The Culinary Crescent: A History of Middle Eastern Cuisine

About this book

The Fertile Crescent regionthe swath of land comprising a vast portion of todays Middle Easthas long been regarded as pivotal to the rise of civilization. Alongside the story of human development innovation and progress there is a culinary tradition of equal richness and importance. In The Culinary Crescent: A History of Middle Eastern Cuisine Peter Heine combines years of scholarship with a personal passion: his knowledge of the cookery traditions of the Umayyad Abbasid Ottoman Safavid and Mughal courts is matched only by his love for the tastes and smells produced by the contemporary cooking of these areas today. In addition to offering a fascinating history Heine presents more than one hundred recipesfrom the modest to the extravagantwith dishes ranging from those created by the celebrity chefs of the bygone Mughal era up to gastronomically complex presentations of modern times. Beautifully produced designed for both reading and cooking and lavishly illustrated in color throughout The Culinary Crescent is sure to provide a delectable window in the history of food in the Middle East.