The New Book of Middle Eastern Food: The Classic Cookbook, Expanded and Updated, with New Recipes and Contemporary Variations on Old Themes

I lived in the Middle East for 3 years and grew to love Egyptian, Turkish, Moroccan, and Arabian foods. I ordered 5 middle eastern cookbooks including this Roden volume(to add to my collection which includes 3 others) when I ordered a tagine cooker from Amazon. I could have only ordered this one! It has everything: explanations of ingredients, easy ways to cook and serve the dishes, and my fav recipes. I was so surprised to see its comprehensiveness. It had the wonderful snake pastry (snake shape, not ingredient!) of Morocco, and gave ingredient amounts befitting a party crowd. Favorite tagine lamb dishes, boreks, kibbie (kibbeh), yogurtlu-steeped meat dishes called to mind many delightful authentic culinary experiences. I even laughed to read both stories I had been told about the dish which killed the priest. And I learned new ones, ie the Sultan's dish story. I was also delighted by the tone of the book, comments, adjustments for the modern kitchen, and the stories included in the pages. Mullah Nazruddhin Hoja tales have been a standard in my household, and the inclusion of some of his snippets are being relished. A Persian poet once said: If I have but two dollars, let me use one to buy a loaf of bread to feed my body and the other for a hyacinth to feed my soul. This cookbook has both cuisine - sensual Arabic foods for the body and stuff for the soul. Need one Middle Eastern cookbook? This is the one! Highly recommended.

Fabulous book HIGHLY RECOMMEND. I need to order another but delivery to Australia is too expensive

The author of this book is a true connoisseur of ME cuisine. She knows what she's doing and can explain it clearly. We hardly eat meat anymore (like most of the rest of the world) but, of course, still want tasty, satisfying dishes. While some of the recipes are more complicated, there are plenty that are simple yet very well seasoned and use fresh ingredients. A great purchase.

Middle eastern food often will vary in it's name and origin, from one country to the next based on a few interchanging spices and ingredients. One of the things that I liked about this book is that it gave suggestions to alter the ethnicity by slightly changing some of the ingredients, turning it from Egyptian for example to Lebanese. The books first 50 pages are a Middle_eastern culinary lesson in the history and evolution of Middle-Eastern food. Read the how to use this book to help you navigate through the book as it is a bit confusing at first. The recipes are generally good although I disagree on some of the short cuts and substitutions (for example I have always known Muhammara to contain roasted red peppers and not tomato paste) but overall it is the most authentic book that I have been able to find.

There are so many wonderful recipes in this book, but I love learning about the history and culture behind them. Parts of the cookbook are more like a history lesson, which I love. I remember making much of the food with my Lebanese grandmother, so it is a treasure to have some recipes she never wrote down and the cultural context behind them. Ms. Roden has clearly put much time into her research and recipe testing; she truly has expertise in middle eastern cuisine. I think that the section of egg dishes is especially well written, each dish I have tried has come out so well. Her instructions are easy to follow. The ingredients are simple and mostly not difficult to find in an average supermarket, but some things like rose water may require mail order if you don't have a specialty store near you. There are so many recipes in this book that you'd be hard pressed to get through them all, but it is a wonderful resource to have in your kitchen.

The five stars is for the book and its author. Shipping quality deserved 2 stars. Book arrived without shrink wrap loose in large box with assorted other heavy items. Cover slightly damaged on bottom front edge. Considered returning since it is a gift but decided that it is a cookbook after all and will likely see much more wear and tear in the coming years. Excited about sharing this author with my friend. Beautifully written exploration of Mediterranean culture, history and foodways. I like cookbooks written from the perspective of a cultural anthropologist who also loves to cook. This certainly more than meets my expectations!

We love this cookbook. Since ordering it my husband has been surprising us with numerous easy to prepare, delicious dishes from within. It takes a something as simple as rice and turns it into something you long for and crave (ie: Our favorite simple dish- pg. 339 Rice with Chickpeas). Likewise, our 2 and 4 year old American daughters love the recipes from this book. This is a great alternative to pasta and chicken nuggets. Our kids get a healthy meal-- that we can actually get them to eat- and mom and dad really enjoy their wonderfully flavorful meal as well. Likewise, there are even little stories included about where the dish came form and its history.

If you're going to buy one book on middle eastern food, this is the one to get! There are hundreds of recipes and every single one that I have tried so far have turned out delicious. This book has opened up a whole new culinary world for me. Many of the recipes have simple lists of ingredients, but when combined they work sublimely well together. Other recipes are more complex and include lots of spices which work deliciously together. Some of my don't miss favorites so far are: Grated Carrot Salad, Peppers Stuffed With Rice, Chicken With Almonds and Honey, Chicken With Preserved Lemons and Olives (it takes 1 month to pickle the lemons, but it's well worth the wait!) and Eggplant in Spicy Honey Sauce.

Un classico della cucina mediorientale, non solo ricette ma anche storia.

This was a perfect gift to pass on the Arabic heritage of cooking to my daughter-in-law and her friend for her wedding. I bought this book 30 years ago and may I add it has helped, guided and enhanced my culinary expertise nearly daily throughout my marriage to produce meals for my Egyptian husband, family and friends. I consider it one of the most valuable, instructive, informative, pleasurable cookery books to read. I have recommended it many times. I also treasure the fact that it was the first cookery book I found on Arabic cooking giving 'old' versions of recipes and not tweaked here and there to fit into the modern way of cooking.

This is the only middle eastern cook book you need! The book itself is gorgeous: beautiful pictures, quality paper, pleasing font. Packed with amazing recipes, literally from soup to nuts. Every recipe well laid out, step by step, helpful hints, and amusing anecdotes. A delightful book, to help you make amazing food, or just a great read! A bargain at twice the price!

O livro é quase um romance, fácil de ler. Informações preciosas e precisas. Não pode faltar na biblioteca. Vale a leitura !!!

Attention, pas d'images pour les amateurs, ce qui est à mon avis un signe de livres de cuisine de qualité...!