WE’RE taking you on a trip to the Egyptian shores of the Red Sea this week. With strong influences from both Europe and the Middle East, this often overlooked cuisine has something to suit everyone. While we have included a chicken dish here, vegetarians might be interested to know that Egyptian food is renowned for its meat-free dishes.

For this Semolina Cake with Strawberries in Rose Syrup take 125g (4.5oz) of butter, 165g (5.8oz) of caster sugar, 1 tsp vanilla extract, 2 eggs, 150g (5oz) Greek yoghurt, 270g (9.5 oz) semolina, 60g (2 oz) ground almonds, 1 tsp baking powder, ½ tsp baking powder, ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda and 30 whole blanched almonds.

Preheat your oven to 180C/Gas Mark 4. Using an electric mixer, beat the butter, vanilla extract and sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time until combined, add the yoghurt and mix well. Sift the semolina, ground almonds, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda into the mix and stir together.

Grease a 20/30cm cake tin and line with baking paper before spooning in the mix. Level with a knife and score lightly into diamond shapes, placing a whole almond in the centre of each one. Bake for around 35 minutes or until cooked.

For the Strawberries in Rose Syrup, take 330g (11.5 oz) caster sugar, 1½ tbsp lemon juice, 1 tbsp rose water and 500g of small, hulled strawberries.

Combine the sugar with 500ml of water in a saucepan. Stir over a medium heat until the sugar dissolves, then add the lemon juice, return to the boil and simmer for a further ten minutes. Pour a third of the syrup into a bowl with the rosewater and strawberries and use the rest to pour over the cake when it’s cooked. Serve with the strawberries and some Greek yoghurt.

Tahini is a major component of Middle Eastern cookery, but only really shows up on UK radars as an ingredient in hummus. This next recipe for Chicken with Tahini Sauce is a classic Egyptian dish and is a great starting point for cooking with tahini if you haven’t before.

To serve four, take 2 chicken breasts, thinly sliced green, red and yellow peppers (one of each), a sliced red onion, 1 carrot, peeled and cut into batons, 8 cherry tomatoes, halved, 2 tbsp flat-leaf parsley, 2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander, 4 tbsp olive oil, 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed and 4 tsp ground cumin.

Cut the chicken into thin strips. Combine the oil with the garlic and cumin and rub into the chicken, ensuring each piece is well-coated. You can do this the day before and leave in the fridge overnight for extra flavour if you plan ahead.