Crazy Water Pickled Lemons: Enchanting Dishes from the Middle East, Mediterranean and North Africa

by Diana Henry

Spanish Sausages and Migas, Chilled Avocado and Coriander Soup, Herb-Scented Chocolate this irresistibly evocative cookbook features more than 100 captivating dishes from throughout the Mediterranean, Middle East, and North Africa. Lusciously photographed by award-winning lensman Jason Lowe, and compiled by an exciting new voice in the cookery world, these recipes combine flavors in ways long forgotten-or never even discovered-in the western kitchen. Diana Henry uses such classic ingredients as olive oil, coriander, chili, and dates in refreshing new ways, and also incorporates a banquet of exotic and aromatic components, including flower waters, pomegranates, and cardamom. Each selection has an irresistible charm, from the sea-and-salt infused (Catalan Salt Cod and Pepper Gratin) to the heavenly sweet (Middle Eastern Orange Cake).

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking, Food, Nonfiction, Middle East, Culinary, Northern Africa

240 pages, Paperback

First published August 15, 2002

Reviews

[Darren · Rating 4 out of 5]

A strange, intriguing title for a book that sets out to intrigue and enchant, showcasing many dishes from the Middle East, North Africa and Mediterranean. Hopefully you will fall under the food’s spell and get cooking for yourself.
Firstly, this is not a book for those with tired, middle-aged eyes (or in other words those with not so-perfect sight). The choice of font and styling makes this book hard to read from a comfortable distance. This is a shame as it creates a barrier to leisurely browsing and can lead to a greater risk of ‘food damage’ and staining as you may be constantly lifting it up and putting it down whilst cooking. A small but important thing. Greater thought to the layout and a few more pages might have made a world of difference – particularly as we are not talking about a cheap paperback book.
Each chapter focusses on a few ingredients, giving a brief overview of their origins, history and use before then providing many recipes and accompanying rich photography for you to try at your leisure. It is an interesting combination of learning and cooking that might not appeal to everybody. If you are a ‘find a recipe and make it’ sort of person it might not be your cup of tea but if you value a more immersive experience then you will be rewarded – just as long as you can comfortably read the text!
The recipes are split by key ingredient type rather than by country of origin which makes sense, however the lack of a really useful table of contents means that the book is possibly not as accessible and as useful for everyday cooking as it should be. At the back there is a fairly comprehensive index but that is not the point. An index and a table of contents might look similar but they do two separate tasks. If you thought the text was small and hard to read in the main part of the book wait until you see the index – it can put a telephone directory or a contract on the back of a paper order form to shame.
When it comes to the recipes themselves there is a pleasing selection that are well written and quite self-explanatory, so it is very frustrating that the overall layout of the book appears to infuriate and annoy. If this reviewer had picked up this book unknown in a book store there is a good chance it would have been put straight back again. Reading through it was arduous. If you can feel claustrophobic reading a book, so to speak, don’t pick this one up. The more this reviewer thinks about the book’s physical attributes the more annoying it becomes. The recipes are diverse and interesting, the photography engaging and the overall concept is a good one. It is just the damn layout. More physical space, larger fonts and a little thought to the use of colour would really transform this book. As it is, it feels a hassle to spend time with this book so is it more likely to remain on the shelf in favour of more accessible ones…?
So this would have been a four or possibly five YUM book if the design was more, err, accommodating and accessible. As it stands unless you have the eyesight of Superman and the patience of Job it is debatable that you would want to make this book a frequent companion to your reading chair and your kitchen. That is a shame. There are many books out there with poor content and great design, proving that you can’t make a great book great only by design, but you can make a great book suffer with not much thought.

Crazy Water, Pickled Lemons: Enchanting Dishes from the Middle East, Mediterranean and North Africa, written by Diana Henry and published by Mitchell Beazley/Octopus Publishing Group. ISBN 9781845336547, 192 pages. Typical price: GBP15.99. YYY.


// This review appeared in YUM.fi and is reproduced here in full with permission of YUM.fi. YUM.fi celebrates the worldwide diversity of food and drink, as presented through the humble book. Whether you call it a cookery book, cook book, recipe book or something else (in the language of your choice) YUM will provide you with news and reviews of the latest books on the marketplace. //

[Hala · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this tour of the Mediterranean from a self taught and well traveled cook.

[Maya Panika · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not so much a cookery book as a book about food – specifically the food of the eastern Mediterranean, from Greece, through Turkey and Israel and Iran, to Arabia – and so much more than a collection of recipes. Ingredients have their own chapters; history, provenance and uses are detailed with delicious illustrations. There are recipes, of course, but the richness of the content, the wonderfully descriptive detail about each herb and spice, each variety of bean, the various nuts, fruits etc. inspires all manner of ideas for variations on each dish and encourages improvisation.

An absolutely delightful book, in its content, scope and presentation; fascinating and attractive and thoroughly inspirational.

[bazu · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is definite orientalizing going on in this cookbook- oh my god! Arabic/Middle Eastern food is so exotic! And so special! And sensuous! and blah blah. But, even though it's far from a vegan cookbook, I still found it beautiful and enchanting. Just had to tune out the author trying to other me or herself or whatever at every turn.

[Fiona · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant Jewel of a Recipe Book.

I used to own this book a few years ago and lost it when someone borrowed it. So when I saw it again in kindle form I was very glad to buy it again. The recipes are inspirational and delicious, transporting one to warmer climes just by reading them. Sourcing a few of the more obscure ingredients proved a little challenging but well worth the trouble. Preserved lemons on the go at the moment and ladies navel's made a few days ago. Ice in heaven going to be made for dessert tonight. I can highly recommend this lovely jewel of a book.

[Caroline · Rating 4 out of 5]

Made the Persian rice, got great result. Used long grain rice, whole almonds crushed, green cardamom. I didn't soak the raisins. Used dried apricots instead of barberries. Felt there was no need to add additional better at the end. Served with ground turkey/pasta. Put in rice cooker. Everyone loved this. Would be good with roast chicken, kabobs, for a fancy dinner. Would cut the veg oil to 3 T. I like the way author cooks!

[Robyn Haycock · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are lots of fantastic recipes prefaced with anecdotes (including where Diana has found the food closer to home in the UK). I love Mediterranean and Persian cuisine but there are recipes that are not to my personal tastes.

[Beka · Rating 3 out of 5]

A solidly good cookbook, but nothing really stood out to me.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

mouth watering prose

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely to look at and a treasure to read; many of the recipes seem to be sweets, though.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another excellent recipe book from Diana Henry

[Melinda · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

[Deb · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my first Diana Henry cookbook, purchased years ago and it remains one of my favorites. A slim volume packed full of interesting recipes from the Middle East, North Africa and the Mediterranean. Opening it is like traveling to another country. Diana does a great job of talking about the ingredients and cultures, and the pictures are lovely too. I purchased it in my pre-blogging days and made both the pickled and the preserved lemons. Then, because I have FAR too many cookbooks, i sadly put it away on the shelf for far too long.

I finally pulled it out several months ago as I Heart Cooking Clubs, the virtual cooking club I co-host, selected Diana Henry as the chef we would cook with weekly for 6 months. I cooked and posted (on the Kahakai Kitchen blog) four recipes from "Crazy Water Pickled Lemons" during that time. All had great flavor but my two favorites were the Orange & Fennel Salad with Pomegranate & Feta (so pretty and so good) and the Chermoula-Marinated Tuna with Pomegranate Couscous (delicious flavor and a riot of bright colors on the plate.)

The recipes I cooked and posted are listed below:

Orange & Fennel Salad with Pomegranate & Feta (http://kahakaikitchen.blogspot.com/20...)

Chermoula-Marinated Tuna with Pomegranate Couscous (http://kahakaikitchen.blogspot.com/20...)

Pasta with Pesto Alla Trapanese (http://kahakaikitchen.blogspot.com/20...)

Sicilian Tuna in Stemperata Sauce (http://kahakaikitchen.blogspot.com/20...)

This is a great book if you want to explore new recipes and ingredients and Diana's writing makes you feel like you are hanging out with an interesting and well-traveled foodie friend.

[Neon Snake · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not quite as good as Salt, Sugar, Smoke or Food From Plenty, but never the less still a good read.

I'm unsure about mixing Italian dishes with those from North Africa, and the Middle East - whilst Spain has North African influences, the food of Italy felt out of place here; the Moroccan, Persian and Iranian recipes are fascinating however, for mixing the sweet and the savoury in a fashion not often seen in (modern) Western cooking, and in a way very different to Far Eastern.

I recommend starting with the preserved lemons, as these take a while to be ready, and the recipe here is leagues ahead of shopbought versions - and then just enjoy the food porn for a week or so before starting on the recipes.

[Deb · Rating 4 out of 5]

So far I've tried a) the chocolate rosemary sorbet (which my bf loved, but I found a bit odd, I like rosemary with cream better) b) the marinated feta with black olives on roasted sweet potatoes. I made it with butternut squash as well as sweet potatoes, and thought it worked best with the squash. A great easy meal. It was fine w/o the cilantro, but the olives were essential.
I'm looking forward to trying more of the recipes!

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a cookbook you can just sit and read, Diana Henry is that good of a writer. If I had to give away my cookbooks, this would be one of, if not the last one out of my hand. I cook out of this book all the time and everything turns out beautiful and delicious. The directions are clear without being fussy, and the baking recipes are clearly well tested (which is hard to come by these days). This cookbook is a MUST for any foodie.

[Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love a cook book that doesn't only show you what and how to cook but explains why, and where. Lots of side anecdotes make this an interesting read, not just a recipe book. Learn about the Middle East, Mediterranean and North Africa while you experience their cuisine. Easy recipes and easily sought ingredients.

[Tama · Rating 4 out of 5]

What is wonderful about this book is the authors ability to write so vividly as to surpass the actual photographs and take the experience of enjoying this foodie book to another level. Loved the quotations throughout, as well.

[Kate W · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has unusual herb and spice combinations. The Chocolate-Rosemary Sorbet is fantastic.

[Dottie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A funny little eclectic cookbook that is itself a work of art -- I love it.

[Lynne · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was not inspired by any of the recipes. I am in a lazy mood and think running around town for specialty ingredients is just too much work.

[Debbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pornographic food writing - this author is a sesualist and describes food so that you crave it as you read! the recipe that I tried was OK, but the description was better.

[Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'd have given this, my current favourite cookbook 10 stars if I could! Everything I've made has been delicious