Falastin
A Cookbook
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- $12.99
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
NATIONAL BESTSELLER
Falastin is a soulful tour of Palestinian cookery today from Ottolenghi's Executive Chef Sami Tamimi, with 120 highly cookable recipes contextualized by his personal narrative of the Palestine he grew up in.
The story of Palestine's food is really the story of its people. When the events of 1948 forced people from all the regions of Palestine together into one compressed land, recipes that were once closely guarded family secrets were shared and passed between different groups in an effort to ensure that they were not lost forever. In Falastin, Tamimi retraces the lineage and evolution of his country's cuisine, born of its agriculturally optimal geography, many distinct regional cooking traditions, and, ultimately, Palestinian cooks' ingenuity and resourcefulness as the country's foodways mingled and morphed. From the recipes of refugee-camp cooks to the home kitchens of Gaza and the mill of a master tahini maker, Tamimi teases out the vestiges of an ancient cuisine while recording the derivations of a dynamic cuisine and the stories of the people of Palestine--as told from the kitchen.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Ottolenghi alums Tamimi (coauthor, Jerusalem and Ottolenghi) and Wigley (coauthor, Ottolenghi Simple) set out on their own with this expert dive into the food of Palestine. The dishes overflow with bold flavors: hummus is layered with toasted pita, drizzled with parsley oil, and sprinkled with sumac in a chapter of hearty breakfast choices; preserved baby eggplants stuffed with walnuts and spicy peppers are ideal appetizers. Signatures such as "upside down" rice inverted so that the beans, squash, and lamb baked underneath rest on top when served are represented, and London-dwelling Tamimi also freely pairs nontraditional items like beets and sweet potatoes with pistachio and bulgur. Each recipe features tips for advance preparation (tahini and caramelized onions for a spicy baked cod dish can be made ahead) and suggested variations (for gluten-free chicken meatballs, replace bread crumbs with grated zucchini). The authors acknowledge that discussions about Palestine can be "political and difficult," and they successfully walk that tightrope with sidebars on Banksy's Walled Off Hotel in Bethlehem and figures such as Islam Abu Aouda, who offers cooking lessons in her refugee camp home. Like the best cookbooks, this one opens a window to expand both palates and minds.
