6 Stunning Middle Eastern Cookbooks, after Ottolenghi and Roden

In the growing genre of Middle Eastern cookbooks, you can’t escape names like Yotam Ottolenghi, Sami Tamimi, and Claudia Roden. Ottolenghi’s 2010 vegetarian cookbook Plenty launched him as an international name, for example. Tamimi’s 2020 work Falastin received numerous accolades too, and the pair’s collaborations include the award-winning Jerusalem: A Cookbook.

Claudia Roden’s influence goes even further back. As noted in a recent profile in the New York Times, Roden’s 1968 cookbook A Book of Middle Eastern Food “gave the non-Arabic-speaking world one of its first detailed looks at this rich cuisine.” Since then, her popular titles include Arabesque: A Taste of Morocco, Turkey and Lebanon and The New Book of Middle Eastern Food, a 2000 revision of her first work.

But, looking at my own shelves, there are many other works that deserve recognition. I urge you to get the following cookbooks and try their diverse recipes, full of rich flavors and vibrant colors.

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Cardamom and Lime: Recipes from the Arabian Gulf

Sarah Al-Hamad’s cookbook includes recipes from Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. With more than 40 recipes, this book also features gorgeous pictures of the finished dishes. Many other photos dot this well-designed book. Shop vendors sell dates and spices, bakers pose with enormous trays of fresh bread, and long rows of whole fish glisten brightly on market tables.

My favorite recipes here include a lamb pilaf with tomato sauce/salsa (machbous laham wi daqous), a rich porridge of cracked wheat and chicken (madhrouba), and a cardamom saffron sponge cake (‘igaili).

*NOTE: the transliterations given in this post are written exactly as found in these cookbooks.

The Food of Oman: Recipes and Stories from the Gateway to Arabia

Felicia Campbell’s cookbook focuses exclusively on the country of Oman, nestled on the southeastern edge of the Arabian peninsula. The book’s introduction highlights the history and culture of Oman and its cuisine. Then, Campbell expertly combines about 90 recipes with beautiful pictures of food, people, cultural sites and natural vistas.

The recipes here illustrate a unique cuisine with influences from Arabia, India and East Africa. My favorites include a red onion and tomato-spiced rice (maqboos), a succulent Omani lamb biryani, a Swahili coconut shrimp curry, and chicken sambusas (also known as samosas).

Classic Vegetarian Cooking from the Middle East and North Africa

Habeeb Salloum’s vegetarian cookbook tackles an enormous number of recipes (over 300!). While there are no pictures, Salloum adds historical and cultural anecdotes, and his recipes are simple and easy to follow. You’ll find recipes from the entire region — the Arabian peninsula, the Levant, and North Africa — including different versions of some recipes like hummus, lentil soup and falafel.

My personal favorites include Salloum’s recipes for spinach or cheese filled pastries (fatayer), the shortbread cookies ghurayba and a deliciously spiced tomato/cucumber/tahini salad (salatat taheena) that he strangely titles “Tahini Mix.”

Persiana: Recipes from the Middle East & Beyond

Sabrina Ghayour’s cookbook builds on her Iranian heritage, mixing Persian recipes with others from across the region. In over 100 recipes (with pictures), she features all corners of Iran, plus Turkey, Lebanon and North Africa.

I especially enjoy her yogurt, cucumber and mint salad (maast o khiar), her bejeweled rice (morassa polow), her saffron and lemon chicken (joojeh kabab), and her tomato salad with pomegranate molasses (gavurdagi salatasi).

Bayrut: The Cookbook

Published in 2021, Hisham Assaad’s cookbook focuses on the cuisine of Beirut, Lebanon’s capital city. His work adeptly captures the feel of the city, placing main dishes next to street foods and seaside fish platters. With over 70 recipes, one finds everything from stuffed cabbage rolls to roasted fish, and fresh preserves to grilled lamb kababs.

My favorite dishes here include fried pita with chickpeas and garlic yogurt (fatteh), Armenian spicy sausages (soujok), and a pilaf of roasted green wheat with chicken (freekeh a’a djej).

Feast: Food of the Islamic World

Anissa Helou’s cookbook covers an enormous region, much broader than just the Middle East. Her recipes come from the Arab world, Turkey and Iran, but also Nigeria, Somalia, Pakistan, Indonesia, Uzbekistan, and more. Helou’s dishes frequently feature a long list of ingredients and instructions, but don’t be intimidated. The food you will make is incredible.

My favorite recipes include chicken tagine with olives and preserved lemons (d’jaj m’chermel) and Saudi lamb kabsa (kabsa bil-lahm). If you have a sweet tooth (who doesn’t?), I also love her recipe for kanafa, which she calls Lebanese sweet cheese “pie” (kunafah bil-jebn), and her Arabian or Indian milky tea (karak/chai).

What Next?

Visit your local library to read these Middle Eastern cookbooks and start making their delicious recipes! Or support the authors by purchasing a copy of their work for yourself. Stop by your local bookstore or visit online sites like Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, Bookshop.org, or Powell’s.

Have you cooked from any of these books before? Tell us what other cookbooks you recommend or what Middle Eastern dishes you like best. Comment below or leave a note on Facebook or Twitter. Or send me an email to let me know what you think and what you’d like us to discuss next.

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