“Born in 1936 to an ancient Syrian-Jewish family in Cairo, Claudia Roden studied in London to become a painter before becoming engrossed by the stories and recipes of Britain’s expatriate Egyptian community. Thanks to a nanny from Italy (whose village is now in Slovenia), her first languages were Italian and French, She began teaching Middle Eastern cooking from her home, hosting the BBC series “Claudia Roden’s Mediterranean Cookery” and becoming a prolific food journalist and cookbook author. She is best known as the author of Middle Eastern cookbooks including A Book of Middle Eastern Food, a cookbook first published in 1968 that remains an important influence on top chefs around the world, The New Book of Middle Eastern Food, and Arabesque—Sumptuous Food from Morocco, Turkey and Lebanon and The Book of Jewish Food: An Odyssey From Samarkand to New York, which won a James Beard award.”
“In London, she shared a flat with her brothers Ellis Douek and Zaki Douek. While preparing meals for her brothers, she started to experiment with cooking. She remembered family recipes from Alphandary, pies with aubergine and spinach, and mint and lamb. Both were foods not often cooked in London in that period and so finding ingredients in London was an adventure. She did not return to Egypt for a quarter of a century, well after her family and most of Cairo’s Jewish community had been expelled; many of her books reflect her longing for the close communal culture that was lost, especially as expressed in the culinary arts and social occasions associated with them.”
“In Claudia Roden’s Mediterranean, readers will join her on a culinary journey across the Mediterranean, all from the comfort of your own dinner table. Widely credited with revolutionizing Western attitudes to Middle Eastern and Mediterranean food, Claudia is a living legend. Though best known for her deep dives into cuisines, in this timeless collection of simple, beautiful recipes, she shares the food she loves and cooks for friends and family. You’ll find tried-and-true favorites from France, Greece, and Spain to Egypt, Turkey, and Morocco, inspired by Claudia’s decades of travel and research throughout the region. The many flavors of the Mediterranean are highlighted in dishes such as Chicken with Apricots and Pistachios, Vegetable Couscous, Eggplant in a Spicy Honey Sauce with Soft Goat Cheese, Bean Stew with Chorizo and Bacon, Plum Clafoutis, and so many more.”
“From appetizers to desserts, Claudia distills a life’s worth of traveling and eating her way through the Mediterranean, presenting a selection of the recipes that she cooks the most often because they bring the most joy.”
“This is a Syrian dish, my family called it ‘bazargan’ because all the ingredients could be bought at the spice bazaar in Aleppo. It is substantial and filling and amazingly rich and tasty, with a variety of nuts, spices, and aromatics. It is easy to make for a lot of people, can be prepared in advance, and keeps perfectly well for days. There is no cooking because bulgur is wheat that has been boiled, dried, and then ‘cracked’ – it only needs soaking in boiling water, while all the aromatic ingredients are beaten together as a dressing. Serve as a first course with Greek yogurt or labneh. It can be served in a large bowl or rolled into balls the size of a walnut and cupped in Little Gem lettuce leaves,” says Ms. Roden. “Bazargan is traditionally eaten together with other meze; but it is filling and satisfying, so we often eat it as main course during summer lunches, accompanied by a simple tomato or cucumber salad.”
Ingredients:
