Feasts: Middle Eastern Food to Savor & Share

by Sabrina Ghayour

In Feasts, the highly-anticipated follow-up to the best-selling Persiana: Recipes from the Middle East and Beyond (2014) and Sirocco: Fabulous Flavors from the East (2016), award-winning chef Sabrina Ghayour presents a delicious array of authentic Middle Eastern dishes inspired by the celebratory feasts of her childhood in Iran but tailored to how we live and cook today. This beautifully photographed book features recipes accessible to home cooks everywhere. 

Feasts is a sumptuous celebration of Persian food featuring more than 90 sophisticated yet approachable recipes for breakfast and brunch, weeknights, weekends, summer meals, vegetarian dishes, festive occasions, and comfort food. The author, who teaches cooking, is an expert on Middle Eastern food, and her voice is authoritative but friendly, making the recipes very accessible even to the most inexperienced cook. Chapter intros brim with passion for her homeland’s culinary delights, and her recipe methods are easy to follow. The author also provides suggestions for complete menus. From finger foods, mezze dishes, entrees, sides, desserts, and drinks, Feasts is a mouthwatering tour of Persian food for today’s home cook.

Chapters and a sampling of recipes: 
Breakfast & Brunch: Goat cheese & filo pies, Cheddar & feta frittata with peppers, herbs & pul biber, Apple, cinnamon & raisin loaf with nigella honey butter

Weekend Feasts: Pan-fried lamb steaks preserved lemon, cilantro & garlic, Pear & thyme tart, Mint tea mojito 

Quick-Fix Feasts: Spicy halloumi salad with tomatoes & fried bread, Harissa skirt steak sandwiches
Roasted apricots with ricotta, honey & pistachio crunch, Raspberry, cardamom & vanilla yogurt fool 

Vegetarian Feasts: Carrot, orange, ginger & walnut dip, Roasted Portobello mushrooms with pine nuts & halloumi, Garlic, fenugreek & cumin flatbreads

Summer Feasts: Butterflied leg of lamb with pomegranate salsa, Pomegranate, cucumber & pistachio yogurt, Peach, feta & mint salad

Lighter Feasts: Yogurt & harissa marinated chicken, Smoked salmon with capers, olives & preserved lemons, Eggplant rolls with goat cheese, herbs & walnuts

Special Occasions: Jumbo prawns with tomato, dill & fenugreek, Beer roasted pork shoulder with plum sauce, Saffron roast potatoes, Charred cauliflower steaks with tahini, harissa honey sauce & preserved lemons, Cherry, dark chocolate & mint parfait

Comfort Food: Black garlic, tapenade, & feta rolls, Lamb kofta roll, Harissa-infused leg of lamb with fenugreek & lime, Freekeh, tomato & chickpea pilaf 

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking, Food, Nonfiction, Food and Drink, Reference, International

240 pages, Hardcover

Published March 13, 2018

Reviews

[Julie Bozza · Rating 5 out of 5]

I cooked a few things from this book on Saturday for Mr B's birthday, and it all worked gorgeously well. I suspect there are chefs and cookbooks that suit you as a cook, and those that don't. A combination of tastes and ingredients, methods and implements that will either sit well with you or don't. Some of my favourite cookbooks are actually ones from which I only make a handful of recipes. Instead, for once, I was leafing through Feasts - trying not to drool - and thinking I could make and enjoy eating just about every single one of these recipes. That is rare. I think Ms Ghayour and I are a good fit in the kitchen! And the proof was in the pudding on Saturday, I can promise you.

Things that worked, so far: goats' cheese and filo pies (I made with fetta); green ginger lemonade; spice-marinated beef kebabs; pan-fried lamb steaks with preserved lemon, coriander and garlic.

Things that worked gloriously: peach, fetta and mint salad; spiced rhubarb and almond cake (beautifully light).

I must also mention what a beautiful, sumptuously designed book this is, with gorgeous photography. An object to treasure in its own right, for sure.

[Lit Turner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lange tafels gevuld met schalen Midden-Oosters eten en in goed gezelschap. Na Persiana en Sirocco, waarin Sabrina laat zien dat haar manier van koken sensationeel en ongecompliceerd is, bewijst zij met Feasts dat koken voor welke bijzondere gelegenheid ook, niet moeilijk is en voor iedereen haalbaar.

Feasts geeft Midden-Oosterse feestelijke recepten voor elke gelegenheid: brunches, zomerse barbecue- en picknickfestijnen, imposante vegetarische maal- tijden, etentjes die je in een handomdraai maakt of menu's voor zeer bijzondere gelegenheden waarin je dubbel en dwars wilt uitpakken.

[Val · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great photos and her food is always delicious, but I missed the recipe introductions that most cookbooks seem to have. Their absence in this book made me realize how much I enjoy that part of reading cookbooks.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Have loved the food in Sirocco and often entertained guests with her recipes I was excited to get this book. I wanted to see what she had suggest for when you're specifically setting out to entertain large groups of people. This book isn't exclusively written to do this, and in fact often she intends you to use her recipes and menus to create a weeknight or weekend lunchtime feast for your family. However I've enjoyed what I've made so far, and this book has certainly made my new year's eve party catering planning much easier.

[Crini · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book just steals your heart and creates huge apetite. Gorgeous pictures accompanying each recipe. There are so many delicious suggestions in Sabrina’s book which cames as a dedication and inspired by her numerous childhood feasts hosted by her family or friends. Just a few examples that are just delicious: toast ricotta with figs; caramelized banana crepes, pomegranate &aubergine salad; celeria, orange &caraway salad; preserved peppers! Just wonderful dishes that make you wanna cook them right away and not waste a minute more.

[Andrea · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book had so many recipes I got excited about. The first few I tried turned out just as expected, delicious and with interesting new ingredients or interpretations of familiar ones. However, I'm glad I only borrowed this from the library, because there are just way too many meat recipes. Unfortunately the vegetarian cookbook by the same author apparently doesn't include the same vegetarian recipes included in this book. That means I either get the vegetarian version without the ones I've already tried, or I painstakingly copy the ones I want to keep...

[Monique · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this book on holiday in Iceland. It was a worthy investment to squeeze into my already jam-packed luggage. I love the range of recipes in this cookbook, which are vibrant and fun to make, but mostly enjoyable to eat. Not all the ingredients will be easy to find at a local grocer and I normally make a trip to the closest Greek grocer to buy some to the speciality spices such as sumac etc. The layout of the book is very practical and has sample menus to help plan for events.

[Robin Fox · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Recipes

Great variety! Easy to occasional complex recipes. Be prepared for European measurements and names (courgette = zucchini). Exciting flavors!! Morrocan to Thailand flavors.

[Jacky Mercury · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic variety of recipes

I've been wanting try some totally different recipes and this fits the bill. I pretty much want to make everything! Cakes and puds look very tempting too. Like the menu ideas.

[caroline gronow · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow!

I bought this book on Kindle as it was 99p (I love a bargain). I was so impressed! There are some incredible recipes, which I can’t wait to try. Photography is stunning too. Would definitely recommend.

I can’t wait to get cooking!

[Julia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book with easy to follow recipes inspired by Sabrina’s Persian childhood..
Beautifully produced with gorgeous photography and a lovely cover.

Can’t wait to try the Fig & Rose Millefeuille!

[Marta Kostka · Rating 5 out of 5]

wszystko chcę ugotować, podać i zjeść! W S Z Y S T K O

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Loved pouring through the recipes

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lovely book.

[Margaret Gerberding · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book has beautiful pictures, and clear instructions of the recipes. There are only a couple I want to try.

[Claire · Rating 4 out of 5]

Everything I made from this was delicious.

[Kacey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I want to cook everything in this book!

[Gail Wylde · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5⭐️.

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This got me through the summer this year!

[Claire Marshall · Rating 4 out of 5]

Can’t wait to get cooking

[Claire · Rating 2 out of 5]

A lovely book , picked up for a few pounds from charity. But too meaty for my taste. I'll stick to Ottolenghi.

[Susan Molloy · Rating 4 out of 5]

In a bind to come up with something easy and unusual for your next cocktail party? This is the book for you.

There are many unusual and flavorful Middle Eastern- inspired hors d’oeuvres recipes and full color photographs. I look forward to ma

[Pat · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't wait to try these recipes. I really wanted to get the full hardback book Feasts but couldn't afford it and or Persiana . This was free so no excuse. I'm really bored of the same old, same old stuff that I cook. Since getting this book, life has been a little hectic with lots of visitors.

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

great little

cookbook. Pictures for ever recipe and great looking recipes. I can almost smell the spices and my mouth is watering.

[Karen Cotton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yum recipes

Not my usual ingredients but - oh my - so these recipes look absolutely yummy! Looking forward to lamb and aubergine ideas!

[Helen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Delicious!