Bursting with the freshness and brightness that is characteristic of all Levantine cuisine, Palestinian food is fragrant, healthy and delicious. From a colourful array of bountiful mezze dishes to rich slow-cooked stews flavoured with aromatic spice blends, it's a cuisine that represents the very best of modern Middle Eastern cookery.
In this beautiful Palestinian cookbook, food writer Yasmin Khan shares recipes and stories from her travels through the region. On her journey she harvests black olives from the groves of Burquin in the West Bank, hand-rolls maftool – the plump Palestinian couscous – in home kitchens in Jenin and even finds time to enjoy a pint with workers at the Taybeh brewery, which is producing the first Palestinian craft beer. As she feasts and cooks with Palestinians of all ages and backgrounds, she learns about the realities of their everyday lives.
Zaitoun includes herb-filled salads, quick pickles, fragrant soups, tender roasted meats and rich desserts, and has a special focus on vegetarian versions of Palestinian classics. It has recipes for olive, fig and honey tapenade, roast chicken stuffed with pine nuts and raisins, and pomegranate passion cake, among many others. And surrounding the recipes, there is a chorus of stories from those who love, live and cook with Palestine in their hearts.
About the Author
Yasmin Khan is an award-winning author, campaigner and cook who is passionate about sharing people's stories through food. Her debut book, The Saffron Tales, explored her culinary adventures through Iran and was named by the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and BBC Radio 4's Food Programme as one of the best cookbooks of 2016. Prior to working in food, Khan spent a decade working as a human rights campaigner for NGOs and grassroots groups.
Industry Reviews
A big bowl-full of delicious Palestinian recipes, plus lots of insightful and moving stories... Great stuff -- Yotam Ottolenghi
This is a politically engaged and hungry travelogue, and it is also an inspirational recipe book, and one that anyone who loves food will want to cook from, will need to cook from -- Nigella Lawson
Yasmin Khan draws on her vast experience as a storyteller, cook, human rights activist, itinerant traveller and writer to create a moving, empathetic, hugely knowledgeable and utterly delicious book. Her essays, this food and these photographs give voice to the generous Palestinian people who welcomed her into their homes, to teach and share recipes from a cuisine that has both adapted and endured through decades of diaspora and political strife. The food you'll cook using her recipes is fresh, bright, simple, colorful and deeply satisfying; the stories you'll read will deepen your understanding of an all-too-often misunderstood place and culture -- Anthony Bourdain
A zingingly evocative collection of personal stories and 80 recipes from Palestinian kitchens. Calling it a cookbook does it a disservice. Zaitoun deserves to be read as much as cooked from * Observer Food Monthly *
Yasmin Khan's beautiful Palestinian recipes are written with passion * Guardian *
Yasmin Khan's Zaitoun gives a fine account of Palestinian cooking, with a culinary tour of the region. She does justice to the traditional kitchen while offering her own take on several recipes * Evening Standard *
A joyous celebration of Palestinian cuisine... Proof, if ever it was needed, that food has the innate power to unite us * The Independent *
Personal and well researched, with a strong voice, appealing recipes and beautiful photography: what good food writing is all about * Delicious *
In Zaitoun, Khan has created a beautiful book - as much a piece of travel writing as it is a recipe book - that illustrates the importance of food in shaping identity, while providing plenty of inspiration for an abundant feast * The Caterer *
Human rights campaigner-turned-recipe collector Yasmin Khan's new book, Zaitoun, celebrates the rich tradition of Palestinian cooking, and a food culture brimming with joy * Food & Travel *
A love letter to Palestinian cuisine * Natural Health magazine *
A cook book with a mission... Yasmin Khan eloquently introduces the political context of the food by region * The Teacher *
A heart-warming collection of home cooking and evocative travel writing * Waitrose Weekend *
Zaitoun is packed with stories of Palestinian cooks and food culture, of hospitality in the face of adversity * Observer Food Monthly *
Beautifully produced... sure to repeat the success of Khan's first award-winning book, The Saffron Tales * Guardian *
In Zaitoun [Khan] noses gently into the culinary spaces of Palestinians, at all times infusing her writing and recipes with political awareness and sensitivity -- i paper
In her beautiful book Zaitoun [...} you'll find fragrant, flavour-packed recipes * Stylist *
