Raise your hand if you love Middle Eastern cookbooks!
What’s that? You don’t have any Middle Eastern cookbooks? I didn’t either, actually, until I got my hands on a copy of An Edible Mosaic – a cookbook written by Faith Gorsky from An Edible Mosaic blog that features traditional Middle Eastern recipes like hummus, falafel, and chicken shawarma. Are you drooling yet?
This cookbook is beautiful. I felt like I was traveling through the Middle East as I paged through Faith’s stunning photos of life and culture and food in this exotic part of the world. The book has so much cultural information intertwined with the traditional recipes that I actually borrowed it to one of my 14-year-old students to use for a research report on the Middle East.
For people who love international food and culture, this is a winner.
One of my favorite things about the cookbook is the section called Basic Recipes. It includes dressings, sauces, and spice mixes that can either be used in the recipes or with your own set of ingredients at home. There are also several sections dedicated to learning about Middle Eastern ingredients and cooking methods. These recipes are very traditional without being overwhelming to the average cook.
After looking through the cookbook at least 13 times, the recipes I’m dying to try are the Falafel, Coconut Semolina Cake, and Spiced Shawarma Chicken Wraps. Can’t.wait.
True story: I made the Middle Eastern salad and the Lemony Mint Salad Dressing a few days ago, and when I went to look for it in the fridge at lunch time, it was gone. BJORK ATE THE WHOLE THING. The whole salad. The empty little plastic leftover container was sitting in the sink with, like, one little piece of parsley left in it.
Next time I’ll hide it. Or better yet, double it.
Middle Eastern Salad
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Total Time: 15 minutes -
Yield: 4-6
Print Recipe
Pin RecipeDescription
Recipe courtesy of An Edible Mosaic: Middle Eastern Fare with Extraordinary Flair by Faith Gorsky (Tuttle Publishing; Nov. 2012); reprinted with permission.
Ingredients
- 1/2 batch of Lemon Mint Dressing (see recipe below)
- 1 English cucumber (or 3 to 4 Persian or Japanese cucumbers), diced
- 1 onion, minced
- 1 lb (500 g) tomatoes, diced (about 4 medium tomatoes)
- 1 bunch fresh parsley, minced
- 4 sprigs fresh mint, minced
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Prepare Lemony Mint Salad Dressing.
- Stir together all ingredients; serve.
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Prep Time: 15 mins
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Category: Lunch
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Cuisine: Middle Eastern
Keywords: middle eastern salad, cucumber tomato salad, cucumber recipe
Lemony Mint Dressing
Description
Recipe courtesy of An Edible Mosaic: Middle Eastern Fare with Extraordinary Flair by Faith Gorsky (Tuttle Publishing; Nov. 2012); reprinted with permission.
Ingredients
- 1 clove garlic, crushed in a mortar and pestle with ¼ teaspoon salt
- Juice of 1 lemon (about 3 tablespoons)
- ½ cup (125 ml) olive oil
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh mint leaves
Instructions
- Whisk together the garlic/salt mixture and lemon juice; gradually whisk in the olive oil in a thin drizzle. Stir in the mint, if using.
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Category: Sauce
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Cuisine: Middle Eastern
Keywords: lemon dressing, lemon mint dressing, lemon recipe
Wanna try some of these yums for yourself?
You’re in luck because I’m giving away a copy of Faith’s new cookbook, An Edible Mosaic, right here, today! Here’s how it works.
This giveaway is now closed.
- To enter, leave a comment on this post. Say anything! Like, “this cookbook looks really cool!” or “I love hummus.” The winning comment will be chosen randomly.
- The giveaway will close at midnight on Friday, November 30.
- The winner will be notified by email and must respond within 3 days to claim the book.
If you can’t wait one more second to make that falafel with hummus, you can buy the book here.
Here’s to cooking new and exciting foods!
Thanks, Faith!
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