Eat with Love by Samira el Khafir features Lebanese-inspired recipes, with a twist

Melbourne-based Samira el Khafir and her seven siblings were never allowed into their mother's kitchen when they were growing up. As the youngest, she managed to break this rule when she was in her teens, falling in love with cooking as a result. 

"My mother was unwell and needed help in the kitchen and that’s where my passion for food began," said the mother of two, who has worked as a hair stylist and beauty therapist.

"Cooking has been a passion from when I was in my teens. It wasn’t until I suffered with post-natal depression that I realised life is just simply too short to put my dreams on hold, so I entered Masterchef 2013 season 5, became a finalist and finished on top three. I never thought I would make it so far into the show but I did it."

When planning the book, Samira el Khafir
said she hoped the book would give
readers an insight to how she
found the love for food and how
her food has changed since being
on Masterchef.

Besides being in the Masterchef top three, el Khafir has gone on to share her love for cooking. She has published a book, Eat with Love, which includes recipes for most of the winning dishes she cooked at the Masterchef competition. 

In the introduction of the book el Khafir says that she hopes to spread her love of Middle Eastern food to the world of food lovers. "In this cookbook I have shared some traditional dishes and also have many of my MasterChef creations that I really hope you all enjoy. Remember, cook with love, so you can eat with love," she says.

El Khafir explains that MasterChef, season 5 was an eye opener for her. "It opened my eyes to culinary techniques and an understanding as to why I cook the way I do. I took the risk and ventured out and have produced my very own modern Middle Eastern cuisine. I have infused different flavours and techniques to what I would usually cook and turned my dishes into MasterChef quality dishes," she said.

While cooks can try out the MasterChef-influenced recipes in Eat with Love, el Khafir's food can also be tasted at her own cafe. Since Masterchef she has opened the Modern Middle Eastern Cafe at the Islamic Museum of Australia, which she runs personally. 

While el Khafir's food is clearly influenced by Lebanese cuisine which she learned from her mother, she later explored African flavours after she married an Egyptian, and then branched out further. "My family has grown to be very multicultural with family from Europe, Africa, Australia and the Middle East and I am so pleased to be a part of the mixed range of nationalities in my family because it has introduced me to all different types of cuisines," she said.

"My dream is to open kitchen workshops for disadvantaged children in Australia where they can come and cook, have a good time and go home with the meals they’ve prepared." 

Some recipes from el Khafir can be viewed here, including her first 'dish of the day' at Masterchef, fatet jaj. 

The recipe for modern baklava is found
in Samira el Khafir's book.

"Traditionally this dish is layered bread, then chicken, then yogurt, then nuts, but I turned it into a modernised version on Masterchef and it got me 'dish of the day'! A lot of Lebanese people make this dish; mine is a little different, I like to play around with my recipe so I hope you all like it," she said.

Eat with Love has 140 pages, and features about 80 recipes, for entrees, mains, desserts, spices and dips. The book is available on Amazon, where the hardcover edition costs US$17.99**, but also available at all major bookstores and online. It is also sold at the Islamic Museum of Australia.

*Images from Samira el Khafir.

**Pricing may vary depending on the retail outlet.