Finding Middle Eastern Cookbooks
“The region of Middle East constitutes the lands around the Southern and Eastern shores of the Mediterranean Sea, encompassing at least the Arabian Peninsula and, by some definitions, Iran, North Africa, and sometimes beyond.”—Encyclopedia Britannica Having been born and raised in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), my love for Middle Eastern food knows no bounds. Situated at the North East end of the Arabian Peninsula, UAE is the home of many immigrants from all around the world, particularly the Middle East. With that in mind, one finds that it does not have one particular cuisine. It is, in fact, a place where you can find a Lebanese shawarma (always with fries) next to an Irani kofta kabab. Our apartment in UAE was above a Lebanese bakery. Every morning at 4:00 the smell of fresh khubz (pita) would waft through our windows. Having Za’atar with melted goat cheese on a crunchy khubz was the snack of choice at all hours. To this day I feel an unrealistic amount of excitement when someone asks me on what can they put Za’atar on (You can put it on everything, really). It always takes me back home. In the search to make my sense of home more flexible and able to travel with me, I started searching through cookbooks that would help me simulate the experience in my own kitchen. Like any other cuisine, Middle Eastern cuisine is constantly evolving; changing with the people and landscapes. What I can say for sure is that it is evolving into the best of its kind, incorporating ingredients from different regions like South East Asia and adapting their recipes to latest researches and trends. Keeping the ever changing cuisine in mind, the list of the best Middle Eastern cookbooks mostly covers books published in the last two years, with few exceptions that I think are essential for an overall context of the cuisine that holds the key to my heart, and my belly. In my very subjective opinion, Feast: Food of the Islamic World by Anissa Helou is an excellent place to start your journey. You can find most of the ingredients in International aisles of supermarkets, or look up a Mediterranean/Middle Eastern store near you. Your journey to another region is closer than you think!
