Middle Eastern recipes

Ful Medames, Harissa Roast Tomatoes & Pickled Chilli Salsa

Ful Medames, Harissa Roast Tomatoes & Pickled Chilli Salsa excerpted from Centerpiece: Bold, vibrant recipes to put vegetables in the spotlight by Helen Graham. Photography by Yuki Sugiura.

Centerpiece: Bold, vibrant recipes to put vegetables in the spotlight by Helen Graham

A celebration of bold, vibrant vegetarian dishes designed to inspire, delight and put vegetables exactly where they belong: centre stage.

Drawing inspiration from the rich flavours of the Middle East and North Africa, as well as Helen Graham‘s Ashkenazi Jewish heritage, this cookbook features 100 inventive, vegetable based recipes that will transform your table. With accessible ingredients and simple methods, Graham’s flavour packed combinations of spices, herbs and sauces elevate vegetables into something truly showstopping.

What’s Inside

The Meal Before the Meal
Mushrooms with Tamari & Pomegranate Skewers
Halloumi Ricotta Fritters with Spiced Lemon ‘Honey’

The Main Event
Harissa Roast Carrots, Mango Labneh & Mint
Hispi Cabbage with Date Butter & Tahini

On the Side
Potato Salad with Basil Zhoug & Coconut Crunch
Hawaij Roast Potatoes with Preserved Lemon Roast Shallots

Something Sweet
Za’atar & Cherry Chocolate Refrigerator Cake Bars
Poppy Seed & Orange Blossom Babka

About Helen Graham

Helen Graham was Executive Chef at the renowned London restaurant Bubala for five years, following roles at critically acclaimed restaurants including The Palomar and The Barbary, as well as the Ottolenghi Test Kitchen.

Praise for Helen Graham

Meera Sodha: “Helen’s recipes are the most exciting thing to have happened to vegetables since Ottolenghi.”

Anna Jones: “Original, do-able, unquestionably delicious vegetable recipes. I love this book.”

Jay Rayner: “Helen Graham has a thrillingly unique way with flavours, which makes you look at familiar ingredients anew. Her bold plant based cookery takes the Middle Eastern repertoire and shakes it by the scruff of the neck.”

Yotam Ottolenghi: “Helen carries the torch for all the ingredients I love most. Vegetables behaving exactly as they should. A cook after my own heart.”

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Grilled Lamb Kebabs

Grilled Lamb Kebabs excerpted from Bitter & Sweet: Global Flavors from an Iranian-American Kitchen [A Cookbook] by Omid Roustaei. Photography by Waterbury Publications, Inc.

Discover a world of flavours in this elegantly designed cookbook from Omid Roustaei—the Caspian Chef—featuring 75 mouthwatering recipes that blend Iranian dishes with global cuisines, accompanied by moving stories of Omid’s life and culinary journey from Iran to the US.

Infused with moving stories, useful cooking tips, and gorgeous photographs, Bitter & Sweet teaches readers to experiment not only with Iranian dishes but also with the many cuisines and techniques that Omid has explored throughout his career. His welcoming prose and down-to-earth methods are sure to engage both practiced hands and total newcomers to the kitchen.

Recipes include Persian classics like Chicken in Pomegranate Walnut Sauce (Khoresh Fesenjun), Sour Cherry Rice with Petite Meatballs (Albalu Polo ba Ghel Gheli), and Rice with a Crispy Saffron Layer (Polo ba Tahdig) alongside international dishes such as Braised Burdock with Carrots (Kinpira Gobo), Creamy Smoked Fish and Vegetable Soup (Cullen Skink), and Fried Potato and Bulgur Kibbeh (Kibbet Batata bil Lahmeh).

ACCESSIBLE: Written in a conversational format that makes this complex and delicious cuisine easy to cook for anyone, regardless of experience.

IMPROVISATIONAL: Each recipe includes simple tips for modification based on what you have on hand, with deeper instruction on how to become a more mindful and intuitive cook. (more…)

Stuffed courgette

Stuffed courgette excerpted from Vegetarian Arab Cuisine by Ruth Salem Sader. Photography by João Farkas.

Vegetarian Arab Cuisine by Ruth Salem Sader

Vegetarian Arab Cuisine by Ruth Salem Sader is a culinary journey that brings the rich flavours of Middle Eastern cooking to the vegetarian table. As the granddaughter of Syrian and Lebanese immigrants, Sader was immersed in the aromatic world of Middle Eastern spices and dishes from a young age. Her personal transition to vegetarianism led her to explore and adapt traditional recipes, resulting in a collection that honours authentic flavours while catering to plant-based diets.

The cookbook offers a diverse array of recipes, encompassing pastes, yogurts, salads, stews, egg-based dishes, desserts, and beverages. Notable recipes include:

Lebanese Tabbouleh
Escarole in Olive Oil
Stuffed courgettes
Rice with Lentils
Fried Falafel Balls
Dried Apricot Candies with Almonds
Turkish Coffee with Cardamom

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Book Review: Israel Eats

I must begin with a confession. I adored/obsessed over this cookbook so much that I hesitated to write about it. You know that feeling when you encounter something or someone so great that you are left to fall silent? I felt a bit unworthy. Thankfully, I moved past my insecurities and decided that it was more important to introduce my readers to the brilliance of this book.

Equal parts revelatory memoir, insightful travel guide, expedient cookbook, and sumptuous coffee table book, Israel Eats is an eye-opening experience of Israel’s food culture today.

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