Fantastic book ... you will not fail to impress!, 09 Nov 2008
I have tried my first three recipes for a dinner party of 10. The couscous with lamb, raisins and caramelised onions, the Zaalouk (aubergine and tomatoo salad) and the chickpea and bulgur salad. The result was fantastic. ALL guests had seconds of ALL dishes!

Divine!, 30 Jul 2008
A fantastic book, a well worn favourite for this style of cooking, the fact she suggests using recipes as inspiration and not to be afraid of changing something, I found to be a lovely touch.

Everything I have made so far have been massive hits with my family.

A Perfect Book, 27 Jul 2008
Arabesque is written in similar vein to The Book of Jewish Food. There is, again, a lot of socioligical and historical context and the recipes are utterly realiable. The layout is lovely, and the book well indexed. Faultless.

Gorgeous, 23 May 2008
Another great book by Claudia Roden. Lovely recipes, easy to follow. A great complement to The Book of Jewish Food.

Could improve layout but not recipes, 13 Jul 2007
The book is split into sections by country, which I think can make it difficult to navigate - if you want to cook a main course with lamb you have to look in each of the three different country chapters to see all the recipes. But the recipes themselves (which is after all the most important thing) are wonderful - inspiring, clear, manageable and delicious, so with a different layout and perhaps a list of mail order suppliers, this could be perfect.

Fantastic book ... you will not fail to impress!, 09 Nov 2008
I have tried my first three recipes for a dinner party of 10. The couscous with lamb, raisins and caramelised onions, the Zaalouk (aubergine and tomatoo salad) and the chickpea and bulgur salad. The result was fantastic. ALL guests had seconds of ALL dishes!

Divine!, 30 Jul 2008
A fantastic book, a well worn favourite for this style of cooking, the fact she suggests using recipes as inspiration and not to be afraid of changing something, I found to be a lovely touch.

Everything I have made so far have been massive hits with my family.

A Perfect Book, 27 Jul 2008
Arabesque is written in similar vein to The Book of Jewish Food. There is, again, a lot of socioligical and historical context and the recipes are utterly realiable. The layout is lovely, and the book well indexed. Faultless.

Gorgeous, 23 May 2008
Another great book by Claudia Roden. Lovely recipes, easy to follow. A great complement to The Book of Jewish Food.

Could improve layout but not recipes, 13 Jul 2007
The book is split into sections by country, which I think can make it difficult to navigate - if you want to cook a main course with lamb you have to look in each of the three different country chapters to see all the recipes. But the recipes themselves (which is after all the most important thing) are wonderful - inspiring, clear, manageable and delicious, so with a different layout and perhaps a list of mail order suppliers, this could be perfect.

perfect, 19 Oct 2005
What a delight to find this book. All of the other reviewers are spot on with their championing of this treasure-trove of gorgeous recipes. As with her other books, Roden gives amusing and interesting anecdotes while relating the recipes and you can imagine the communities and individuals whence the recipes derive.

It is a must for any kitchen, with informal and easy to follow recipes making effortlessly delicious meals and treats.

Highly recommended!

A book for body, mind and soul, 20 Jul 2005
Love of food, encyclopaedic of knowledge and matchless experience shine from every page where anectode, personal and apocryphal, share space with evocative, irresistible recipes. A book to be enjoyed for the love of cooking and reading.

Adam and a Packet of Chick Peas, 05 Jan 2003
I bought Claudia Roden's original book in 1973 (the year my son was born) and have used it regularly ever since. He has just rung me for a "hummus" recipe and to ask what to do with the extra chick peas he has soaked. Naturally, I immediately turned to my copy of "A Book of Middle Eastern Food", found a recipe for "Chick peas with Potatoes and Tomatoes" which I handed on to him, and, hoping it was still in print, decided to order him a copy. I am delighted to find there is a new book, and feel sure he will enjoy it as much as I have the old one.

If you buy one Middle Eastern cookery book..., 23 Nov 2002
...make it this one. The recipes easy to follow, and Roden's writing style is peppered with amusing anecdotes about her childhood in Egypt and historical information that make this book a good read outside the kitchen as well as in.

Whereas many Middle Eastern cookbooks leave out ingredients (presumably to make the dishes seem less scary to Western palates), Roden's recipes are authentic. Many include alternate suggestions and regional variations from family recipes submitted by her friends and readers from across the region, so chances are you'll always have the proper ingredients to hand.

I cook from this regularly, both for everyday meals and special occasions (the appetiser section has loads of dishes that are great for parties). Middle Eastern cooking seems to be designed to make expensive ingredients like meat go a long way, and (although they're not flagged as such) there's some great recipes here if you're on a tight budget.

In other words...absolutely essential.

The best book on middle-eastern kitchen!, 12 May 2000
I had one of the earlier editions of this book and it taught me how to cook. The new edition is even better than the previous. How is that possible? Maybe I have, with age, learned to appreciate culinary culture more than I used to.

I am a Turkish woman and most of the recepies Roden explains in her marvellous book are no strangers to me. I have ben living abroad now for many years. Every time I open Roden's book I can smell my grandmother's kitchen.

Here is a personal "thank you" to Claudia Roden from me. Maashallah, forty one times, as we say back home.

Claudia Roden, author of The Book of Jewish Food, has done more than simply compile a cookbook of Jewish recipes--she has produced a history of the Diaspora, told through its cuisine. The book's 800 recipes reflect many cultures and regions of the world, from the Jewish quarter of Cairo where Roden spent her childhood to the kitchens of Europe, Asia and the Americas. Both Ashkenazi and Sepharidic cooking are well represented here: hallah bread, bagels, blintzes and kugels give way to tabbouleh, falafel and succulent lamb with prunes, which are, in turn, succeeded by such fare as Ftut (Yemeni wedding soup) and Kahk (savoury bracelets).

Interwoven throughout the text are Roden's charming asides--the history of certain foods, definitions (Kaimak, for instance, is the cream that rises to the top when buffalo milk is simmered) and ways of preparing everything from an eggplant to a quince. In addition, Roden tells you everything you've ever wanted to know about Jewish dietary laws, what the ancient Hebrews ate and the various holidays and festivals on the Jewish calendar. Detailed sections on Jewish history are beautifully illustrated with archival photographs of families, towns and, of course, food. The Book of Jewish Food is one that any serious cook--Jewish and non-Jewish alike--would gladly have (and use often) in the kitchen. --Kyle Dean

Fantastic book ... you will not fail to impress!, 09 Nov 2008
I have tried my first three recipes for a dinner party of 10. The couscous with lamb, raisins and caramelised onions, the Zaalouk (aubergine and tomatoo salad) and the chickpea and bulgur salad. The result was fantastic. ALL guests had seconds of ALL dishes!

Divine!, 30 Jul 2008
A fantastic book, a well worn favourite for this style of cooking, the fact she suggests using recipes as inspiration and not to be afraid of changing something, I found to be a lovely touch.

Everything I have made so far have been massive hits with my family.

A Perfect Book, 27 Jul 2008
Arabesque is written in similar vein to The Book of Jewish Food. There is, again, a lot of socioligical and historical context and the recipes are utterly realiable. The layout is lovely, and the book well indexed. Faultless.

Gorgeous, 23 May 2008
Another great book by Claudia Roden. Lovely recipes, easy to follow. A great complement to The Book of Jewish Food.

Could improve layout but not recipes, 13 Jul 2007
The book is split into sections by country, which I think can make it difficult to navigate - if you want to cook a main course with lamb you have to look in each of the three different country chapters to see all the recipes. But the recipes themselves (which is after all the most important thing) are wonderful - inspiring, clear, manageable and delicious, so with a different layout and perhaps a list of mail order suppliers, this could be perfect.

perfect, 19 Oct 2005
What a delight to find this book. All of the other reviewers are spot on with their championing of this treasure-trove of gorgeous recipes. As with her other books, Roden gives amusing and interesting anecdotes while relating the recipes and you can imagine the communities and individuals whence the recipes derive.

It is a must for any kitchen, with informal and easy to follow recipes making effortlessly delicious meals and treats.

Highly recommended!

A book for body, mind and soul, 20 Jul 2005
Love of food, encyclopaedic of knowledge and matchless experience shine from every page where anectode, personal and apocryphal, share space with evocative, irresistible recipes. A book to be enjoyed for the love of cooking and reading.

Adam and a Packet of Chick Peas, 05 Jan 2003
I bought Claudia Roden's original book in 1973 (the year my son was born) and have used it regularly ever since. He has just rung me for a "hummus" recipe and to ask what to do with the extra chick peas he has soaked. Naturally, I immediately turned to my copy of "A Book of Middle Eastern Food", found a recipe for "Chick peas with Potatoes and Tomatoes" which I handed on to him, and, hoping it was still in print, decided to order him a copy. I am delighted to find there is a new book, and feel sure he will enjoy it as much as I have the old one.

If you buy one Middle Eastern cookery book..., 23 Nov 2002
...make it this one. The recipes easy to follow, and Roden's writing style is peppered with amusing anecdotes about her childhood in Egypt and historical information that make this book a good read outside the kitchen as well as in.

Whereas many Middle Eastern cookbooks leave out ingredients (presumably to make the dishes seem less scary to Western palates), Roden's recipes are authentic. Many include alternate suggestions and regional variations from family recipes submitted by her friends and readers from across the region, so chances are you'll always have the proper ingredients to hand.

I cook from this regularly, both for everyday meals and special occasions (the appetiser section has loads of dishes that are great for parties). Middle Eastern cooking seems to be designed to make expensive ingredients like meat go a long way, and (although they're not flagged as such) there's some great recipes here if you're on a tight budget.

In other words...absolutely essential.

The best book on middle-eastern kitchen!, 12 May 2000
I had one of the earlier editions of this book and it taught me how to cook. The new edition is even better than the previous. How is that possible? Maybe I have, with age, learned to appreciate culinary culture more than I used to.

I am a Turkish woman and most of the recepies Roden explains in her marvellous book are no strangers to me. I have ben living abroad now for many years. Every time I open Roden's book I can smell my grandmother's kitchen.

Here is a personal "thank you" to Claudia Roden from me. Maashallah, forty one times, as we say back home.

Cookery and Scholarship in equal measure. , 27 Jul 2008
I can only add to the praise from other reviewers. This book is such a fascinating read from an historical and sociological point of view that one almost forgets it is a cookery book. I have to say that I was not at all bothered by the lack of photographs - I like my books to be collections of recipes, not to be picture books for grown ups. This is a solid work of meticulous research which deserves a place in the study as much as the kitchen

Only One Thing Missing!, 14 Mar 2005
This is not so much a cook book more an encyclopedia of Jewish cooking and as such is very comprehensive. I doubt anyone could have any complaints with the amount of information or the number of recipes contained within its pages.
The only drawback to this book is the total lack of photographs of the finished dishes and as such it does not inspire me to try creating any of them. Food is as much a visual experience as well as one of smells and tastes.

As a cookbook it fails to inspire the reader to try and recreate the recipes but as a history of Jewish cooking it excels.

A history of the Jews through their stomachs!, 08 Mar 2004
A wonderful book that most of my family and friends own, my non-Jewish flatmate read through like a novel, and I always have difficulty putting down. Since Ashkenazi cooking can be found in countless other Jewish cookery books, I appreciated the main focus on Sephardic cooking. I am vegan and even so found hundreds of recipes. The cultural background information is fascinating, and the religious information enables you to produce something a bit different at the festivals - we had the most fabulous (Iranian, I think) stew last Rosh Hashanah, together with home-made challah, and were quite spoilt for choice when it came to making haroset. The only problem is that I get so seduced by reading the recipes that I end up making too much food! However, my friends have certainly been enjoying the pastries I take to meetings. I have had no problems following the delicious recipes and Roden is usefully realistic about substitutes for ingredients unobtainable in Britain, warnings for extra-hot dishes and so on. She also gives basic recipes followed by several variations for many dishes, especially the popular ones; this can be useful if you want a different slant on a traditional dish, for example a borsht which isn't too violently beetrooty. The personal touch - anecdotes about where she met the recipe donor, or traditional dishes in her family - is delightful.

The Book of Jewish Food: An Odyssey from Samarkand and Vilna, 14 Feb 2004
I think this is one of the best cookery books I have ever bought. The book is truely inspiring. I love the Rye Bread (served thinly sliced and served with cold meats or cheese) and the Honey Cake, both of which are a big hit with our family. Many of the salads are sensational, especially the Potatoes with Black Olives, plus many many more.
A great book!

A wonderful book about Judaism through the medium of food, 15 Jan 2003
I can only agree with the previous reviewers - as a cookbook this is excellent, crammed full of a tremendous number and variety of great recipes, sensibly organised. As a historical book of a people told through their food it's even better.

It is nothing less than a social history of both Ashkenazi and Sephardi Judiasm told through the medium of food. The recipes have been collected and cherished by Roden, often from friends and relatives, on her travels. Most recipes are accompanied by the historical origins of the dish and thereby reveal something about Jews and Jewish life. The more celebrated and famous dishes, such as chopped liver and cholent, have whole pages of fascinating context, history and photographs devoted to them.

The result is that, as well as eating a fantastic meal (the meatballs and apricots in tomato sauce served with spinach risotto rice and followed by apfel kugel mit eppel is my favourite) you have a real sense of occasion and connection when you eat...even if, like me, you're a Gentile; you know the importance and provenance of your food and can almost see the ragged bagel seller, smell the lid being taken off the sabbath stock pot in the shtetl when you eat.

It's certainly the best and most readable cookbook I own, and in fact one of the most enjoyable books I own.

The ravishing cover of Tamarind and Saffron, brilliant yellow quinces in a blue-glazed dish, hints at the pleasures within its covers. Claudia Roden has subtitled the book "Favourite Recipes from the Middle East", and it is no more and no less than this. Eschewing the broad historical and geographical panorama that so enriched The Book of Jewish Food, she concentrates solely on the food, putting together a collection of recipes from the Middle East that are light, fresh, delicious and immensely evocative. The enticing aromas of North Africa rise from its pages, expressed in the differing spice-dialects of the national cuisines--the coriander, cinnamon, cumin, honey, orange-blossom water, preserved lemon, mint. The dishes range from the simplest of mezze to elaborate feast dishes but there is nothing that is remotely difficult. At the minimalist end of the scale, "Squid with Garlic and Chillies" is just that--the three briefly fried together; "Artichokes, Broad Beans and Almonds" combines unexpected ingredients to exquisite effect; and the Quince Dessert simply poaches the fruit in a light syrup, allowing its magical flavour to predominate. More demanding dishes include the spectacular " Pigeons Stuffed with Cous cous", the very elegant "Turkish Lamb Stew with Aubergine Cream Sauce" and "Roast Leg of Lamb with Meat, Rice and Nut Stuffing" (standing for that grandest of Arab dishes, whole stuffed baby lamb). And then there are the sweet dishes. This is an endlessly fascinating book, its deceptive simplicity masking a profound knowledge of the region's food. Really, as critics tend to say, one could cook from it forever. --Robin Davidson Claudia Roden's beautiful new book, Tamarind and Saffron, marks a return to the food of her origins and of her first book, the ground-breaking Book of Middle Eastern Food. It also signals something of a return, after the historical and cultural investigations of the acclaimed Book of Jewish Food, to food pure and simple. Perhaps half of the recipes in the new book are favourites from that first volume but, in recognition that Middle Eastern food is a complex and living tradition subject to national, regional, local and even family variation, many of these are given in new forms. These new versions may represent a lighter form, with oil instead of butter, with shorter cooking times and baking instead of frying; or they may illustrate the different view another national tradition might take of spicing, with Moroccan garlic, saffron, ginger and preserved lemon replaced by Syrian allspice and cinnamon, or Tunisian harissa. So, for example, you might care to try the ravishing succession of "Celeriac and Carrots with a Hazelnut and Yoghurt Sauce", "Moroccan Pumpkin Soup", "Spinach Pies with Raisins and Pine Nuts", "Squid with Garlic and Chillis", "Quails with Grapes", "Lamb with Quince", "Iranian Sweet Jewelled Rice", "Prunes Stuffed with Walnuts in Orange Juice", "Pistachio Ice Cream". This really is one of the great world cuisines, at its best representing fantastically sophisticated cooking. Claudia Roden is rightly regarded as one of its greatest exponents. --Robin Davidson

Fantastic book ... you will not fail to impress!, 09 Nov 2008
I have tried my first three recipes for a dinner party of 10. The couscous with lamb, raisins and caramelised onions, the Zaalouk (aubergine and tomatoo salad) and the chickpea and bulgur salad. The result was fantastic. ALL guests had seconds of ALL dishes!

Divine!, 30 Jul 2008
A fantastic book, a well worn favourite for this style of cooking, the fact she suggests using recipes as inspiration and not to be afraid of changing something, I found to be a lovely touch.

Everything I have made so far have been massive hits with my family.

A Perfect Book, 27 Jul 2008
Arabesque is written in similar vein to The Book of Jewish Food. There is, again, a lot of socioligical and historical context and the recipes are utterly realiable. The layout is lovely, and the book well indexed. Faultless.

Gorgeous, 23 May 2008
Another great book by Claudia Roden. Lovely recipes, easy to follow. A great complement to The Book of Jewish Food.

Could improve layout but not recipes, 13 Jul 2007
The book is split into sections by country, which I think can make it difficult to navigate - if you want to cook a main course with lamb you have to look in each of the three different country chapters to see all the recipes. But the recipes themselves (which is after all the most important thing) are wonderful - inspiring, clear, manageable and delicious, so with a different layout and perhaps a list of mail order suppliers, this could be perfect.

perfect, 19 Oct 2005
What a delight to find this book. All of the other reviewers are spot on with their championing of this treasure-trove of gorgeous recipes. As with her other books, Roden gives amusing and interesting anecdotes while relating the recipes and you can imagine the communities and individuals whence the recipes derive.

It is a must for any kitchen, with informal and easy to follow recipes making effortlessly delicious meals and treats.

Highly recommended!

A book for body, mind and soul, 20 Jul 2005
Love of food, encyclopaedic of knowledge and matchless experience shine from every page where anectode, personal and apocryphal, share space with evocative, irresistible recipes. A book to be enjoyed for the love of cooking and reading.

Adam and a Packet of Chick Peas, 05 Jan 2003
I bought Claudia Roden's original book in 1973 (the year my son was born) and have used it regularly ever since. He has just rung me for a "hummus" recipe and to ask what to do with the extra chick peas he has soaked. Naturally, I immediately turned to my copy of "A Book of Middle Eastern Food", found a recipe for "Chick peas with Potatoes and Tomatoes" which I handed on to him, and, hoping it was still in print, decided to order him a copy. I am delighted to find there is a new book, and feel sure he will enjoy it as much as I have the old one.

If you buy one Middle Eastern cookery book..., 23 Nov 2002
...make it this one. The recipes easy to follow, and Roden's writing style is peppered with amusing anecdotes about her childhood in Egypt and historical information that make this book a good read outside the kitchen as well as in.

Whereas many Middle Eastern cookbooks leave out ingredients (presumably to make the dishes seem less scary to Western palates), Roden's recipes are authentic. Many include alternate suggestions and regional variations from family recipes submitted by her friends and readers from across the region, so chances are you'll always have the proper ingredients to hand.

I cook from this regularly, both for everyday meals and special occasions (the appetiser section has loads of dishes that are great for parties). Middle Eastern cooking seems to be designed to make expensive ingredients like meat go a long way, and (although they're not flagged as such) there's some great recipes here if you're on a tight budget.

In other words...absolutely essential.

The best book on middle-eastern kitchen!, 12 May 2000
I had one of the earlier editions of this book and it taught me how to cook. The new edition is even better than the previous. How is that possible? Maybe I have, with age, learned to appreciate culinary culture more than I used to.

I am a Turkish woman and most of the recepies Roden explains in her marvellous book are no strangers to me. I have ben living abroad now for many years. Every time I open Roden's book I can smell my grandmother's kitchen.

Here is a personal "thank you" to Claudia Roden from me. Maashallah, forty one times, as we say back home.

Cookery and Scholarship in equal measure. , 27 Jul 2008
I can only add to the praise from other reviewers. This book is such a fascinating read from an historical and sociological point of view that one almost forgets it is a cookery book. I have to say that I was not at all bothered by the lack of photographs - I like my books to be collections of recipes, not to be picture books for grown ups. This is a solid work of meticulous research which deserves a place in the study as much as the kitchen

Only One Thing Missing!, 14 Mar 2005
This is not so much a cook book more an encyclopedia of Jewish cooking and as such is very comprehensive. I doubt anyone could have any complaints with the amount of information or the number of recipes contained within its pages.
The only drawback to this book is the total lack of photographs of the finished dishes and as such it does not inspire me to try creating any of them. Food is as much a visual experience as well as one of smells and tastes.

As a cookbook it fails to inspire the reader to try and recreate the recipes but as a history of Jewish cooking it excels.

A history of the Jews through their stomachs!, 08 Mar 2004
A wonderful book that most of my family and friends own, my non-Jewish flatmate read through like a novel, and I always have difficulty putting down. Since Ashkenazi cooking can be found in countless other Jewish cookery books, I appreciated the main focus on Sephardic cooking. I am vegan and even so found hundreds of recipes. The cultural background information is fascinating, and the religious information enables you to produce something a bit different at the festivals - we had the most fabulous (Iranian, I think) stew last Rosh Hashanah, together with home-made challah, and were quite spoilt for choice when it came to making haroset. The only problem is that I get so seduced by reading the recipes that I end up making too much food! However, my friends have certainly been enjoying the pastries I take to meetings. I have had no problems following the delicious recipes and Roden is usefully realistic about substitutes for ingredients unobtainable in Britain, warnings for extra-hot dishes and so on. She also gives basic recipes followed by several variations for many dishes, especially the popular ones; this can be useful if you want a different slant on a traditional dish, for example a borsht which isn't too violently beetrooty. The personal touch - anecdotes about where she met the recipe donor, or traditional dishes in her family - is delightful.

The Book of Jewish Food: An Odyssey from Samarkand and Vilna, 14 Feb 2004
I think this is one of the best cookery books I have ever bought. The book is truely inspiring. I love the Rye Bread (served thinly sliced and served with cold meats or cheese) and the Honey Cake, both of which are a big hit with our family. Many of the salads are sensational, especially the Potatoes with Black Olives, plus many many more.
A great book!

A wonderful book about Judaism through the medium of food, 15 Jan 2003
I can only agree with the previous reviewers - as a cookbook this is excellent, crammed full of a tremendous number and variety of great recipes, sensibly organised. As a historical book of a people told through their food it's even better.

It is nothing less than a social history of both Ashkenazi and Sephardi Judiasm told through the medium of food. The recipes have been collected and cherished by Roden, often from friends and relatives, on her travels. Most recipes are accompanied by the historical origins of the dish and thereby reveal something about Jews and Jewish life. The more celebrated and famous dishes, such as chopped liver and cholent, have whole pages of fascinating context, history and photographs devoted to them.

The result is that, as well as eating a fantastic meal (the meatballs and apricots in tomato sauce served with spinach risotto rice and followed by apfel kugel mit eppel is my favourite) you have a real sense of occasion and connection when you eat...even if, like me, you're a Gentile; you know the importance and provenance of your food and can almost see the ragged bagel seller, smell the lid being taken off the sabbath stock pot in the shtetl when you eat.

It's certainly the best and most readable cookbook I own, and in fact one of the most enjoyable books I own.

Easy to cook recipes from the Middle East, 08 Sep 2001
This is a wonderful book full of easy to cook recipes that taste delicious and will impress your family and friends. The dishes taste exotic but use ingredients that are easily available in most supermarkets. The book includes recipes for salads, soups, main dishes, vegetables and desserts. My sister spent years learning how to cook like this in the Middle East. I can now (almost) reach her standard by using this book.

A wonderful introduction to the cooking of the region, 15 Jul 2001
I wanted to try Moroccan cookery and was delighted to be given this book as a present. The recipes are clear and easy to follow, many of them can be cooked in advance and the illustrations are lovely - and almost realistic. None of the ones I have tried have failed to delight (my partner asks me to mention especially the Saffron Caramel Cream on p 187). Most of the ingredients have been readily available - even in the provincial outreaches of Leeds (OK so I can't find frozen artichoke bottoms but that's my fault, right, for not living in London - use fresh ones instead from local allotments garden shop!) I have been inspired to ask - and receive - a tagine cooking pot for Christmas and to move on to more dedicated books on specific cuisine such as Moroccan Cuisine by Paula Wolfert. An excellent follow up to, if not in the same league as, The Book of Jewish Food.

A simple yet tasty book on Middle Eastern Cooking., 07 Mar 2000
This is the first time that I read a book by Claudia Roden and I was very impressed by it. I have tried about half a dozen recipes from this book within a two week period. The instructions are very simple to follow and the end results are delicious. The only suggestion that I would like to make is to insert a section with explanations of all the spices and ingredients somewhere in the book.

Fantastic book ... you will not fail to impress!, 09 Nov 2008
I have tried my first three recipes for a dinner party of 10. The couscous with lamb, raisins and caramelised onions, the Zaalouk (aubergine and tomatoo salad) and the chickpea and bulgur salad. The result was fantastic. ALL guests had seconds of ALL dishes!

Divine!, 30 Jul 2008
A fantastic book, a well worn favourite for this style of cooking, the fact she suggests using recipes as inspiration and not to be afraid of changing something, I found to be a lovely touch.

Everything I have made so far have been massive hits with my family.

A Perfect Book, 27 Jul 2008
Arabesque is written in similar vein to The Book of Jewish Food. There is, again, a lot of socioligical and historical context and the recipes are utterly realiable. The layout is lovely, and the book well indexed. Faultless.

Gorgeous, 23 May 2008
Another great book by Claudia Roden. Lovely recipes, easy to follow. A great complement to The Book of Jewish Food.

Could improve layout but not recipes, 13 Jul 2007
The book is split into sections by country, which I think can make it difficult to navigate - if you want to cook a main course with lamb you have to look in each of the three different country chapters to see all the recipes. But the recipes themselves (which is after all the most important thing) are wonderful - inspiring, clear, manageable and delicious, so with a different layout and perhaps a list of mail order suppliers, this could be perfect.

perfect, 19 Oct 2005
What a delight to find this book. All of the other reviewers are spot on with their championing of this treasure-trove of gorgeous recipes. As with her other books, Roden gives amusing and interesting anecdotes while relating the recipes and you can imagine the communities and individuals whence the recipes derive.

It is a must for any kitchen, with informal and easy to follow recipes making effortlessly delicious meals and treats.

Highly recommended!

A book for body, mind and soul, 20 Jul 2005
Love of food, encyclopaedic of knowledge and matchless experience shine from every page where anectode, personal and apocryphal, share space with evocative, irresistible recipes. A book to be enjoyed for the love of cooking and reading.

Adam and a Packet of Chick Peas, 05 Jan 2003
I bought Claudia Roden's original book in 1973 (the year my son was born) and have used it regularly ever since. He has just rung me for a "hummus" recipe and to ask what to do with the extra chick peas he has soaked. Naturally, I immediately turned to my copy of "A Book of Middle Eastern Food", found a recipe for "Chick peas with Potatoes and Tomatoes" which I handed on to him, and, hoping it was still in print, decided to order him a copy. I am delighted to find there is a new book, and feel sure he will enjoy it as much as I have the old one.

If you buy one Middle Eastern cookery book..., 23 Nov 2002
...make it this one. The recipes easy to follow, and Roden's writing style is peppered with amusing anecdotes about her childhood in Egypt and historical information that make this book a good read outside the kitchen as well as in.

Whereas many Middle Eastern cookbooks leave out ingredients (presumably to make the dishes seem less scary to Western palates), Roden's recipes are authentic. Many include alternate suggestions and regional variations from family recipes submitted by her friends and readers from across the region, so chances are you'll always have the proper ingredients to hand.

I cook from this regularly, both for everyday meals and special occasions (the appetiser section has loads of dishes that are great for parties). Middle Eastern cooking seems to be designed to make expensive ingredients like meat go a long way, and (although they're not flagged as such) there's some great recipes here if you're on a tight budget.

In other words...absolutely essential.

The best book on middle-eastern kitchen!, 12 May 2000
I had one of the earlier editions of this book and it taught me how to cook. The new edition is even better than the previous. How is that possible? Maybe I have, with age, learned to appreciate culinary culture more than I used to.

I am a Turkish woman and most of the recepies Roden explains in her marvellous book are no strangers to me. I have ben living abroad now for many years. Every time I open Roden's book I can smell my grandmother's kitchen.

Here is a personal "thank you" to Claudia Roden from me. Maashallah, forty one times, as we say back home.

Cookery and Scholarship in equal measure. , 27 Jul 2008
I can only add to the praise from other reviewers. This book is such a fascinating read from an historical and sociological point of view that one almost forgets it is a cookery book. I have to say that I was not at all bothered by the lack of photographs - I like my books to be collections of recipes, not to be picture books for grown ups. This is a solid work of meticulous research which deserves a place in the study as much as the kitchen

Only One Thing Missing!, 14 Mar 2005
This is not so much a cook book more an encyclopedia of Jewish cooking and as such is very comprehensive. I doubt anyone could have any complaints with the amount of information or the number of recipes contained within its pages.
The only drawback to this book is the total lack of photographs of the finished dishes and as such it does not inspire me to try creating any of them. Food is as much a visual experience as well as one of smells and tastes.

As a cookbook it fails to inspire the reader to try and recreate the recipes but as a history of Jewish cooking it excels.

A history of the Jews through their stomachs!, 08 Mar 2004
A wonderful book that most of my family and friends own, my non-Jewish flatmate read through like a novel, and I always have difficulty putting down. Since Ashkenazi cooking can be found in countless other Jewish cookery books, I appreciated the main focus on Sephardic cooking. I am vegan and even so found hundreds of recipes. The cultural background information is fascinating, and the religious information enables you to produce something a bit different at the festivals - we had the most fabulous (Iranian, I think) stew last Rosh Hashanah, together with home-made challah, and were quite spoilt for choice when it came to making haroset. The only problem is that I get so seduced by reading the recipes that I end up making too much food! However, my friends have certainly been enjoying the pastries I take to meetings. I have had no problems following the delicious recipes and Roden is usefully realistic about substitutes for ingredients unobtainable in Britain, warnings for extra-hot dishes and so on. She also gives basic recipes followed by several variations for many dishes, especially the popular ones; this can be useful if you want a different slant on a traditional dish, for example a borsht which isn't too violently beetrooty. The personal touch - anecdotes about where she met the recipe donor, or traditional dishes in her family - is delightful.

The Book of Jewish Food: An Odyssey from Samarkand and Vilna, 14 Feb 2004
I think this is one of the best cookery books I have ever bought. The book is truely inspiring. I love the Rye Bread (served thinly sliced and served with cold meats or cheese) and the Honey Cake, both of which are a big hit with our family. Many of the salads are sensational, especially the Potatoes with Black Olives, plus many many more.
A great book!

A wonderful book about Judaism through the medium of food, 15 Jan 2003
I can only agree with the previous reviewers - as a cookbook this is excellent, crammed full of a tremendous number and variety of great recipes, sensibly organised. As a historical book of a people told through their food it's even better.

It is nothing less than a social history of both Ashkenazi and Sephardi Judiasm told through the medium of food. The recipes have been collected and cherished by Roden, often from friends and relatives, on her travels. Most recipes are accompanied by the historical origins of the dish and thereby reveal something about Jews and Jewish life. The more celebrated and famous dishes, such as chopped liver and cholent, have whole pages of fascinating context, history and photographs devoted to them.

The result is that, as well as eating a fantastic meal (the meatballs and apricots in tomato sauce served with spinach risotto rice and followed by apfel kugel mit eppel is my favourite) you have a real sense of occasion and connection when you eat...even if, like me, you're a Gentile; you know the importance and provenance of your food and can almost see the ragged bagel seller, smell the lid being taken off the sabbath stock pot in the shtetl when you eat.

It's certainly the best and most readable cookbook I own, and in fact one of the most enjoyable books I own.

Easy to cook recipes from the Middle East, 08 Sep 2001
This is a wonderful book full of easy to cook recipes that taste delicious and will impress your family and friends. The dishes taste exotic but use ingredients that are easily available in most supermarkets. The book includes recipes for salads, soups, main dishes, vegetables and desserts. My sister spent years learning how to cook like this in the Middle East. I can now (almost) reach her standard by using this book.

A wonderful introduction to the cooking of the region, 15 Jul 2001
I wanted to try Moroccan cookery and was delighted to be given this book as a present. The recipes are clear and easy to follow, many of them can be cooked in advance and the illustrations are lovely - and almost realistic. None of the ones I have tried have failed to delight (my partner asks me to mention especially the Saffron Caramel Cream on p 187). Most of the ingredients have been readily available - even in the provincial outreaches of Leeds (OK so I can't find frozen artichoke bottoms but that's my fault, right, for not living in London - use fresh ones instead from local allotments garden shop!) I have been inspired to ask - and receive - a tagine cooking pot for Christmas and to move on to more dedicated books on specific cuisine such as Moroccan Cuisine by Paula Wolfert. An excellent follow up to, if not in the same league as, The Book of Jewish Food.

A simple yet tasty book on Middle Eastern Cooking., 07 Mar 2000
This is the first time that I read a book by Claudia Roden and I was very impressed by it. I have tried about half a dozen recipes from this book within a two week period. The instructions are very simple to follow and the end results are delicious. The only suggestion that I would like to make is to insert a section with explanations of all the spices and ingredients somewhere in the book.

probably my favourite italian cooking book, 03 Aug 2004
I am really fond of Italy and italian food; as I lived there for a year, I had the opportunity to try many italian specialities, and was looking for a book that was both easy to use, concise, and very good, so I am happy that I found this book from Claudia Roden which is really good. All the recipes I tried were exactly what one could expect, and often I was surprised that despite the few ingredients ( the osso bucco for example) the dish is still very tasty.

Thanks to this book, I can prepare a very decent lasagne bolognese, a tasty osso buco, a very good foccaccia bread, a nice panna cotta and many more. I am very enthousiastic about this writer and have also bought her book about mediterranean cooking, which is also very genuine.

(By the way, I am a real mediterranean, so I should know these things ;-) )

A glorious book that has changed my life, 17 Mar 2004
I have always been a keen fan of Italian cookery, but found some of the more trendy modern cookbooks a little too River Cafe, with recipes asking you to buy all manner of obscure ingredients and drizzle them about. Not so this book by Claudia Roden, which I discovered in 2000 as an out of print item in my local library and had out on almost permanent loan. Imagine my delight when it reissued in late 2002.

What I loved about this book was the author's real feel for the country. The author spent a year travelling round Italy in 1989 from top to bottom and has themed the book in a regional manner starting with the Piedmont region and gradually working her way down the country to Sicily and Sardinia. In the original edition, it could be a little confusing if you liked to find your recipes by starter or fish / meat etc as the regional theming cut across looking in this way, However, the new edition has a very clear listing early on in this format so that you can easily find recipes by type of food as well as region.

Where to start - my personal favourite sections are those which concentrate on the more earthy peasant food of the far South and Sicily. The Vermicelli alla sirucusana on p231 is a gorgeous mix of flavours - aubergine, yellow peppers, olive oil, garlic, anchovies, tomato, olives, capers (important, they must be the ones stored in salt), basil etc. Simple, flavoursome and amazing food.

If you have a local market where you can buy fresh produce this book is great. For vegetarians there are plenty of options, with stuffed vegetables taking predecence. Recipes for stuffed mushrooms and peppers are good. Plenty of fresh soups are there for the making as well as vegetable side dishes.

The basic recipe for pizza dough and associated tomato sauce makes some of the best pizzas I have ever tasted, whether at home / abroad or in Italian restaurants. You need to buy decent flour and get your oven really hot, but it is well worth it.

Meat and fish are well represented, with some exotic recipes such as Wood pigeon with Wine and Herbs, Hare in wine sauce or some great swordfish recipes to try.

Puddings have never been anything I get around to when eating Italian, but I would heartily recommend the Torta di Mele (Apple and Nut Cake) from the Trentino region. One of the most delicous cakes I have eaten, though you must be very careful with the quantities.

All the obvious dishes are there for anyone wanting an Italian cookbook, usually though not always involving minimum prepation and clean simple flavours.

More generally, as well as being a book stuffed full of delicious recipes, this books serves as a brilliant introduction to the history / culture and foods of all the different regions of Italy. I would recommend it to anyone who likes cooking, anyone who likes reading about cooking even if they don't cook much.

It is a beautifully researched book with recipes that you instinctively know come from real places in often remote places, and none the worse for not being by a celebrity chef or linked to a TV series. Honestly, this is without a doubt my favourite Italian cookbook, and while it might seem expensive really is not once you start cooking from it.

classic italian cookbook, 02 Aug 2002
Is this book a classic ? Its a book I turn often to read for pleasure and use for cooking. Ms Roden writes about the food of each region in a clear and unfussy way. There's background on regional cuisuces and wines thrown prefacing each chapter. Most of the ensuing recipes are winners - easy to make; ingredients can be sourced without a trip to Italy(!); and results for me have been delicious ! The index lists dishes by type which is very handy indeed if you fancy a bowl of pasta but don't want to trawl though each region's recipes.

Fantastic - A must for any shelf, 03 Sep 2001
Buy this book, and cook from it. While it's not as detailed as Roden's Book Of Jewish Food, it's just as packed with wonderful recipes. It slightly lacks on the anicdotes that make the Jewish book such a joy to read, but the food you'll be making will more than make up for it. A must for any serious cookery shelf.

A portrait of Italy with wonderful recipes as well, 31 Oct 2000
This cookery book contains a spectacular choice of Italy's varied and delicious regional cuisine, interspersed (naturally) with subtle details and vignettes which build up the cultural background to the food. Look up where she got her olive flat bread recipe from to see the depth of her credentials...

Fantastic book ... you will not fail to impress!, 09 Nov 2008
I have tried my first three recipes for a dinner party of 10. The couscous with lamb, raisins and caramelised onions, the Zaalouk (aubergine and tomatoo salad) and the chickpea and bulgur salad. The result was fantastic. ALL guests had seconds of ALL dishes!

Divine!, 30 Jul 2008
A fantastic book, a well worn favourite for this style of cooking, the fact she suggests using recipes as inspiration and not to be afraid of changing something, I found to be a lovely touch.

Everything I have made so far have been massive hits with my family.

A Perfect Book, 27 Jul 2008
Arabesque is written in similar vein to The Book of Jewish Food. There is, again, a lot of socioligical and historical context and the recipes are utterly realiable. The layout is lovely, and the book well indexed. Faultless.

Gorgeous, 23 May 2008
Another great book by Claudia Roden. Lovely recipes, easy to follow. A great complement to The Book of Jewish Food.

Could improve layout but not recipes, 13 Jul 2007
The book is split into sections by country, which I think can make it difficult to navigate - if you want to cook a main course with lamb you have to look in each of the three different country chapters to see all the recipes. But the recipes themselves (which is after all the most important thing) are wonderful - inspiring, clear, manageable and delicious, so with a different layout and perhaps a list of mail order suppliers, this could be perfect.

perfect, 19 Oct 2005
What a delight to find this book. All of the other reviewers are spot on with their championing of this treasure-trove of gorgeous recipes. As with her other books, Roden gives amusing and interesting anecdotes while relating the recipes and you can imagine the communities and individuals whence the recipes derive.

It is a must for any kitchen, with informal and easy to follow recipes making effortlessly delicious meals and treats.

Highly recommended!

A book for body, mind and soul, 20 Jul 2005
Love of food, encyclopaedic of knowledge and matchless experience shine from every page where anectode, personal and apocryphal, share space with evocative, irresistible recipes. A book to be enjoyed for the love of cooking and reading.

Adam and a Packet of Chick Peas, 05 Jan 2003
I bought Claudia Roden's original book in 1973 (the year my son was born) and have used it regularly ever since. He has just rung me for a "hummus" recipe and to ask what to do with the extra chick peas he has soaked. Naturally, I immediately turned to my copy of "A Book of Middle Eastern Food", found a recipe for "Chick peas with Potatoes and Tomatoes" which I handed on to him, and, hoping it was still in print, decided to order him a copy. I am delighted to find there is a new book, and feel sure he will enjoy it as much as I have the old one.

If you buy one Middle Eastern cookery book..., 23 Nov 2002
...make it this one. The recipes easy to follow, and Roden's writing style is peppered with amusing anecdotes about her childhood in Egypt and historical information that make this book a good read outside the kitchen as well as in.

Whereas many Middle Eastern cookbooks leave out ingredients (presumably to make the dishes seem less scary to Western palates), Roden's recipes are authentic. Many include alternate suggestions and regional variations from family recipes submitted by her friends and readers from across the region, so chances are you'll always have the proper ingredients to hand.

I cook from this regularly, both for everyday meals and special occasions (the appetiser section has loads of dishes that are great for parties). Middle Eastern cooking seems to be designed to make expensive ingredients like meat go a long way, and (although they're not flagged as such) there's some great recipes here if you're on a tight budget.

In other words...absolutely essential.

The best book on middle-eastern kitchen!, 12 May 2000
I had one of the earlier editions of this book and it taught me how to cook. The new edition is even better than the previous. How is that possible? Maybe I have, with age, learned to appreciate culinary culture more than I used to.

I am a Turkish woman and most of the recepies Roden explains in her marvellous book are no strangers to me. I have ben living abroad now for many years. Every time I open Roden's book I can smell my grandmother's kitchen.

Here is a personal "thank you" to Claudia Roden from me. Maashallah, forty one times, as we say back home.

Cookery and Scholarship in equal measure. , 27 Jul 2008
I can only add to the praise from other reviewers. This book is such a fascinating read from an historical and sociological point of view that one almost forgets it is a cookery book. I have to say that I was not at all bothered by the lack of photographs - I like my books to be collections of recipes, not to be picture books for grown ups. This is a solid work of meticulous research which deserves a place in the study as much as the kitchen

Only One Thing Missing!, 14 Mar 2005
This is not so much a cook book more an encyclopedia of Jewish cooking and as such is very comprehensive. I doubt anyone could have any complaints with the amount of information or the number of recipes contained within its pages.
The only drawback to this book is the total lack of photographs of the finished dishes and as such it does not inspire me to try creating any of them. Food is as much a visual experience as well as one of smells and tastes.

As a cookbook it fails to inspire the reader to try and recreate the recipes but as a history of Jewish cooking it excels.

A history of the Jews through their stomachs!, 08 Mar 2004
A wonderful book that most of my family and friends own, my non-Jewish flatmate read through like a novel, and I always have difficulty putting down. Since Ashkenazi cooking can be found in countless other Jewish cookery books, I appreciated the main focus on Sephardic cooking. I am vegan and even so found hundreds of recipes. The cultural background information is fascinating, and the religious information enables you to produce something a bit different at the festivals - we had the most fabulous (Iranian, I think) stew last Rosh Hashanah, together with home-made challah, and were quite spoilt for choice when it came to making haroset. The only problem is that I get so seduced by reading the recipes that I end up making too much food! However, my friends have certainly been enjoying the pastries I take to meetings. I have had no problems following the delicious recipes and Roden is usefully realistic about substitutes for ingredients unobtainable in Britain, warnings for extra-hot dishes and so on. She also gives basic recipes followed by several variations for many dishes, especially the popular ones; this can be useful if you want a different slant on a traditional dish, for example a borsht which isn't too violently beetrooty. The personal touch - anecdotes about where she met the recipe donor, or traditional dishes in her family - is delightful.

The Book of Jewish Food: An Odyssey from Samarkand and Vilna, 14 Feb 2004
I think this is one of the best cookery books I have ever bought. The book is truely inspiring. I love the Rye Bread (served thinly sliced and served with cold meats or cheese) and the Honey Cake, both of which are a big hit with our family. Many of the salads are sensational, especially the Potatoes with Black Olives, plus many many more.
A great book!

A wonderful book about Judaism through the medium of food, 15 Jan 2003
I can only agree with the previous reviewers - as a cookbook this is excellent, crammed full of a tremendous number and variety of great recipes, sensibly organised. As a historical book of a people told through their food it's even better.

It is nothing less than a social history of both Ashkenazi and Sephardi Judiasm told through the medium of food. The recipes have been collected and cherished by Roden, often from friends and relatives, on her travels. Most recipes are accompanied by the historical origins of the dish and thereby reveal something about Jews and Jewish life. The more celebrated and famous dishes, such as chopped liver and cholent, have whole pages of fascinating context, history and photographs devoted to them.

The result is that, as well as eating a fantastic meal (the meatballs and apricots in tomato sauce served with spinach risotto rice and followed by apfel kugel mit eppel is my favourite) you have a real sense of occasion and connection when you eat...even if, like me, you're a Gentile; you know the importance and provenance of your food and can almost see the ragged bagel seller, smell the lid being taken off the sabbath stock pot in the shtetl when you eat.

It's certainly the best and most readable cookbook I own, and in fact one of the most enjoyable books I own.

Easy to cook recipes from the Middle East, 08 Sep 2001
This is a wonderful book full of easy to cook recipes that taste delicious and will impress your family and friends. The dishes taste exotic but use ingredients that are easily available in most supermarkets. The book includes recipes for salads, soups, main dishes, vegetables and desserts. My sister spent years learning how to cook like this in the Middle East. I can now (almost) reach her standard by using this book.

A wonderful introduction to the cooking of the region, 15 Jul 2001
I wanted to try Moroccan cookery and was delighted to be given this book as a present. The recipes are clear and easy to follow, many of them can be cooked in advance and the illustrations are lovely - and almost realistic. None of the ones I have tried have failed to delight (my partner asks me to mention especially the Saffron Caramel Cream on p 187). Most of the ingredients have been readily available - even in the provincial outreaches of Leeds (OK so I can't find frozen artichoke bottoms but that's my fault, right, for not living in London - use fresh ones instead from local allotments garden shop!) I have been inspired to ask - and receive - a tagine cooking pot for Christmas and to move on to more dedicated books on specific cuisine such as Moroccan Cuisine by Paula Wolfert. An excellent follow up to, if not in the same league as, The Book of Jewish Food.

A simple yet tasty book on Middle Eastern Cooking., 07 Mar 2000
This is the first time that I read a book by Claudia Roden and I was very impressed by it. I have tried about half a dozen recipes from this book within a two week period. The instructions are very simple to follow and the end results are delicious. The only suggestion that I would like to make is to insert a section with explanations of all the spices and ingredients somewhere in the book.

probably my favourite italian cooking book, 03 Aug 2004
I am really fond of Italy and italian food; as I lived there for a year, I had the opportunity to try many italian specialities, and was looking for a book that was both easy to use, concise, and very good, so I am happy that I found this book from Claudia Roden which is really good. All the recipes I tried were exactly what one could expect, and often I was surprised that despite the few ingredients ( the osso bucco for example) the dish is still very tasty.

Thanks to this book, I can prepare a very decent lasagne bolognese, a tasty osso buco, a very good foccaccia bread, a nice panna cotta and many more. I am very enthousiastic about this writer and have also bought her book about mediterranean cooking, which is also very genuine.

(By the way, I am a real mediterranean, so I should know these things ;-) )

A glorious book that has changed my life, 17 Mar 2004
I have always been a keen fan of Italian cookery, but found some of the more trendy modern cookbooks a little too River Cafe, with recipes asking you to buy all manner of obscure ingredients and drizzle them about. Not so this book by Claudia Roden, which I discovered in 2000 as an out of print item in my local library and had out on almost permanent loan. Imagine my delight when it reissued in late 2002.

What I loved about this book was the author's real feel for the country. The author spent a year travelling round Italy in 1989 from top to bottom and has themed the book in a regional manner starting with the Piedmont region and gradually working her way down the country to Sicily and Sardinia. In the original edition, it could be a little confusing if you liked to find your recipes by starter or fish / meat etc as the regional theming cut across looking in this way, However, the new edition has a very clear listing early on in this format so that you can easily find recipes by type of food as well as region.

Where to start - my personal favourite sections are those which concentrate on the more earthy peasant food of the far South and Sicily. The Vermicelli alla sirucusana on p231 is a gorgeous mix of flavours - aubergine, yellow peppers, olive oil, garlic, anchovies, tomato, olives, capers (important, they must be the ones stored in salt), basil etc. Simple, flavoursome and amazing food.

If you have a local market where you can buy fresh produce this book is great. For vegetarians there are plenty of options, with stuffed vegetables taking predecence. Recipes for stuffed mushrooms and peppers are good. Plenty of fresh soups are there for the making as well as vegetable side dishes.

The basic recipe for pizza dough and associated tomato sauce makes some of the best pizzas I have ever tasted, whether at home / abroad or in Italian restaurants. You need to buy decent flour and get your oven really hot, but it is well worth it.

Meat and fish are well represented, with some exotic recipes such as Wood pigeon with Wine and Herbs, Hare in wine sauce or some great swordfish recipes to try.

Puddings have never been anything I get around to when eating Italian, but I would heartily recommend the Torta di Mele (Apple and Nut Cake) from the Trentino region. One of the most delicous cakes I have eaten, though you must be very careful with the quantities.

All the obvious dishes are there for anyone wanting an Italian cookbook, usually though not always involving minimum prepation and clean simple flavours.

More generally, as well as being a book stuffed full of delicious recipes, this books serves as a brilliant introduction to the history / culture and foods of all the different regions of Italy. I would recommend it to anyone who likes cooking, anyone who likes reading about cooking even if they don't cook much.

It is a beautifully researched book with recipes that you instinctively know come from real places in often remote places, and none the worse for not being by a celebrity chef or linked to a TV series. Honestly, this is without a doubt my favourite Italian cookbook, and while it might seem expensive really is not once you start cooking from it.

classic italian cookbook, 02 Aug 2002
Is this book a classic ? Its a book I turn often to read for pleasure and use for cooking. Ms Roden writes about the food of each region in a clear and unfussy way. There's background on regional cuisuces and wines thrown prefacing each chapter. Most of the ensuing recipes are winners - easy to make; ingredients can be sourced without a trip to Italy(!); and results for me have been delicious ! The index lists dishes by type which is very handy indeed if you fancy a bowl of pasta but don't want to trawl though each region's recipes.

Fantastic - A must for any shelf, 03 Sep 2001
Buy this book, and cook from it. While it's not as detailed as Roden's Book Of Jewish Food, it's just as packed with wonderful recipes. It slightly lacks on the anicdotes that make the Jewish book such a joy to read, but the food you'll be making will more than make up for it. A must for any serious cookery shelf.

A portrait of Italy with wonderful recipes as well, 31 Oct 2000
This cookery book contains a spectacular choice of Italy's varied and delicious regional cuisine, interspersed (naturally) with subtle details and vignettes which build up the cultural background to the food. Look up where she got her olive flat bread recipe from to see the depth of her credentials...

Deceptive in its simplicity, 04 Jan 2008
I am a great fan of Claudia Roden - her knowledge of food is excellent and she has the ability to describe recipes in a very simple aand effective manner. I took this particular book out of my local library (it's Cookery in the title by the way, not Cooking) and discovered I wanted to make almost every single recipe! Some of the dishes I already know, but her recipes are usually simpler and just as tasty as my existing ones. I've now run out library renewals, and so have decided to add the book to my collection. I know I won't regret it, and can heartily recommend this outstanding book.

duh, 09 Aug 2005
Bless, it's hardly surprising that you are disappointed at not being able to find Persian recipes in a book on Mediterranean food. Maybe you'd be better off with an atlas first? Once you know where Persia is, try Claudia Roden's peerless 'A New Book of Middle Eastern Food' (Penguin)

Foolproof sophistication, 25 Jul 2005
This book is deceptive in its simplicity. Complicated Mediterranean recipes suddenly are easy and successful. Claudia Roden gets the essential parts of a recipe in an easy to make format. There are useful tips that guarantee success.
Furthermore her background information on common Mediterranean dishes that go under different names in different countries is very enlightening.
A book to be recommended to both beginners and advanced cooks.

Fantastic book ... you will not fail to impress!, 09 Nov 2008
I have tried my first three recipes for a dinner party of 10. The couscous with lamb, raisins and caramelised onions, the Zaalouk (aubergine and tomatoo salad) and the chickpea and bulgur salad. The result was fantastic. ALL guests had seconds of ALL dishes!

Divine!, 30 Jul 2008
A fantastic book, a well worn favourite for this style of cooking, the fact she suggests using recipes as inspiration and not to be afraid of changing something, I found to be a lovely touch.

Everything I have made so far have been massive hits with my family.

A Perfect Book, 27 Jul 2008
Arabesque is written in similar vein to The Book of Jewish Food. There is, again, a lot of socioligical and historical context and the recipes are utterly realiable. The layout is lovely, and the book well indexed. Faultless.

Gorgeous, 23 May 2008
Another great book by Claudia Roden. Lovely recipes, easy to follow. A great complement to The Book of Jewish Food.

Could improve layout but not recipes, 13 Jul 2007
The book is split into sections by country, which I think can make it difficult to navigate - if you want to cook a main course with lamb you have to look in each of the three different country chapters to see all the recipes. But the recipes themselves (which is after all the most important thing) are wonderful - inspiring, clear, manageable and delicious, so with a different layout and perhaps a list of mail order suppliers, this could be perfect.

perfect, 19 Oct 2005
What a delight to find this book. All of the other reviewers are spot on with their championing of this treasure-trove of gorgeous recipes. As with her other books, Roden gives amusing and interesting anecdotes while relating the recipes and you can imagine the communities and individuals whence the recipes derive.

It is a must for any kitchen, with informal and easy to follow recipes making effortlessly delicious meals and treats.

Highly recommended!

A book for body, mind and soul, 20 Jul 2005
Love of food, encyclopaedic of knowledge and matchless experience shine from every page where anectode, personal and apocryphal, share space with evocative, irresistible recipes. A book to be enjoyed for the love of cooking and reading.

Adam and a Packet of Chick Peas, 05 Jan 2003
I bought Claudia Roden's original book in 1973 (the year my son was born) and have used it regularly ever since. He has just rung me for a "hummus" recipe and to ask what to do with the extra chick peas he has soaked. Naturally, I immediately turned to my copy of "A Book of Middle Eastern Food", found a recipe for "Chick peas with Potatoes and Tomatoes" which I handed on to him, and, hoping it was still in print, decided to order him a copy. I am delighted to find there is a new book, and feel sure he will enjoy it as much as I have the old one.

If you buy one Middle Eastern cookery book..., 23 Nov 2002
...make it this one. The recipes easy to follow, and Roden's writing style is peppered with amusing anecdotes about her childhood in Egypt and historical information that make this book a good read outside the kitchen as well as in.

Whereas many Middle Eastern cookbooks leave out ingredients (presumably to make the dishes seem less scary to Western palates), Roden's recipes are authentic. Many include alternate suggestions and regional variations from family recipes submitted by her friends and readers from across the region, so chances are you'll always have the proper ingredients to hand.

I cook from this regularly, both for everyday meals and special occasions (the appetiser section has loads of dishes that are great for parties). Middle Eastern cooking seems to be designed to make expensive ingredients like meat go a long way, and (although they're not flagged as such) there's some great recipes here if you're on a tight budget.

In other words...absolutely essential.

The best book on middle-eastern kitchen!, 12 May 2000
I had one of the earlier editions of this book and it taught me how to cook. The new edition is even better than the previous. How is that possible? Maybe I have, with age, learned to appreciate culinary culture more than I used to.

I am a Turkish woman and most of the recepies Roden explains in her marvellous book are no strangers to me. I have ben living abroad now for many years. Every time I open Roden's book I can smell my grandmother's kitchen.

Here is a personal "thank you" to Claudia Roden from me. Maashallah, forty one times, as we say back home.

Cookery and Scholarship in equal measure. , 27 Jul 2008
I can only add to the praise from other reviewers. This book is such a fascinating read from an historical and sociological point of view that one almost forgets it is a cookery book. I have to say that I was not at all bothered by the lack of photographs - I like my books to be collections of recipes, not to be picture books for grown ups. This is a solid work of meticulous research which deserves a place in the study as much as the kitchen

Only One Thing Missing!, 14 Mar 2005
This is not so much a cook book more an encyclopedia of Jewish cooking and as such is very comprehensive. I doubt anyone could have any complaints with the amount of information or the number of recipes contained within its pages.
The only drawback to this book is the total lack of photographs of the finished dishes and as such it does not inspire me to try creating any of them. Food is as much a visual experience as well as one of smells and tastes.

As a cookbook it fails to inspire the reader to try and recreate the recipes but as a history of Jewish cooking it excels.

A history of the Jews through their stomachs!, 08 Mar 2004
A wonderful book that most of my family and friends own, my non-Jewish flatmate read through like a novel, and I always have difficulty putting down. Since Ashkenazi cooking can be found in countless other Jewish cookery books, I appreciated the main focus on Sephardic cooking. I am vegan and even so found hundreds of recipes. The cultural background information is fascinating, and the religious information enables you to produce something a bit different at the festivals - we had the most fabulous (Iranian, I think) stew last Rosh Hashanah, together with home-made challah, and were quite spoilt for choice when it came to making haroset. The only problem is that I get so seduced by reading the recipes that I end up making too much food! However, my friends have certainly been enjoying the pastries I take to meetings. I have had no problems following the delicious recipes and Roden is usefully realistic about substitutes for ingredients unobtainable in Britain, warnings for extra-hot dishes and so on. She also gives basic recipes followed by several variations for many dishes, especially the popular ones; this can be useful if you want a different slant on a traditional dish, for example a borsht which isn't too violently beetrooty. The personal touch - anecdotes about where she met the recipe donor, or traditional dishes in her family - is delightful.

The Book of Jewish Food: An Odyssey from Samarkand and Vilna, 14 Feb 2004
I think this is one of the best cookery books I have ever bought. The book is truely inspiring. I love the Rye Bread (served thinly sliced and served with cold meats or cheese) and the Honey Cake, both of which are a big hit with our family. Many of the salads are sensational, especially the Potatoes with Black Olives, plus many many more.
A great book!

A wonderful book about Judaism through the medium of food, 15 Jan 2003
I can only agree with the previous reviewers - as a cookbook this is excellent, crammed full of a tremendous number and variety of great recipes, sensibly organised. As a historical book of a people told through their food it's even better.

It is nothing less than a social history of both Ashkenazi and Sephardi Judiasm told through the medium of food. The recipes have been collected and cherished by Roden, often from friends and relatives, on her travels. Most recipes are accompanied by the historical origins of the dish and thereby reveal something about Jews and Jewish life. The more celebrated and famous dishes, such as chopped liver and cholent, have whole pages of fascinating context, history and photographs devoted to them.

The result is that, as well as eating a fantastic meal (the meatballs and apricots in tomato sauce served with spinach risotto rice and followed by apfel kugel mit eppel is my favourite) you have a real sense of occasion and connection when you eat...even if, like me, you're a Gentile; you know the importance and provenance of your food and can almost see the ragged bagel seller, smell the lid being taken off the sabbath stock pot in the shtetl when you eat.

It's certainly the best and most readable cookbook I own, and in fact one of the most enjoyable books I own.

Easy to cook recipes from the Middle East, 08 Sep 2001
This is a wonderful book full of easy to cook recipes that taste delicious and will impress your family and friends. The dishes taste exotic but use ingredients that are easily available in most supermarkets. The book includes recipes for salads, soups, main dishes, vegetables and desserts. My sister spent years learning how to cook like this in the Middle East. I can now (almost) reach her standard by using this book.

A wonderful introduction to the cooking of the region, 15 Jul 2001
I wanted to try Moroccan cookery and was delighted to be given this book as a present. The recipes are clear and easy to follow, many of them can be cooked in advance and the illustrations are lovely - and almost realistic. None of the ones I have tried have failed to delight (my partner asks me to mention especially the Saffron Caramel Cream on p 187). Most of the ingredients have been readily available - even in the provincial outreaches of Leeds (OK so I can't find frozen artichoke bottoms but that's my fault, right, for not living in London - use fresh ones instead from local allotments garden shop!) I have been inspired to ask - and receive - a tagine cooking pot for Christmas and to move on to more dedicated books on specific cuisine such as Moroccan Cuisine by Paula Wolfert. An excellent follow up to, if not in the same league as, The Book of Jewish Food.

A simple yet tasty book on Middle Eastern Cooking., 07 Mar 2000
This is the first time that I read a book by Claudia Roden and I was very impressed by it. I have tried about half a dozen recipes from this book within a two week period. The instructions are very simple to follow and the end results are delicious. The only suggestion that I would like to make is to insert a section with explanations of all the spices and ingredients somewhere in the book.

probably my favourite italian cooking book, 03 Aug 2004
I am really fond of Italy and italian food; as I lived there for a year, I had the opportunity to try many italian specialities, and was looking for a book that was both easy to use, concise, and very good, so I am happy that I found this book from Claudia Roden which is really good. All the recipes I tried were exactly what one could expect, and often I was surprised that despite the few ingredients ( the osso bucco for example) the dish is still very tasty.

Thanks to this book, I can prepare a very decent lasagne bolognese, a tasty osso buco, a very good foccaccia bread, a nice panna cotta and many more. I am very enthousiastic about this writer and have also bought her book about mediterranean cooking, which is also very genuine.

(By the way, I am a real mediterranean, so I should know these things ;-) )

A glorious book that has changed my life, 17 Mar 2004
I have always been a keen fan of Italian cookery, but found some of the more trendy modern cookbooks a little too River Cafe, with recipes asking you to buy all manner of obscure ingredients and drizzle them about. Not so this book by Claudia Roden, which I discovered in 2000 as an out of print item in my local library and had out on almost permanent loan. Imagine my delight when it reissued in late 2002.

What I loved about this book was the author's real feel for the country. The author spent a year travelling round Italy in 1989 from top to bottom and has themed the book in a regional manner starting with the Piedmont region and gradually working her way down the country to Sicily and Sardinia. In the original edition, it could be a little confusing if you liked to find your recipes by starter or fish / meat etc as the regional theming cut across looking in this way, However, the new edition has a very clear listing early on in this format so that you can easily find recipes by type of food as well as region.

Where to start - my personal favourite sections are those which concentrate on the more earthy peasant food of the far South and Sicily. The Vermicelli alla sirucusana on p231 is a gorgeous mix of flavours - aubergine, yellow peppers, olive oil, garlic, anchovies, tomato, olives, capers (important, they must be the ones stored in salt), basil etc. Simple, flavoursome and amazing food.

If you have a local market where you can buy fresh produce this book is great. For vegetarians there are plenty of options, with stuffed vegetables taking predecence. Recipes for stuffed mushrooms and peppers are good. Plenty of fresh soups are there for the making as well as vegetable side dishes.

The basic recipe for pizza dough and associated tomato sauce makes some of the best pizzas I have ever tasted, whether at home / abroad or in Italian restaurants. You need to buy decent flour and get your oven really hot, but it is well worth it.

Meat and fish are well represented, with some exotic recipes such as Wood pigeon with Wine and Herbs, Hare in wine sauce or some great swordfish recipes to try.

Puddings have never been anything I get around to when eating Italian, but I would heartily recommend the Torta di Mele (Apple and Nut Cake) from the Trentino region. One of the most delicous cakes I have eaten, though you must be very careful with the quantities.

All the obvious dishes are there for anyone wanting an Italian cookbook, usually though not always involving minimum prepation and clean simple flavours.

More generally, as well as being a book stuffed full of delicious recipes, this books serves as a brilliant introduction to the history / culture and foods of all the different regions of Italy. I would recommend it to anyone who likes cooking, anyone who likes reading about cooking even if they don't cook much.

It is a beautifully researched book with recipes that you instinctively know come from real places in often remote places, and none the worse for not being by a celebrity chef or linked to a TV series. Honestly, this is without a doubt my favourite Italian cookbook, and while it might seem expensive really is not once you start cooking from it.

classic italian cookbook, 02 Aug 2002
Is this book a classic ? Its a book I turn often to read for pleasure and use for cooking. Ms Roden writes about the food of each region in a clear and unfussy way. There's background on regional cuisuces and wines thrown prefacing each chapter. Most of the ensuing recipes are winners - easy to make; ingredients can be sourced without a trip to Italy(!); and results for me have been delicious ! The index lists dishes by type which is very handy indeed if you fancy a bowl of pasta but don't want to trawl though each region's recipes.

Fantastic - A must for any shelf, 03 Sep 2001
Buy this book, and cook from it. While it's not as detailed as Roden's Book Of Jewish Food, it's just as packed with wonderful recipes. It slightly lacks on the anicdotes that make the Jewish book such a joy to read, but the food you'll be making will more than make up for it. A must for any serious cookery shelf.

A portrait of Italy with wonderful recipes as well, 31 Oct 2000
This cookery book contains a spectacular choice of Italy's varied and delicious regional cuisine, interspersed (naturally) with subtle details and vignettes which build up the cultural background to the food. Look up where she got her olive flat bread recipe from to see the depth of her credentials...

Deceptive in its simplicity, 04 Jan 2008
I am a great fan of Claudia Roden - her knowledge of food is excellent and she has the ability to describe recipes in a very simple aand effective manner. I took this particular book out of my local library (it's Cookery in the title by the way, not Cooking) and discovered I wanted to make almost every single recipe! Some of the dishes I already know, but her recipes are usually simpler and just as tasty as my existing ones. I've now run out library renewals, and so have decided to add the book to my collection. I know I won't regret it, and can heartily recommend this outstanding book.

duh, 09 Aug 2005
Bless, it's hardly surprising that you are disappointed at not being able to find Persian recipes in a book on Mediterranean food. Maybe you'd be better off with an atlas first? Once you know where Persia is, try Claudia Roden's peerless 'A New Book of Middle Eastern Food' (Penguin)

Foolproof sophistication, 25 Jul 2005
This book is deceptive in its simplicity. Complicated Mediterranean recipes suddenly are easy and successful. Claudia Roden gets the essential parts of a recipe in an easy to make format. There are useful tips that guarantee success.
Furthermore her background information on common Mediterranean dishes that go under different names in different countries is very enlightening.
A book to be recommended to both beginners and advanced cooks.

Makes you want to have picnics all the time!, 07 Aug 2001
After reading this book you actually find yourself plotting ways you can arrange to have a picnic regardless of inclement weather, time of day, lack of sunlight etc because with this book and all its delicious food ideas you just want to execute them and put them into action as soon as possible. So what if its raining we'll set up our picnic inside becuse the food will still be wonderful!

Fantastic book ... you will not fail to impress!, 09 Nov 2008
I have tried my first three recipes for a dinner party of 10. The couscous with lamb, raisins and caramelised onions, the Zaalouk (aubergine and tomatoo salad) and the chickpea and bulgur salad. The result was fantastic. ALL guests had seconds of ALL dishes!

Divine!, 30 Jul 2008
A fantastic book, a well worn favourite for this style of cooking, the fact she suggests using recipes as inspiration and not to be afraid of changing something, I found to be a lovely touch.

Everything I have made so far have been massive hits with my family.

A Perfect Book, 27 Jul 2008
Arabesque is written in similar vein to The Book of Jewish Food. There is, again, a lot of socioligical and historical context and the recipes are utterly realiable. The layout is lovely, and the book well indexed. Faultless.

Gorgeous, 23 May 2008
Another great book by Claudia Roden. Lovely recipes, easy to follow. A great complement to The Book of Jewish Food.

Could improve layout but not recipes, 13 Jul 2007
The book is split into sections by country, which I think can make it difficult to navigate - if you want to cook a main course with lamb you have to look in each of the three different country chapters to see all the recipes. But the recipes themselves (which is after all the most important thing) are wonderful - inspiring, clear, manageable and delicious, so with a different layout and perhaps a list of mail order suppliers, this could be perfect.

perfect, 19 Oct 2005
What a delight to find this book. All of the other reviewers are spot on with their championing of this treasure-trove of gorgeous recipes. As with her other books, Roden gives amusing and interesting anecdotes while relating the recipes and you can imagine the communities and individuals whence the recipes derive.

It is a must for any kitchen, with informal and easy to follow recipes making effortlessly delicious meals and treats.

Highly recommended!

A book for body, mind and soul, 20 Jul 2005
Love of food, encyclopaedic of knowledge and matchless experience shine from every page where anectode, personal and apocryphal, share space with evocative, irresistible recipes. A book to be enjoyed for the love of cooking and reading.

Adam and a Packet of Chick Peas, 05 Jan 2003
I bought Claudia Roden's original book in 1973 (the year my son was born) and have used it regularly ever since. He has just rung me for a "hummus" recipe and to ask what to do with the extra chick peas he has soaked. Naturally, I immediately turned to my copy of "A Book of Middle Eastern Food", found a recipe for "Chick peas with Potatoes and Tomatoes" which I handed on to him, and, hoping it was still in print, decided to order him a copy. I am delighted to find there is a new book, and feel sure he will enjoy it as much as I have the old one.

If you buy one Middle Eastern cookery book..., 23 Nov 2002
...make it this one. The recipes easy to follow, and Roden's writing style is peppered with amusing anecdotes about her childhood in Egypt and historical information that make this book a good read outside the kitchen as well as in.

Whereas many Middle Eastern cookbooks leave out ingredients (presumably to make the dishes seem less scary to Western palates), Roden's recipes are authentic. Many include alternate suggestions and regional variations from family recipes submitted by her friends and readers from across the region, so chances are you'll always have the proper ingredients to hand.

I cook from this regularly, both for everyday meals and special occasions (the appetiser section has loads of dishes that are great for parties). Middle Eastern cooking seems to be designed to make expensive ingredients like meat go a long way, and (although they're not flagged as such) there's some great recipes here if you're on a tight budget.

In other words...absolutely essential.

The best book on middle-eastern kitchen!, 12 May 2000
I had one of the earlier editions of this book and it taught me how to cook. The new edition is even better than the previous. How is that possible? Maybe I have, with age, learned to appreciate culinary culture more than I used to.

I am a Turkish woman and most of the recepies Roden explains in her marvellous book are no strangers to me. I have ben living abroad now for many years. Every time I open Roden's book I can smell my grandmother's kitchen.

Here is a personal "thank you" to Claudia Roden from me. Maashallah, forty one times, as we say back home.

Cookery and Scholarship in equal measure. , 27 Jul 2008
I can only add to the praise from other reviewers. This book is such a fascinating read from an historical and sociological point of view that one almost forgets it is a cookery book. I have to say that I was not at all bothered by the lack of photographs - I like my books to be collections of recipes, not to be picture books for grown ups. This is a solid work of meticulous research which deserves a place in the study as