The Arab Table: Recipes and Culinary Traditions – A Generous Collection of Middle Eastern Foods for Holidays and Home Cooks

by May Bsisu

It is one of the world's oldest and most intriguing cuisines, yet few have explored the diverse dishes and enchanting flavors of Arab cookery beyond hummus and tabouleh. In 188 recipes, The Arab Table introduces home cooks to the fresh foods, exquisite tastes, and generous spirit of the Arab table. May S. Bsisu, who has lived and cooked in Jordan, Lebanon, Kuwait, England, and now the United States, takes you along a reassuringly down-to-earth and warmly personal path through exciting culinary territory. The Arab Table focuses intimately on the foods of Arab countries such as Lebanon and Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Syria. The book offers a bountiful range of appealing dishes: cold and hot mezza, or little dishes; vibrant salads and fresh vegetable preparations; savory soups, stews, and hearty casseroles; baked and grilled meats, poultry, and fish; cooling drinks; and ambrosial desserts. There are recipes for familiar dishes including Falafel, Chicken and Lamb Kebabs, and Baklava, as well as a diverse selection of lesser known delights greatly enjoyed around the world, such as Eggplant Pomegranate Salad, Zucchini with Bread and Mint, Grilled Halloumi Cheese Triangles, and Arab Flatbread. Celebration dishes, the cornerstone of Arab cuisine, include Moroccan and Lebanese Couscous, Baked Lamb with Rice and Chickpeas, and Baked Sea Bass with Rice and Caramelized Onions. No Arab cookbook would be complete without an ample selection of soups and stews, the customary way to break the fast at the end of each day during Ramadan. The Arab table is also well known for its sweets: Semolina Pistachio Layer Cake, Milk Pudding, and, of course, date-, nut-, and cream-filled pastries perfumed with rose and orange-blossom water are just a sampling of the desserts included here. Along with these treasured recipes collected from May's extended family, friends, neighbors, and her own discoveries, The Arab Table is also a resource for learning about the traditions and customs associated with this time-honored cuisine. Throughout, essays on Arab holidays, from Eid Al Adha, the feast celebrating the end of the pilgrimage to Mecca, to Ramadan and Mubarakeh, the celebration for the birth of a baby, are explained and menus are provided for each. May enlightens readers as to customary greetings (How do you say Happy Ramadan?), gifts (What do you bring to an Arab home during Ramadan?), and wishes (How do you acknowledge the birth of a baby?) that are traditionally extended during these special occasions. Now you can bring the abundance and flavors of The Arab Table to your table.

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

384 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2005

Reviews

[Najat Naser · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cant recommend this book highly enough. Thanks May For writing this cookbook. I used it as a
reference since I moved to Canada and I still do. Ingredients here are different and without your guidance I would have been lost.

[Natassia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Extremely informative! Not only does Bsisu detail cultural significance to each dish, but she breaks down the ingredients and cooking style by region. The how-to or foot notes to many of the recipes proved invaluable. When not following the recipes step by step I found a lot of inspiration for similarly cooked or seasoned spin off dishes. My namoura and Moroccan Chicken Soup are now notorious among friends! I enjoyed this book so much I ended up not returning it my local library -- I paid a $30 fee for it instead!

[Kristen Gurri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Our kitchen needed a flavor change for the summer and this book jumped off the shelf at the library.
I am really enjoying the recipes and the writing. Bisu discusses the social context of the food - holiday dishes, comfort food, etc.

Wonderful easy summer dishes. The book is well written and the recipes are within the limitations of an average grocery store. But the quantities are large. I have halved every recipe so far. Tonight Moroccan chicken soup. Next week - spiced beef with zucchini.

[Randa · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great cookbook! I learned baklava from this book and everyone loves it. I also see the recipe for katayef pancakes and I can't wait to try. I only wish they had a maklooba recipe. Booooooo

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

This has the recipes I wanted! A real Ma’amoul recipe with nuts: it’s difficult to find the nut-filled variety anymore. Arab cooking is as diverse as the people but this book does a good job of introducing the cook the the cultures & cuisines.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

I learned a lot reading this cookbook, but I wished there were more pictures so I could see the different foods especially since I don't know a lot about this type of cuisine. Nonetheless, I did find some coffee recipes to try this week!

[Najat Naser · Rating 5 out of 5]

Extremely informative! Not only does Bsisu detail cultural significance to each dish, but she breaks down the ingredients and cooking style by region. The how-to or foot notes to many of the recipes proved invaluable. When not following the recipes step by step I found a lot of inspiration for similarly cooked or seasoned spin off dishes. My namoura and Knafeh are now notorious among friends! I enjoyed this book so much I ended up buying it.I even recommended this book to my local public library,they purchased it and it is now circulating.

[Richard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh, man. I needs to make me some Muslim friend before Ramadan.Covers cusine from Morocco to Iraq. This stuff is easy, delicious, and rarely requires a trip to a specialty store. Who knew Iraqis had so many uses for okra? Or that the Lebanese make bad-ass fish? If there was an Iron Chef battle of religion specific cuisine it'd be African-American Southern Baptists vs. Arab Muslims. Secret Ingredient: RED SNAPPER! ALLEZ CUISINE!

[Bibliovixen · Rating 5 out of 5]

The recipes are easy to understand and follow, the ingredients for most of the dishes are relatively inexpensive, and very delicious! My two favorites so far, Dressed Chickpeas salad and Arab Yogurt Cheese.

[Alexia · Rating 4 out of 5]

A gorgeous book full of any middle-eastern recipe I could ever dream of. Simple directions and beautiful photos. I adore this cookbook!

[Ivonne]

34.95

[Paul Waldron · Rating 5 out of 5]

Authentic recipes, with substitutions, for ingredients that are hard to come by.