Born and raised in Beirut and a deeply observant and experienced cookbook author, Anissa Helou returns here, in her tenth cookbook, to the food of her homeland with an appealing and illuminating demonstration of the country's rich diversity, despite its small size. Cooks who are familiar with popularized food from the eastern Mediterranean region of which Lebanon is a part will find themselves introduced to a wider array of ingredients and flavors, including carob molasses, sun-dried eggplants and zucchini, and shrish el-halaweh, the root of the soapwort plant, which is essential to producing natef, a meringue-like foam which is used as a dip for desserts. There are lamb-filled hand pies, taro root and chickpeas in tahini, and chicken and whole wheat porridge, This exposure to everyday dishes which have not been endlessly recycled outside of the Levant is one of the pleasures of Lebanon, which also introduces us to cooks, bakers, and confectioners with whom Helou has worked to document the foods of the country's seacoast and cities, mountain villages and fertile valleys. Richly satisfying. Hardcover. Color photographs throughout.
