The Big Tasty Bite, Lila Lerie

According to Lila, good food should not be limited by your budget, time, creativity or skill. She showcases this in her recipe book, The Big Tasty Bite.

Today’s recipe book review from Lavender and Lime ♥ The Big Tasty Bite ♥ #LavenderAndLime Share on X

The Big Tasty Bite

For Lila Lerie, food is an endless avenue for creativity and freedom. Good food shouldn’t be limited by your budget, time, creativity or skill, and spending time in the kitchen shouldn’t be a chore but rather a playful, therapeutic and rewarding experience.
That’s where The Big Tasty Bite comes in, a deliciously playful compilation of recipes Lila loves to make. The dishes in this book are first and foremost tasty, curated to cover every tastebud out there. They are also easy to follow without being too prescriptive, giving you room to experiment with different ingredients and cooking methods.
In The Big Tasty Bite, Lila shows you how to repurpose last night’s leftovers to make a delicious breakfast bake, introduces you to the lazy chef ’s cheeseburger and her signature lasagna, shares her secret to perfectly crispy fried chicken and surprises with paptert like you’ve never seen it before. From a two-ingredient dough to a two in-one milk tart Swiss roll, you’re guaranteed to find something to tickle your tastebuds.
Whether you’re already a Tastebud or you’re new to Lila’s community of followers, whether you’re an amateur or an avid home cook, this book will encourage you to take risks, enjoy the process and find fulfilment in sharing your culinary creations, one big, tasty bite at a time.

Chapters are divided into:

• Breakfast bites
• Quick bites
• Main bites
• Side bites
• Sweet bites

Recipes that caught my eye:

• Homemade granola (p14) for the addition of  peanut butter
• Breakfast pastry pockets (p18)
• Loaded potato tart (p25)
• Baked quesadillas (p32)
• Lamb meatball pitas (p36)
• Buttermilk chicken tacos (p56)
• Pork belly miso ramen (p64)
• Whipped hot honey sauce (p68)
• Chow mein (p75)
• Oven-baked green chicken curry (p78)
• Tuscan chicken bake (p92)
• One-tray Mediterranean roast vegetables (p123)
• Roasted sweet potato (p131)
• Chocolate flan pudding (p145)
• Milk tart Swiss roll (p156)
• Mini Basque cheesecakes (p159)
• Berry yoghurt fridge tart (p161)
• Brown butter cinnamon rolls (p171)

What I made:

I made the Tuscan chicken bake which was seriously delicious! So much so that I plan on making this when we are barging in France later on in the year. I served this with the Mediterranean roast vegetables which were perfect for me. I chose to make the Basque cheesecakes as I had a friend celebrating a birthday and I knew she would enjoy them. My ability to line the baking tray was not as successful as the cheesecakes were. Even Dave enjoyed them, and this is by far one of his least favourite desserts. The yoghurt fridge tart was a must make for me, as this is a dessert I love from a local retailer. This is so easy to do, and I did not follow the recipe exactly. I plan on making this again as it was so good.

My impressions:

There are interesting little notes on some of the recipes as well as QR codes. which takes you to YouTube videos. Some pages are not numbered which could be frustrating if you use the index. Overall, I think this is a really good recipe book.

Publishing information:

Penguin Random House South Africa sent me this recipe book to review.

See the links below for blog posts I published on April 30:

• • 2024: Olive Oil Tasting
  • 2021: Choc Nut Bars
  • 2018: Dried Fruit Tea Cake
  • 2017: Inferno
  • 2015: Rhubarb Crumble
  • 2014: Packing For The Plane
  • 2013: Sourdough Monkey Bread
  • 2012: Layered Sponge Cake

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