Lebanese Mountain Cookery

In this lovely and personable cookbook, Mary Laird Mamady takes us back to the homeland of her grandmother-in-law, the highlands of Lebanon, where food is still prepared by families using recipes handed down from generation to generation. One of the glories of Middle Eastern cuisine is that once the basics are mastered it becomes easy to put together meals for four to fifty. This is truly food for communal dining, wonderfully festive to prepare for families and friends.

Here are ingredients redolent of their sun-baked origins burghul (bulgur), chick peas, feta cheese, rose flower water, and pine nuts. As in most traditional cooking, the presentations are friendly and informal, though the author who has traveled to Lebanon, testing familiar recipes, finding and experimenting with new ones is nonetheless an inventive and exacting cook. Evocatively atmospheric drawings by Jana Fothergill provide the prefect finishing touch. This is the definitive book on Lebanese regional food, and an important and beautiful resource for anyone interested in Middle Eastern cooking.