Feasts: Middle Eastern Food to Savor & Share

The “breaking of bread and sharing of meals have long played a part in uniting cultures, communities, and families” throughout the Middle East, writes Ghayour, a noted British-Iranian chef who hosts a popular supper club at various sites in London. With family meals and ritual gatherings as focal points, her colorful new cookbook offers menu suggestions and more than 90 recipes, arranged according to occasion, time of day or diet preference. Many are creative and jazzy, such as burnt-orange salad with pistachios, mint and pomegranate. The novice cook may be intimidated by some ingredients—like Greek basil or Maldon sea salt, most readily available in Britain—and regrettably the book offers no substitute suggestions. Yet the resourceful home cook can either find these online or work around them to create impressive feasts of his or her own.