Arabesque: A Taste of Morocco, Turkey, and Lebanon

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Arabesque: A Taste of Morocco, Turkey, and Lebanon (eBook) Pub. Date: 12/18/2008 Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
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Arabesque: A Taste of Morocco, Turkey, and Lebanon Pub. Date: 10/31/2006 Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group

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Overview

In the 1960s Claudia Roden introduced Americans to a new world of tastes in her classic A Book of Middle Eastern Food. Now, in her enchanting new book, Arabesque, she revisits the three countries with the most exciting cuisines today—Morocco, Turkey, and Lebanon. Interweaving history, stories, and her own observations, she gives us 150 of the most delectable recipes: some of them new discoveries, some reworkings of classic dishes—all of them made even more accessible and delicious for today’s home cook.

From Morocco, the most exquisite and refined cuisine of North Africa: couscous dishes; multilayered pies; delicately flavored tagines; ways of marrying meat, poultry, or fish with fruit to create extraordinary combinations of spicy, savory, and sweet.

From Turkey, a highly sophisticated cuisine that dates back to the Ottoman Empire yet reflects many new influences today: a delicious array of kebabs, fillo pies, eggplant dishes in many guises, bulgur and chickpea salads, stuffed grape leaves and peppers, and sweet puddings.

From Lebanon, a cuisine of great diversity: a wide variety of mezze (those tempting appetizers that can make a meal all on their own); dishes featuring sun-drenched Middle Eastern vegetables and dried legumes; and national specialties such as kibbeh, meatballs with pine nuts, and lamb shanks with yogurt.

Claudia Roden knows this part of the world so intimately that we delight in being in such good hands as she translates the subtle play of flavors and simple cooking techniques to our own home kitchens.

Editorial Reviews

From Barnes & Noble

When Claudia Roden published her Book of Middle Eastern Food in 1972, it was viewed at first as an exotic curiosity. Fortunately, most Americans have widened their palates over the intervening decades, and readers today will have little difficulty attuning their tastes to the 150 Mediterranean recipes in this book. Nor will they look askance at Roden's refreshing mix of personal stories, cultural history, and culinary tidbits gleaned from her Moroccan, Turkish, and Lebanese travels. A fascinating introduction to three major world cuisines.

Publishers Weekly

Roden, a leading authority on Middle Eastern and North African food and the James Beard Award-winning author of The Book of Jewish Food, provides a thoroughly enjoyable and fascinating look at the cuisines of Morocco, Turkey and Lebanon. Including bits of history, stories and more that 150 recipes, Roden reworks the classics, making them easier and more flavorful for today's home cook. By organizing the book by country, she makes it easy to plan meals from the same country or combine various recipes from each. In each recipe, flavors are exquisitely balanced, as in Moroccan Chickpea and Lentil Soup; Tagine of Chicken with Preserved Lemons and Olives; Turkish Lamb Stew with Eggplant Sauce and Roasted Quinces; or Squabs Stuffed with Date and Almond Paste. She gives proper homage to the Lebanese tradition of serving mezze little appetizers served with drinks such as Eggplant and Tahini Dip (Baba Ghanouj) and Spinach Pies. The simple desserts bring out some of the same ingredients from savory dishes such as nuts (in Pistachio Cake; Milk and Almond Pudding) as well as flowers, like Tiny Open Pancakes with Cream and Rose Petal Jam, or orange blossom water in Kataifi with Cream Filling. 93 color photos. (Nov.) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

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From The Critics

A well-known authority on Middle Eastern and Mediterranean food, Roden turns to the cuisines and culinary heritages of three Mediterranean countries that all were at one time the center of an empire. She notes that in each there is renewed interest in the culinary past, as well as increasing popularity of the various regional cuisines. She has chosen more than 150 recipes from Morocco, Tukey, and Lebanon, some newly discovered, some variations on more familiar dishes, and a selection of favorite classic dishes. Each section opens with a fascinating insider's guide, providing both cultural and culinary history as well as information on specific ingredients and techniques. Recipes are grouped into chapters on starters and meze dishes (or mezze or kemia, depending on the country), main courses, and desserts, and include both simple country dishes such as a Chicken Pie with Onions and Sumac from Lebanon and more sophisticated ones such as Turkish Seared Tuna with Lemon Dressing. An essential purchase. Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780307264985
Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
Publication date: 10/31/2006
Pages: 352
Sales rank: 203,748
Product dimensions: 7.68 (w) x 10.21 (h) x 1.14 (d)

Meet the Author

Claudia Roden was born and raised in Cairo. She completed her formal education in Paris and then moved to London to study art. She travels extensively as a food writer. Her previous books include the James Beard Award–winning The Book of Jewish Food and the seminal A Book of Middle Eastern Food, as well as The Good Food of Italy—Region by Region, Everything Tastes Better Outdoors, and Mediterranean Cookery. In Britain Arabesque has won the Andre Simon Memorial Fund Award for Best Food Book, the Glenfiddich Best Food Book Award, and the Gourmand World Media Special Award of the Jury. Ms. Roden lives in London.

Read an Excerpt

Zucchini Fritters

Ingredients:

1 large onion, coarsely chopped

3 tablespoons vegetable or sunflower oil, plus more for frying

1 pound zucchini, finely chopped

3 eggs

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

black pepper

2 to 3 sprigs of mint, chopped

2 to 3 sprigs of dill, chopped

7 ounces feta cheese, mashed with a fork

Serves 4

Fried onions, feta cheese, and herbs lift what is otherwise a bland vegetable. These little fritters can be served hot or cold. They can be made in advance and reheated.

Fry the onion in 3 tablespoons oil over medium heat until it is soft and lightly colored. Add the zucchini and sauté, stirring, until they, too, are soft.

In a bowl, beat the eggs with the flour until well blended. Add pepper (there is no need of salt because the feta cheese is very salty) and the chopped herbs, and mix well. Fold the mashed feta into the eggs, together with the cooked onions and zucchini.

Film the bottom of a preferably nonstick frying pan with oil and pour in the mixture by the half ladle (or 2 tablespoons) to make a few fritters at a time. Turn each over once, and cook until both sides are browned a little. Drain on paper towels.

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