Persiana: Recipes from the Middle East & Beyond

This review references the Kindle version of this book, though of course the content is identical to the print versions. I've had the book for several months now and have cooked several recipes from it (multiple times, as below). Summary: Excellent Middle Eastern cookbook with a focus on (but not exclusive to) modern Persian recipes. Instructions are clear & results are dependable. Full Review: I picked up Ms Ghayour's book in Kindle format after downloading the free sample and liking the available content. I'll admit that I was initially drawn in by the gorgeous photography, as I already have a fairly hefty collection of Middle Eastern cookery books, and several that are specific to Iranian food. The Kindle version features interactive tables of content (so critical for a cookery book and yet often missing, especially from older Kindle books) arranged by course (ie appetisers, mains, desserts etc) and then individually broken down with links to each recipe contained within that section. The layout is simple to use across devices (tested on iPad, Win & Mac desktop, Android). The photos which accompany each dish are compelling and bright, without being over-styled: in essence, getting your dish to look like the one pictured is actually attainable without a Michelin star to your name. Each recipe has a photo and the book doesn't contain excess 'ingredient' photos (you know the type; the macro shots of a lemon, scattered cloves, etc etc) which makes it very usable indeed. To date, I've made the following: Batinjan al Rahib, a (very!) garlicky eggplant dip that goes perfectly alongside rich/fatty meat dishes, with a nice play on texture between the soft eggplant and the crisp peppers; Cacik, a Turkish staple, fantastically fresh with loads of herbs; Spiced Lamb Kefta, which smell as amazing as they taste, with sweet notes from the currants (try these with the Cacik, as we did all three times we made them); Butternut Squash with Pistachio Pesto & Feta, which makes a really gorgeous vegetarian main but is (as with any recipe, of course) very dependent on excellent butternut squash (the first time it was so-so, the second time fantastic) and very ripe, sweet pomegranate; Karniyarik, stuffed eggplant, have become a staple in our home, the flavour combination is amazing and while they take a long time from start to finish, you can make a big batch and they keep very well in the fridge for several days; top with plenty of labneh or Greek yoghurt and try to convince yourself going back for thirds is a bad idea... (it isn't); Spice-Perfumed Shoulder of Lamb is gorgeous and so, so simple; I did find I needed to turn down the oven slightly to cook for an extra hour at a lower temperature for fall-off-the-bone texture (while retaining moisture), but this of course is a commentary on my oven rather than the recipe; Blood Orange and Radicchio salad, a beautiful flavour combination of sweet, tart & bitter; goes very well with the lamb shoulder and would stand up well to any robust meat dish, with the hint of fresh dill really elevating it above a simple salad (do yourself a favour and track down a good pomegranate molasses with only 'pomegranates' listed in the ingredients, as often the syrups available are too sweet). I would honestly happily pay the price of the book for just the karniyarik recipe, but I'm really pleased with this purchase, and look forward to trying many more dishes. This really is a fantastic, accessible cookery book and should appeal to a broad range of palates. As evident by the answers, comments & other reviews, Ms Ghayour is very responsive to questions that may crop up; while I've not asked any myself, I always find it reassuring when an author (or publisher) makes an effort to provide assistance. Highly recommended.

I bought this as a present for my friend and it looked amazing flicking through it before I gifted it. It's a lovely, quality book. However, my friend is an amazing cook and a few weeks later after being invited for a meal I was treated to an absolute 'WOW!' meal that she'd cooked from the book. The flavours were amazing and very unusual. As an amazing cook, my friend is also very talented and she also commented she'd really enjoyed cooking the recipes. I was so impressed I went back and bought a copy for myself even though I don't cook (... just in case #youneverknow!)

It's lovely book about Persian and middle east cooking, some of the recipes are wonderfull.

This is a beautiful book. Even if you didn't make any of the recipes, it would be worth having just for the photos & the textured cover. The recipes however, are fantastic. They're straightforward & very well explained. Everything I have made so far has turned out to be delicious. Sabrina cooks a lot of the stew type recipes on top of the stove, which for a Rayburn user is a very inefficient cooking method. I have adapted these to cook as a casserole in the oven & they work perfectly. Also where Sabrina tells you to put ingredients into the recipe in stages, I have cheated a bit & put everything in together & it's all still great. As for other reviewers who gripe about the salt in some of the recipes, all I can say is use your common sense! If you don't usually cook with that much salt, don't put it in. There are some uncommon ingredients required for some of the recipes, which can be difficult to source in local supermarkets. I have found the store cupboard ingredients I need are available at Amazon. Just watch out for some steep delivery charges! I have shown this book to friends & they have been totally impressed as well & are going to get their own copies. I have other books on Middle Eastern & Moroccan food & this is quite different. It offers a lot of new ideas & exciting flavour combinations. Add this to your library. You won't be disappointed!

This has become my all time favourite cookbook. Just reading the recipes gets me excited, as the flavour combinations leap off the page and there is a wonderful picture to accompany all the recipes. Every time I open the book tell myself that I must try something new. I have regular favourites and love the concept of easy tasty food that can be put together in an easy buffet for a special occasion or regular evening meal. The recipes are straight forward and once you have purchased some of the more unusual ingredients, you can quickly make the recipes time and time again. I agree with other reviews that the salt quantities can be a little wrong, but common sense should prevail and add what you think makes sense, taste the food and you will know what is right for you. I add maximum 2 tablespoons of salt not 3, to the saffron & lemon chicken recipe and that is more than enough for me and I make this recipe constantly. I buy lots of cookbooks but many don't get used, but this is opened at least once a week (especially in the summer). I bought this book soon after it was launched and the salads have become a regular favourite for BBQs and for livening up regular weekday meals. I am very much looking forward to the next book from Sabrina and want to thank her for presenting me with such exciting food.

I very rarely review, but this book is just so good that I had to. It is very nicely put together, with delicious recipes, enticing photographs and thoughtful and interesting text. I am a very keen cook and love Middle Eastern food, though hadn't really tried to make any myself before buying this book. While I own quite a lot of cookbooks, often I just use them for inspiration and rarely follow recipes to the letter, but a few months ago I prepared a meal for a dinner party using only recipes from this book, and was blown away by the richness of flavour and how everything worked perfectly! I mainly focused on the 'Mezze and Small Plates' section and, for an idea of what sorts of recipes you will find in this book, made Aubergine Chermoula, Cacik (yogurt with Cucumber, Garlic and Dill), Marinated Feta, Smoked Aubergine Salad, Spicy Tomato and Pepper Dip, Feta Börek, Lamb Kefta and Tabbouleh Lettuce Cups. I can't recommend it highly enough! Mine now shows how well loved it is with spatterings of olive oil and aubergine!

I should have written a review ages ago but I've been so busy using the recipes I've not had time! I'm from an Iranian family and friends wondered why I had ordered this cook book, to put it simply I had seen some of Sabrina's tweets with photos and thought my Persian cooking needed a bit of an overhaul! Sabrina's recipes are extremely easy to follow and if you were stuck with an ingredient you only have to tweet and she responds with good advice. I wouldn't have spent £12 on orange water without checking first that it was the right type. The best thing is about this cookbook is if you don't like something you can change it. I can't stand fennel so when I made the orange and saffron stew I substituted for carrots and orange peppers. Friends have popped round and had a look at the book and asked me to cook some Persian food, because of this book me and my friends are now holding monthly supper clubs of our own. So thanks Sabrina for your fabulous recipes and enthusiasm for our culture being beautifully displayed in your book.

I have been dead excited about this book arriving (little things hey!) We have a couple of local Lebanese and Turkish restaurants that I am a little bit addicted to, so have been really wanting to learn how to recreate these flavours at home. Having popped into a book store, they didnt have the Lebanese cookbook i had gone in to buy, but having flicked through a few other middle eastern cookbooks, this one really stood out so ended up ordering this instead. This book is incredible - I can honestly say I would make nearly every recipe Sabrina has included in the book - the recipes are inspiring and wonderfully varied. Im glad I read the reviews about salt on here beforehand, as I cook with little or no salt at home, I'm sure following the salt in the recipes would have come as a bit of a shock! I'm terrible for buying recipe books to flick through, and never using as to be honest, I'm not one for following recipes - but reading through this I cannot wait to start creating these dishes and I'm sure this one will be out regularly in my kitchen! I'm sure there will be no complaints from the other half :)

Très beau livre, bonne découverte des plats et traditions culinaires du Moyen-Orient.

good recommented, if you are intersted in M East cooking

The most important thing about this book is that all the recipes are not overly sophisticated, i.e. can be made for a regular dinner and are edible. Persiana contains recipes for dishes that are to taste good and not necessarily to look excellent. Well, they also do, but their taste is more important. That's something not so common compared to many, many other cookbooks.

I am asian learning Middle East food. But recipe for lamb, beef or chicken ain’t much written in here.

È diventato uno dei miei libri di cucina preferiti!