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HomeCookbooksEthiopean CookbooksClassic Vegetarian Cooking from the Middle East and North Africa |
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|  | | | Customer Reviews: | | | Average Customer Review: ( 21 customer reviews )
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
63 of 65 found the following review helpful:
 Quick,healthy, and tasty "recipes" for the meditteranean eater. Apr 01, 2006
By Sophie
I'm sure most people reading about "vegetarian middle-eastern" cookbooks are good cooks when they have the time and inclination. But I, for one, have grown bored with my own repertoire. Most cookbooks are more fun to read than to actually cook from. Or they have ingredients that, even living in New York City, seem annoyingly inaccessible.
This book has lots of very easy recipes that are healthy vegetarian (hardly any animal fat with the exception of yoghurt in cold dishes). I can imagine actually(!) making just about everything, there's even a section on arab desserts -- the easy kind made of farina. This is probably the best cookbook I've ever bought. I think it's useful whatever your level of cooking expertise, but you need to be a fan of the meditterranean diet. We're talking beans, legumes, olive oil, yoghurt, eggplant, a few other vegetables.
Recipe details:-- it's true most are simple, but unless you were raised in a middle-eastern family I don't know how you would've thought of these combinations -- even if you're say very familiar with Greek or Italian food, I think this is pretty new stuff.
Some "recipes" include: yoghurt ginger appetizer (includes almonds, onions, ginger, tomato);many types of lentil soups from various middle eastern countries (the egyptian one includes butter and cumin, the one from bahrain adds tomato, vermicelli, and ground coriander);fried pepper salad; orange and olive salad; beet salad; stuffed eggplant; and vegetable casserole.
Nothing sounds 'exciting' but it is all very accessible and well seasoned. It's like you could turn to this book and make every meal from it -- that is if you like meditterranean food.
32 of 32 found the following review helpful:
Luxurious, Simple and Healthy Eating Aug 07, 2000
Vegetarian dishes can be boring sometimes. You can only do so much with a can of chickpeas, or an eggplant or even a salad. Not so with Habeeb Salloum's Classic Vegetarian Cooking from the Middle East and North Africa. Presenting dishes from all over these regions, Mr. Salloum's recipes inspire the cook to garnish a table with these non-meat dishes. With an introduction and historical explanation of these dishes, preparation of the meals comes easy and the mouth watering delights even more enjoyable when eaten. Twenty-five recipes prepared so far and all have had a 100% review from family and friends. No kitchen should be without it!
24 of 24 found the following review helpful:
 A Rich and Treasured Book Aug 26, 2000
This is a wonderful book not only for the recipes but for the insights in to the part food plays in the everyday lives and culture of the people of the Middle East and North Africa. Salloum gives a brief history of most of the dishes and places them in geographical and cultural context. I enjoyed reading it as much for the delicious food as the explainations. My only criticism would be that there are no pictures in the book so a novice cook like myself has little idea of how to serve the recipes. A minor quibble... it is a lovely book and has delicious, tasty recipes.
16 of 16 found the following review helpful:
simple, delicious, wonderful Jun 26, 2004
Bought this book on a whim for my vegetarian husband for a birthday gift. Turns out that every dish is absolutley delicious. We have tried many recipies in the book and have been very happy with the simplicity and results. We highly recommend the purchase of this book if you are interested in middle eastern and/or vegetarian cooking.
17 of 18 found the following review helpful:
An excellent cookbook. Oct 07, 2006
By Nancy Beiman
"Northernexpress"
The recipes are clearly written, easy to make, and very tasty. This book, more than any other, convinced me that it is practical to be a vegetarian. Most dishes take very little time to prepare, unlike earlier cookbooks that seemed to require the entire day. The meals are healthy, light, and varied.
See all 21 customer reviews on Amazon.com
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