Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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115 of 121 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
It's all in the title..., 2 Aug 2006
Arabesque:A taste of Morocco, Turkey and Lebanon
....and the dust-jacket sleeve:-
'Claudia returns to Turkey, Lebanon and Morocco in search of new and old recipes and to find out how cooking has evolved since she first introduced us to these cuisines in the 1960s. The result is a tribute to the different culinary histories and contemporary food of these fascinating countries, from the Meze dishes of Turkey and the sweet pastries of Lebanon to the unmistakable flavours and spices of Morocco. In her inimitable style, Claudia Roden has created a passionate, evocative book full of stories, memories and delicious foods.'
And with rear cover quotes from:-
Nigella Lawson - 'Claudia's great gift is to conjure up not just a cuisine but the culture from which it springs.'
and from Sam and Sam Clarke, the authors of the two 'Moro' books:-
'Every one of Claudia's books introduced us to a delicious new world.'
one knows that this is going to be a book in a class of its own!
Durable board covers with dust-jacket open to 351 high quality, matt finish pages split over 3 main sections:-
(1) Morocco (pages have a pale blue background)
(2) Turkey (pages have a cream coloured background)
(3) Lebanon (pages have a pale pink background)
and a general introduction.
Within each main section are 4 sub-sections:-
An Introduction
Starters & 'Kemia', 'Meze' or 'Mezze' (appetizers)
Main Courses
Desserts
Claudia has a unique writing talent that states the obvious without sounding condescending:-
'Trust your taste and allow yourself a certain freedom in the preparation of the dishes.....
Weigh with the eye and taste as you go along......
We are dealing with the produce of nature and these vary.....
You can have a small lemon that has more juice and is sharper than a larger one.....
........garlic cloves vary in size and flavour.
Many of the vegetables available to us come from different soils, under a different sun - they have a different taste and respond differently....'
The book is well laid out, easy to read and is interspersed with appealing matt photographs of people & places, ingredients and some of the dishes, by Jason Lowe. I think it is a fair criticism to state that the recipe photography is a bit on the light side for a book this size, but it is easy to forgive as the reader is captured by the writing flow.
Informative and interesting sections are littered throughout, including, e.g.:-
Aromatics (which includes descriptions of Gum Mastic, Rose Water, Sumac & Tahini)
Filo Pastry
Preparing Vegetables (e.g. artichokes, aubergines, peppers)
A Festive Meal in a Traditional Moroccan Home - A Riad
Street Food
About Argan Oil
The Turkish Restaurant and Specialist Food Producers
The Mezze Tradition
For me, a particularly interesting section was the one entitled:-
'Of Tagines, Qdras & other Long Cooked Dishes'
taking me back to a quote from Nigella in her book [[ASIN: 0701181842 Nigella Express]], and her recipe for:-
'Lamb Olive and Caramelized Onion Tagine'
.........which suddenly made a lot more sense:-
'I don't actually cook this recipe in 'a tagine' - though often serve it in one but ever since someone told me that in Morocco most tagines are made in pressure cookers, I have felt unembarrassed by calling something cooked in a pan -
'a tagine'.
Each recipe opens with a relevant note (which often includes preparation advice), the English title in capital letters and the 'foreign' title, in red, underneath (if applicable), the number of servings, a clear list of ingredients and the method.
A small taste of the recipes contained within:-
Mashed Aubergine and Tomato Salad
Sweet Potato Salad
Fish Cakes
Chicken and Onion Pie (a `poor man's version!)
Roast Duck with Apricots
Tuna with Red Bell Pepper Sauce
Tagine of Knuckle of Veal with Artichokes and Peas
Couscous with Spring Vegetables
Fruit Salad with Honey and Orange Blossom Water
Almond 'Snake'
Courgette Fritters
Baked Pasta with Cheese
Creamy Filo Spinach Pie
Smoked Mackerel with Walnut Sauce
Rice Pilaf
Lamb Shanks with Egg and Lemon Sauce
Pumpkin Dessert
Yoghurt Cake
Tabbouleh
Cheese Omelette
Prawns with Garlic and Coriander
Spinach Pies
Walnut & Pomegranate salad
Little Meat Pizzas
Grilled Poussins with Sumac
'New-Style' Shish Barak
Baked Kibbeh with Onion and Pine Nut Topping
Milk Ice cream with Gum Mastic and Rose Water
Osmaliyah with a Cream Filling, with a note:-
'Osmaliyah has been known for generations in my family in Egypt as konafa and I have featured it before. I include it here because, of all the Lebanese pastries that are good to make at home and to serve at a dinner party, this is one of the best; it is my mother's recipe..........'
This super work finishes off with a comprehensive 6-page alphabetical index, and the last quote on the back cover neatly sums it up:-
'Claudia Roden's writing has the fascination of her conversation.
Her books are treasure-houses of information and mines of literacy pleasures.' Observer.
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91 of 96 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Perfect, 17 Aug 2006
I can't praise this book enough. Not only is it a delight to read and to hold but it also is a teasurehouse of practical recipes that work. This is the third book by Claudia Roden that I have read and it certainly maintains the standard set in the others. In this book she concentrates on the cooking of Moroco, Lebanon and Turkey giving plenty of background information about the place of food with the cultures of the different countries. The recipes themselves are easy to follow, and produce what they say they will. Excellent, just what a perfect cookery book should be.
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66 of 71 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A good guide to authentic turkish cooking..., 25 Nov 2006
To address the comments of the misinformed "REAL WORLD COOK" - Of the two examples mentioned, sumac is an everyday ingredient in Turkish cooking, typically used in salads. And "gum mastic" ice cream is again a very popular desert and such "sakizli" (gum-based) ice creams are a norm. Further rose water has many every day applications in turkish cooking, and rose ice cream is a perfectly common widespread flavour. These are versatile ingredients found in the cupboards and spice racks of all Turkish homes much as you might find rosemary and thyme in yours. A commendable effort and highly recommended book reflecting authentic Turkish cooking. I can only assume the same can be said of the Morrocan and Lebanese sections.
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