Mezze to Milk Tart by Cecile Yazbek
Vegetarian recipes from the Middle East to Africa
Laura Cullen
Mezze to Milk Tart by Cecile Yazbek [©Wakefield Press]
‘More than just a means of filling our bellies, eating is a way of nourishing our bodies and enriching our souls. Good food allows us to connect with the people and places where we live in the most intimate of ways – through taste.’ And so Mezze to Milk Tart begins, taking readers on a ‘real’ food journey of vegetarian based Middle East and African cuisine.
Recipes are presented in a no fuss and easy to understand manner. Some pages contain up to three recipes with instructions as simple as ‘Mix all together well. Chill and serve as a dip or side salad.’ Obviously most recipes are more extensive than this, but nothing becomes too overbearing or convoluted – all seem reasonable and achievable. The basic nature of the cookbook is practical and realistic cooking. In fact the first section is titled ‘Basic Recipes and Ingredients’ and gives a great deal of background information and advice on ingredients for what is to come.
Some particular highlights are the kebabs of tofu (that have a marinade which will be the envy of any non-vegetarian), curried bananas, kibbe of potatoes with herbs, green beans with caramelised onions and mushroom patties with dipping sauce to name only a few. Basics are also covered – take tofu sour cream for example, chilli con tofu anyone?, kishk porridge, Lebanese couscous and the list goes on.
Mezze to Milk Tart also has a great deal of cooking tips from general preparation techniques through to sweating and whether cheeses should be grated or shredded. A guide to legumes and pulses is also provided in the later stages of the book.
The book has small sections that give information about the positive influence of food on the author and her family giving Mezze to Milk Tart a real family feel. Something to read while waiting for a recipe to finish in the oven perhaps?
Overall this is an excellent and all-encompassing cookbook. One that caters to every degree of cook. It has variety, instructions that are easy to follow and some wonderful recipes. It is presented nicely (note that recipes are not accompanied by images of dishes) and is a very manageable size. It ticks all the boxes for being homely, useful and providing tasty recipes.
Mezze to Milk Tart written by Cecile Yazbek is published in Australia by Wakefield Press (Adelaide, 2011; sc, 244 pp) RRP A$34.95.
Subscribers of VisitVineyards.com and Winepros Archive can purchase Mezze to Milk Tart at 12.5% discount via our book partners Seekbooks (postage extra).
Mezze to Milk Tart is also available via Booko here »
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- Sydney (NSW)
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