27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
What life must have been like in Al Andalus, September 4, 2008
This review is from: Artichoke to Za'atar: Modern Middle Eastern Food (Hardcover)
In an era in which we associate the Arab world with closed-mindedness and self-isolation a cookbook like this must come as a shock. These eclectic recipes remind one of the tales one often reads of banquets in the glory days of Al Andalus, where Jewish advisors counseled Syrian kings who ruled over a Christian population, and where the threads of so many different cultures intermingled freely to produce the greatest cultural flowering in the history of humanity.
That claim may seem a bit overblown, but just try the dried apricot and sherry cardamom ice cream, and you'll quickly realize that this is not a compendium of one's grandmother's old village recipes. This is a book that shows how cuisine is born in the mixing of the old and he new, the traditional and the foriegn. How refreshing to find a bood of middle-eastern cooking that isn't afraid to deploy pork or rabbit! Shukran!
Preserved lemon guacamole with smoked eel, salmon kibeh, watercress tabouleh, barbequed squid in a hot Yemeni relish, grilled haloumi endive salad, etc. etc. etc. What makes the recipes work is the way in which each extends the core idea of traditional recipe by borrowing from something outside of any traditional Arab cuisine. For example, by taking simple tabouleh and adapting it for watercress you come to realize just how parsley works in the original in a way that you never would by just making up a batch of the traditional fare.
In addition to the recipes the book features a number of descriptions of the place of various key ingredients in arab cuisines: their history, their raison d'etre, and their most commmon uses. Having a chapter on rosewater is really very helpful when you find yourself with a bottle of it and would like to put it so some use beyond scenting baklawa.
The one downside to the book is that it doesn't categorize recipes by type (e.g. desserts, appetizers, etc.). It's more a book meant for reading cover to cover than for picking out a dessert for tomorrows bridge party. Does anybody have those anymore?
Any serious cook is likely to count this among his or her top 5 cookbooks for a very long time. It really is that good. Now to try some of the turkish coffee ice-cream that has just finished churning.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Divine Modern Middle Eastern Food!, April 20, 2011
This review is from: Artichoke to Za'atar: Modern Middle Eastern Food (Hardcover)
The recipes are simple, the ingredients few in most cases (and the chef gives ideas on substitutions). But, the COMBINATIONS ARE SUBLIME !! The dishes could be expensive to-die-for trendy restaurant fare, or an elegant way of life at home, for not much money! My mouth started watering when I started reading the recipes. I LOVE these delish recipes! The added bonus is that the recipes presented are light and healthy.
I would list all of the recipes for you if I could. I have not yet made the very simple Arab Pancakes with Fresh Mangoes and Orange-Blossom Clotted Cream, because I am contemplating waiting for the divine Mangoes of Summer Mango season. The Spicy Prawn and Mussel Tagine made my eyes rollback! The most difficult aspect of this book is that every recipe is more tempting than the one before so it is hard to decide on any one dish because of the sense of longing for all the others! One almost is tempted to close one's eyes, flip the pages and point, to pick the recipe for the day. IMO, the cookbook is that good. I have shared recipes too, and everyone has loved the recipes!
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5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Artichoke to Za'atar, December 20, 2008
This review is from: Artichoke to Za'atar: Modern Middle Eastern Food (Hardcover)
It is a beautifully laid out cookbook. Photographs that inspire and well as recipes that work, are easy to follow and delicious.
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