the oven to 180°C fan/200°C/400°F/gas mark 6.

Next, roll out – or simply unfurl, if pre-rolled – the pastry to a rectangle to fit your largest, flat, heavy-based baking tray. Cut a rectangle of parchment paper to the same size, then place the pastry on top. Score a 2-cm border all around the edges of the pastry. This pastry border will puff up around the filling.

Put the baking tray in the oven to pre-heat for 10 minutes.

To assemble the tart, top the pastry inside the scored border with a generous smearing of tapenade. Arrange the sliced tomatoes in a single layer over the tapenade. Halve the small tomatoes, season with salt, and use them to fill any gaps. Drizzle the tart filling with olive oil and grind over some black pepper.

Remove the hot tray from the oven, slide in the tart on the parchment paper and return the tray to the oven. Bake the tart for 30 minutes, or until the pastry borders are puffed and crisp, the base is a light golden brown (lift the tart tentatively with a spatula to check) and the tomatoes are soft, squidgy and just started to take on a little colour.

Remove the tart from the oven, season lightly with a little flaky sea salt and black pepper, and scatter over the torn basil leaves. Allow the tart to cool on its tray, then slice into squares while still just warm. Drizzle with your best olive oil before serving.

From Provençal: Simple Seasonal Southern French Cooking by Alex Jackson (£26, Pavilion Books), out now

Lior Sercarz says: “This condiment-meets-appetiser is best made with strongly flavoured green olives like picholine, manzanilla, or cerignola, not buttery, mild olives like castelvetrano. Try spreading it over slices of fresh bread, serving it on top of grilled fish such as branzino, or using it as a seasoning paste on a rack of lamb before cooking.” 

Makes about 1 cup

Ingredients

• 1 to 1½ cups pitted green olives, such as picholine, as needed
• ¼ cup pistachios
• ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tbsp pomegranate molasses
• 1 small garlic clove, peeled
• 1 tbsp loosely packed dried rose petals, crumbled or roughly chopped, plus more for serving
• 1 tbsp finely diced shallot
• 1 tbsp rose water
• 1 tbsp pistachio oil, plus more for serving 
• Salt 
• Fresh pomegranate arils, for serving

Method

In a food processor, pulse 1 cup of the olives, the pistachios, olive oil, pomegranate molasses, and garlic until finely chopped but not yet pureed. 

Transfer the mixture to a bowl and gently stir in the rose petals, shallot, rose water, and pistachio oil. The mixture should be the texture of a coarse tapenade. Depending on the type of olives used, it may be too runny. If so, add the remaining ½ cup olives to the food processor to chop, then stir into the spread. Taste and add salt if necessary. 

Serve right away, or cover and refrigerate, then bring back to room temperature before serving. 

To serve, spread the mixture in a serving dish and garnish with a drizzle of pistachio oil, crumbled rose petals, and pomegranate arils.

From A Middle Eastern Pantry: Essential Ingredients for Classic and Contemporary Recipes by Lior Lev Sercarz (£30, Random House), out now