The luck of tasting Persian food is one of the main reason I am grateful for not being an anorexic any more. The pleasure of savoring every bit of it, delving into the poetry of sholeh zard and the delicious fesenjoon took me by surprise when I tried them for the first time. Until the second time, most of my fears and trauma associated with food and body misperception were almost healed, ready to accept the delicious flavours and colours - if you see a sholeh zard, my favorite desert ever, you may figure out what I am talking about.
Pomegranates&Artichokes. Recipes and memories of a journey from Iran to Italy by Roma-based Iranian food writer and photographer Saghar Setareh is unique for its exceptional way in which connects cultures through food. Eating is more than cooking for nourishing, but it says a complex cultural story. An Iranian feast then, means more than a collection of dishes carefully cooked, but it has its own anatomy that travels through the body of values and cultural signs.
Besides the recipes and explanations about different ingredients and techniques in the Iranian, Levantine and Eastern cuisine as well as Italian, this book brought a revelation that shocked my cultural knowledge: the oldest written record of noodles originates from Iran, it´s called lakhsha and traveled through Europe and highly probably ended up as my beloved lokhshen kugel that I could have bet my whole life that it belongs to my Hungarian heritage. The hidden and surprising ways of cultural journeys...
Illustrated with painting-alike photos, Pomegranates&Artichokes is a feast for the soul and the eyes. The directions of the mouth-watering recipes are easy to follow, even for the least experienced cook. A delicious plate is an act of love. A well written book is also an act of love.
Rating: 5 stars
Disclaimer: Book offered as part of the book tour but the opinions are, as usual, my own
Thanks for the blog. tour support x
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