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177th out of 294 books
—
60 voters
Arabesque: A Taste of Morocco, Turkey, and Lebanon
In the 1960s Claudia Roden introduced Americans to a new world of tastes in her classic A Book of Middle Eastern Food. Now, in her enchanting new book, Arabesque, she revisits the three countries with the most exciting cuisines today—Morocco, Turkey, and Lebanon. Interweaving history, stories, and her own observations, she gives us 150 of the most delectable recipes: some...more
Hardcover, 352 pages
Published
October 31st 2006
by Knopf
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I have very mixed feelings about this book. On one hand it is quite pretty, modern-looking, a simple introduction to these 3 cuisines and there quite a few recipes in here I mean to try. On the other hand, it is so much weaker than her The New Book of Middle Eastern Food! It´s like a summary of The New Book of Middle Eastern Food for Dummies (but with prettier styling and great photos. And not only that, but Ms Roden´s conversational style here can get a bit annoying if you are one of those peop...more
I picked up this book at the library for the Lebanese recipes, but I had to renew it in order to try some of the Moroccan and Turkish dishes, too. Many of these recipes are simple and quickly made and there are lots of great salads and vegetable dishes. There are some hard-to-find specialty ingredients such as sumac or preserved lemon. Substitutions are suggested but I think it is worth locating the recommended ingredients. I've started using pomegranate molasses in so many (non-Lebanese) dishes...more
This is my go to cookbook for Middle Eastern food. All the recipes I have tried have been very good and even excellent. Many of the recipes are illustrated with beautiful photos. Claudia Roden gives a brief introduction to each recipe including suggestions for accompaniment, something sorely missing in most cookbooks. She shows the same attention to detail in each recipe when she discusses issues such as how to correct mistakes and serving suggestions. I highly recommend this book.
Claudia Roden has written another fascinating cookbook, which not only gives lovely recipes with titles listed in Arabic and English, but also tells a history of the food in each country and how it is traditionally prepared. Gorgeous photos and the print looks nice. I didn't bookmark that many recipes however simply because I have read many cookbooks on the topic, so most of them were nothing new. Recommended for food historians and those who like to cook delicious ethnic food.
I browsed through this book last night when our date night ended with a trip to Barnes & Noble and although I was intrigued by the title and the cover, I wasn't thrilled or inspired by the recipes enough to want to continue reading it (opting to put it aside and pick up some bread books that looked great) or check it out from my local library. Oh well. Maybe another time this will be more appealing for me, but for now I will leave it on the shelf and go on to other cookbooks.
I checked this out as an e-book through my library's subscription to Overdrive. I just wanted to let people know that you're missing out on the amazing illustrations and book design if you get this as an e-book. Get the hard copy!
(The text was interesting, and the receipes looked yummy. Lots of salads).
Not rating, because I didn't make any of the receipes - just wanted to warn people off of the e-edition.
(The text was interesting, and the receipes looked yummy. Lots of salads).
Not rating, because I didn't make any of the receipes - just wanted to warn people off of the e-edition.
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I wish this had more pictures that would communicate how awesome these dishes are. I was blessed to know what each recipe looks like! Overall, it's a REALLY good cookbook with authentic recipes. I know that it is probably directed to westerns and not middle easterns, but there is no real difference between that and a local cookbook. I actually love accurate universal measurements, so I prefer this one.
Can't wait to attempt Lahma Bel Ajeen and most of the salads. :D
While I wouldn't keep this for my shelves, I would definitely borrow it from the library again. The photos alone are worth browsing the entire book. So are the bits about Morocco, Turkey, and Lebanon. Found three recipes I want to try: Tomato and Rice Soup, Baba Ghanouj, and Hummus.
A good overview of the cooking of North Africa and Lebanon. There are a few countries of the area which are left out such as Libya. There are similarities in the recipes of these countries but each has it's own version of the various dishes and they can be significantly different.
I love this book, I have used a lot of the recipes and each one I have tried has been great. It is divided into sections by country and also has great photos and information about the food and customs. One of my favourites.
I've only checked it out from the library and didn't get to cook much from it, but the Chicken with Caramelized Baby Onions and Pears is delicious! The country introductions seemed pretty thorough and interesting as well.
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Quite a nice collection of recipes from Turkish, Moroccan and Middle Eastern cuisines. Our favorites are in the dessert section. The pistachio cake was worth the price of the book.
Such a beautiful book. I've made a few recipes from this, and mostly they've turned out well. Her method for making couscous results in the fluffiest, tastiest couscous ever.
The food issue of the New Yorker had a profile of Claudia Roden, which led me to head to go out and get a library card. I was happy to discover that Arabesque wasn't checked out. So far, I've tried two things...a tomato spread from the Morocco section and baba ganoush, which I think was in the Lebanese section. Both turned out well. I will say that I have never seen a cookbook with so many recipes that use eggplants--I just wish I'd read this earlier in the summer when there were tons of them at...more
Very pretty cookbook, with more pictures than her New Book of Middle Eastern Food. This one is also more regionalized, so I'm less likely to cook from it.
I really enjoyed this book, especially since I am going to Turkey in April. Yeah!! It was great to make a couple of recipes for such exotic places.
Might try a dip/spread for starters and see how it goes.
Interesting short bits about the cuisine of the country - covers 3 Morocco, Turkey, Lebanan
Interesting short bits about the cuisine of the country - covers 3 Morocco, Turkey, Lebanan
Awesome cookbook!!!! Made a tagine from here that knocked my socks off. Some of the salads and soups were amazing as well...
Fabulous recipes that explore the foods of these countries in approachable ways. The best food in the world and healthy.
I am really looking forward to making recipes from this cookbook. I was interested in most of the Moroccan recipes... I'll be sure to update when I have tried them! :)
Another book I skimmed through...copied recipes...and now I hope to make some of them.
Roden's writing never fails to delight and illuminate and the recipes are just sublime
I have had this out of the library twice and have yet to cook from it, I do not know why
Pretty, but recipes/cookbook better in her other book of Middle Eastern food.
Roden's introductions are so evocative my mouth was watering which is not a good state to be getting in late at night!
This Cookbook is so much more than a collection of recipes, it's both a cultural and historical guide to ancient cuisines written with the unique perspective that only Roden can give.
The only thing missing were some tantalizing photos that a book like this deserves , however, I suspect that the e-version which I've picked up removes them to save on space.
I now look forward to tr...more
This Cookbook is so much more than a collection of recipes, it's both a cultural and historical guide to ancient cuisines written with the unique perspective that only Roden can give.
The only thing missing were some tantalizing photos that a book like this deserves , however, I suspect that the e-version which I've picked up removes them to save on space.
I now look forward to tr...more
Looks very creative, though I haven't tried any of the recipes yet.
No day is wasted if I can cook something from this book.
This has my favourite recipe for dolma(s?) ever!
Sep 16, 2012
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Claudia Roden was brought up in Cairo. She finished her education in Paris and later studied art in London. Starting as a painter she was drawn to the subject of food partly through a desire to evoke a lost heritage - one of the pleasures of a happy life in Egypt.
With her bestselling classic, A Book of Middle Eastern Food, first published in 1968, Roden revolutionized Western attitudes to the cuis...more
More about Claudia Roden...
With her bestselling classic, A Book of Middle Eastern Food, first published in 1968, Roden revolutionized Western attitudes to the cuis...more
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Mar 18, 2009 07:03pm