Classic Vegetarian Cooking from the Middle East & North Africa

by Habeeb Salloum

Book Overview

NEW IN PAPERBACK The vegetarian cuisine of the Middle East and North Africa is a treasure chest of pungent herbs and spices, aromatic stews and soups, chewy falafels and breads, couscous, stuffed grape leaves, greens and vegetables, hummus, pizzas, pies, omelets, pastries and sweets, smooth yogurt drinks, and strong coffees. Originally the food of peasants too poor for meat, vegetarian cooking in the Middle East developed over thousands of years into...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1566563984
• ISBN13: 9781566563987
• Release Date: November 2012
• Publisher: Interlink Books
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 1.42 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 7.1" x 9.9"

Customer Reviews

An excellent cookbook.

The recipes are clearly written, easy to make, and very tasty. This book, more than any other, convinced me that it is practical to be a vegetarian. Most dishes take very little time to prepare, unlike earlier cookbooks that seemed to require the entire day. The meals are healthy, light, and varied.

Quick,healthy, and tasty "recipes" for the meditteranean eater.

I'm sure most people reading about "vegetarian middle-eastern" cookbooks are good cooks when they have the time and inclination. But I, for one, have grown bored with my own repertoire. Most cookbooks are more fun to read than to actually cook from. Or they have ingredients that, even living in New York City, seem annoyingly inaccessible. This book has lots of very easy recipes that are healthy vegetarian (hardly any animal fat with the exception of yoghurt in cold dishes). I can imagine actually(!) making just about everything, there's even a section on arab desserts -- the easy kind made of farina. This is probably the best cookbook I've ever bought. I think it's useful whatever your level of cooking expertise, but you need to be a fan of the meditterranean diet. We're talking beans, legumes, olive oil, yoghurt, eggplant, a few other vegetables. Recipe details:-- it's true most are simple, but unless you were raised in a middle-eastern family I don't know how you would've thought of these combinations -- even if you're say very familiar with Greek or Italian food, I think this is pretty new stuff. Some "recipes" include: yoghurt ginger appetizer (includes almonds, onions, ginger, tomato);many types of lentil soups from various middle eastern countries (the egyptian one includes butter and cumin, the one from bahrain adds tomato, vermicelli, and ground coriander);fried pepper salad; orange and olive salad; beet salad; stuffed eggplant; and vegetable casserole. Nothing sounds 'exciting' but it is all very accessible and well seasoned. It's like you could turn to this book and make every meal from it -- that is if you like meditterranean food.

Rich and Varied

I love this book. It has such a great variety of recipes from every country of the middle east. I have made recipes from this book that I have shared with middle easterners and westerners, and have recieved many compliments from everybody. The recipes are very clear and well written.

simple, delicious, wonderful

Bought this book on a whim for my vegetarian husband for a birthday gift. Turns out that every dish is absolutley delicious. We have tried many recipies in the book and have been very happy with the simplicity and results. We highly recommend the purchase of this book if you are interested in middle eastern and/or vegetarian cooking.

Luxurious, Simple and Healthy Eating

Vegetarian dishes can be boring sometimes. You can only do so much with a can of chickpeas, or an eggplant or even a salad. Not so with Habeeb Salloum's Classic Vegetarian Cooking from the Middle East and North Africa. Presenting dishes from all over these regions, Mr. Salloum's recipes inspire the cook to garnish a table with these non-meat dishes. With an introduction and historical explanation of these dishes, preparation of the meals comes easy and the mouth watering delights even more enjoyable when eaten. Twenty-five recipes prepared so far and all have had a 100% review from family and friends. No kitchen should be without it!