The Middle Eastern Kitchen

By Ghillie Basan

2001

First Published

3.80

Average Rating

240

Number of Pages

7H19M

Audio Length

This remarkable and beautifully illustrated book describes more than 75 ingredients used in Middle Eastern cooking. The cuisines included in The Middle Eastern Kitchen are those of Iran, Turkey, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and the Palestinian Territories, Jordan, Egypt, Yemen, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. These countries' common culinary tradition has been influenced by the Persian, Islamic, and Ottoman Empires, with a sprinkling of the Byzantine and Roman empires. The insightful texts take the readers into the history and diversity of these ancient cultures, while the 150 recipes allow them to put their knowledge of these ingredients to practical use. Among the offerings are classics like Tabbouleh and Baklava, along with Carrot Rolls with Apricots and Pine Nuts and Persimmon Pickles. Ranging from the exotic and colorful saffron and tamarind to the more unusual tastes of orchid root and mastic, the flavors of the Middle East are brought to life in the kitchen. Each ingredient is broken down into sections on appearance and taste, historical background, and cultivation or manufacture methods. Each is illustrated with specially commissioned location, ingredient and recipe photographs.

Avg Rating

3.80

Number of Ratings

5 STARS

27%

4 STARS

47%

3 STARS

13%

2 STARS

1 STARS

goodreads

Author

Ghillie Basan

Author · 16 books

I am a writer, broadcaster, and food anthropologist with fingers in several pies! As a single parent living off the beaten track in the Scottish highlands it is the only way to survive. In the media, I have been dubbed ‘The Original Spice Girl’ and ‘World Food Expert’ but really I’m simply a hospitable hermit! I love to live a little bit wild but I also love to share what I have. I spent my childhood in East Africa and my teenage years in Scotland, followed by a Cordon Bleu Diploma in London and a degree in Social Anthropology from Edinburgh University. After working and travelling in Europe, Turkey, the Middle East, North America, India, Southeast Asia, and vast chunks of Africa as an English teacher, journalist, and food and travel writer, I returned to the Scottish Highlands. Here, in a remote part of the Cairngorms National Park I have gradually turned a ruined croft into a home where, snowbound in winter with a 3 mile cross-country ski to and from the car to bring in supplies, I have raised my children on my own. Abridged from Ms Basan's website