Zaitoun: Recipes from the Palestinian Kitchen

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A big bowlful of delicious Palestinian recipes, plus lots of insightful and moving stories.--Yotam Ottolenghi

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This is the best kind of cookbook, one which tells you about people through the stories of their food. Compelling reading, gorgeous pictures--and the most delicious recipes. I can't wait to start cooking.--Ruth Reichl

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As a Palestinian who grew up in Jerusalem, I have been conditioned to be wary of any non-Palestinian trying to share our story and our culture with the world...Very quickly I found myself in tears at just how beautifully and accurately she has captured the essence of our Palestinian culture. Yasmin Khan you have done Palestinians and our story justice, your understanding of the nuances of our culture and history is unparalleled.--Reem Kassis, author of The Palestinian Table

Brief Description:
"Originally published in Great Britain under the title Zaitoun: recipes and stories from the Palestinian kitchen"--Copyright page.

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Yasmin Khan draws on her vast experience as a storyteller, cook, human rights activist, itinerant traveler and writer to create a moving, empathetic, hugely knowledgeable and utterly delicious book.--Anthony Bourdain

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Yasmin Khan is a human rights campaigner and storyteller as well as a recipe writer, and the three strands of her work are illuminatingly woven into this, her new book, Zaitoun, an important collection of recipes and stories from the Palestinian kitchen. This is a politically engaged and hungry travelogue, and it is also an inspirational recipe book, and one that anyone who loves food will want to cook from, will need to cook from.--Nigella Lawson

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Part cookbook and part travel journal, this work is full of recipes, photos, and stories from Palestine. It is bright in flavour and colour and will teach you about this incredible nation through dishes like slow-cooked stews of chicken and lamb flavored with Palestinian barahat spice blends-- "BookRiot"

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A zingingly evocative collection of personal stories...Calling it a cookbook does it a disservice. Zaitoun deserves to be read as much as cooked from.--Tim Lewis "Guardian (UK)"

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Excellent...Khan's cookbook is a thoroughly enjoyable exploration of the region's food and culture.-- "Publishers Weekly (starred review)"

Jacket Description/Back:

Praise for Yasmin Khan's debut book The Saffron Tales:

"This is so much more than a compilation of recipes, gorgeous though they themselves are. This is a book that tells a story, both cultural and personal, and her voice is as engaging as her food."
- Nigella Lawson

"Barberries, fresh herbs, date molasses, dried limes, saffron; Yasmin's Persian pantry staples are a roll call of my favourite ingredients. Her recipes are a mouthwatering showcase of a beautiful country."
- Yotam Ottolenghi

"Yasmin Khan has lived and traveled widely in Iran, and The Saffron Tales...reflects traditions she knows intimately. But she has the rare gift of being able to translate her personal heritage into recipes even newcomers will be able to pull off."
- New York Times Book Review

"One of the more engrossing cookbooks I read this year...Nations speak and, in some cases, survive through their culinary traditions. This book is an incomparable and important examination of Iranian society through its kitchens and cuisine."
- Wall Street Journal

"[Khan's] food is a sensitive balance of tradition with modern tweaks."
- Los Angeles Times

Yasmin Khan unlocks the flavors and fragrances of modern Palestine, from the sun-kissed pomegranate stalls of Akka, on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, through evergreen oases of date plantations in the Jordan Valley, to the fading fish markets of Gaza City.

Palestinian food is winningly fresh and bright, centered around colorful mezze dishes that feature the region's bountiful eggplants, peppers, artichokes, and green beans; slow-cooked stews of chicken and lamb flavored with Palestinian barahat spice blends; and the marriage of local olive oil with earthy za'atar, served in small bowls to accompany toasted breads. It has evolved over several millennia through the influences of Arabic, Jewish, Armenian, Persian, Turkish, and Bedouin cultures and civilizations that have ruled over, or lived in, the area known as ancient Palestine.

In each place she visits, Khan enters the kitchens of Palestinians of all ages and backgrounds, discovering the secrets of their cuisine and sharing heartlifting stories.

Review Citations:

• Library Journal 02/01/2019 pg. 108 (EAN 9781324002628, Hardcover)
• Publishers Weekly 11/19/2018 (EAN 9781324002628, Hardcover) - *Starred Review

Contributor Bio:Khan, Yasmin
Yasmin Khan is a food and travel writer, broadcaster, and human rights campaigner. She is the author of four cookbooks: Sabzi, Ripe Figs, Zaitoun, and The Saffron Tales. She lives in London.