Feast from the Mideast: 250 Sun-Drenched Dishes from the Lands of the Bible

by Faye Levy

Book Overview

The flavours of the Middle East come alive in this accessible collection of 250 vibrant recipes, emphasising bold flavours and simple, healthy techniques from more than ten countries, including Egypt,... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060093617
• ISBN13: 9780060093617
• Release Date: October 2003
• Publisher: William Morrow & Company
• Length: 402 Pages
• Weight: 1.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 7.4" x 9.6"

Customer Reviews

A Terrific introduction to mideast cooking

My food-obsessed son gave me this cookbook one Christmas. It was a gift to the whole family. Now, in addition to our standard Thanksgiving dinner, we have a collection of favorites from Feast from the Mideast that we prepare together when we want a meal that lives up to the word "feast". We are most impressed with the Chicken Bulgar Pecan patties. My daughter is a big fan of the desserts. I find them unnecessary, as I am quite satisfied by this cuisine which relies heavily on olive oil, lemon juice and lots of vegetables.

Mizrachi Options to Liven the New Year

author of Cooking Jewish: 532 Great Recipes from the Rabinowitz Family from the Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles September 19, 2003 While apples and honey are de rigueur among Ashkenazim for celebrating the New Year, Middle Easterners turn to the more exotic, like dates, quinces or pomegranates during the High Holidays. So if you're looking for some unique recipes this High Holiday season, you might want to turn to Faye Levy's latest cookbook, "Feast from the Mideast: 250 Sun-Drenched Dishes from the Lands of the Bible" (HarperCollins, $29.95). Levy lived in Israel for nearly 12 years, where she met and married her husband, Yakir. A cooking novice until her mother-in-law took her in hand, she soon developed a love for the varied, bold flavors of her adopted home. She went on to train at the renowned La Varenne in Paris and to produce more than 20 cookbooks and writes with authority and passion on the cuisine of the Middle East. "It is amazing how all these people who can't get along eat the same things," observed Levy, whose cookbook highlights cuisines of over ten countries. "Eating together and discussing food and recipes is a great way to bring people closer," Levy continues. "Arabs and Jews share a lot of the same food. The Islamic rules of halal are similar to our laws of kashrut. We both don't eat pork. Arabs do eat shellfish, and they don't have a problem mixing milk and meat, but they hardly ever do it. While the book explores the foods of all faiths and nationalities of the region, so many of the dishes are perfect for Rosh Hashanah because of the Middle Eastern fondness for incorporating local fruits, a perfect way to wish guests a sweet New Year. "Sephardic Jews begin the Rosh Hashanah meal with dates, just as we do with apples and honey," Levy noted. "And in Greece, Turkey and Morocco, all around the Mediterranean really, quinces are really important for Rosh Hashanah. Moroccan Jews do dip apples in honey, then dip them in sesame seeds, symbolizing our wish that our people be numerous. Pomegranate seeds are traditional for the same reason." Chicken in Pomegranate Walnut Sauce, a classic dish of the Persian kitchen, is appropriate for the holiday, Levy said. "Pomegranate juice and paste are available in Middle Eastern and gourmet markets, because a lot of American chefs, like Bobby Flay, have suddenly become very excited about them. It has become trendy," she said. If you can't find either, Levy advises using pomegranate juice, now readily available in supermarkets, and adding less water. Traditional holiday foods vary from country to country and from family to family. Some people avoid sour tastes for the holiday, like lemons and vinegar. Persians, however, favor tart over sweet and love a splash of lemon juice on many dishes, Levy noted. "In fact, I have a friend from northern Iran who says that the pomegranate paste available in this country is too sweet, so he asks his relatives from Iran to bring some from hom

Excellent Choice!

I found this book in a bookshop in downtown Ann Arbor, Michigan. My best friend and I were browsing through it and found so many recipes that we wanted to try, we bought the book and made a middle eastern dinner that night. I live in the Middle East now (my husband is an Arab)and I can tell you that I pull this particular cookbook out whenever I want to prepare something to impress my husband or local friends. I have several other middle eastern cookbooks, but this one is the one that always comes through for me!

Feast from the Mideast

My daughter is living in Jordan, and this is the only middle eastern cookbook I've found that has all the foods my daughter is eating. And the index is great -- foods are listed both by the Arabic name and in english. The recipe for mansaf (the Jordanian national dish) is wonderful, as are simple recipes such as zahtar and labneh on pita. I'm delighted with this discovery!

A Decent Book on Middle Eastern, Primarily Arabic Cuisine

Faye Levy is an established cookbook writer who is offering a book on Middle Eastern cooking which closely parallels the range of Claudia Roden's classic book on Middle Eastern food. One's choice between the two will depend largely on where your interest lies.To those new to Middle Eastern cuisine, it can be described briefly as being based on olive oil and clarified butter; yogurt and soft cheeses; citrus, nuts and seeds; rice and bulgar wheat; honey and dried fruits; spice mixes; flatbreads; and eggplant and leafy green vegetables. Beans are common and used more creatively than in many cuisines. Wine and vinegar use is very small. Pork and cured pork products make no appearance at all. Breads and pasta are limited in variety, although those which do appear are distinctive. New world vegetables appear, but mostly as fresh rather than cooked ingredients. Fin fish and squid appear, but bivalves are uncommon.Levy and Roden concentrate on different geographical boundaries, with Roden including and Levy excluding North Africa west of Egypt, although Levy still includes reference to famous Morrocan features such as couscous and tangines. Levy identifies the primary regions of Middle Eastern cookery as the Eastern Mediterranean (Turkey, Levant, Egypt), Iran (Persia) and the arabian peninsula and Iraq.Levy discusses very little of the historical background but does discuss some of the says the cuisine has been influenced by India and how it has in turn influenced Europe, especially the Balkans; however, Roden goes into this in more detail. Levy's wraps her discussion in more of a linguistic focus, being careful to give the various different names of dishes for different nationalities.Both books divide the dishes into many similar categories. To Roden's sixteen (16), Levy gives us these fourteen (14):AppetizersSaladsSoupsBrunch and other Fast DishesSeafoodPoultryMeatLegumesVegetablesGrainsPastaSauces and RelishesBreads and Savory PastriesCakes and CookiesLevy includes some modern western interpretations of classic dish styles, while Roden appears to focus on the authentic modern and historical cuisine of the region. Levy always presents just the basic dish. Roden typically gives variations on basic dishes based on how the dish may have been treated in different parts of the Middle East. On examining recipes from the two books for the same dish, I believe there is little to choose in the clarity of presentation, although I would give a slight not to Roden for spelling out the regional variations.Both writers were born in the Middle East and both appear to be thoroughly in touch with their subject. Neither is here just for a brief visit. Both have also produced books on Jewish cuisine, so it is not surprising that these volumes concentrate much more on the Muslem cuisine than on any Jewish dishes.Levy includes a chapter on menus for entertaining and give a somewhat more detailed discussion of spice mixes. Levy also includes recipes for pantry items such as