
New Feast: Modern Middle Eastern Vegetarian
Tom Verde
Greg and Lucy Malouf
2014, Hardie Grant, 978-1-74270-842-3, $45 hb.
A vegetarian Middle Eastern cookbook is almost a tautology as so much of the region’s classic fare is vegetarian (think hummus, falafil, etc.). Few but the Maloufs, however, could add modern twists to traditional cuisine with such flair. Diced into somewhat finer sections than most cookbooks (“Butters and Preserves,” “Fritters” and “Ices,” for instance), this upscale tour through the humble Middle Eastern diet takes the pursuit to new levels with such offerings as preserved lemon uacamole, za‘tar biscuits and chocolate muhallabeya (boiled milk thickened with corn starch, traditionally made without chocolate) with Turkish coffee granita. There is even an eggplant version of bisteeya, a North African savory pie usually made with chicken. While this is not a book for novice cooks, it still features a good number of recipes—flavored butters, dips and various soups—for the uninitiated to try before they dare attempt bouquets of fruity, flower-shaped meringues or tightly rolled baklava cigars in orange syrup.
You may also be interested in...
Celebrate Women's History Month With These Reads on Women Throughout History
To help honor Women’s History Month, AramcoWorld brings you a list of 10 female-focused reads that celebrate women throughout history.Book Deconstructs Myth Surrounding Egypt’s Most-Famous Boy King
Egyptologist Aidan Dodson sifts the evidence—from tomb paintings to statuary to temple inscriptions—in his quest to recover the real King Tutankhamun.Umayyad Family Dynasty Creates Unprecedented Empire
Explore the development and history of the Umayyad Caliphate, one of the most consequential empires the world has ever known.