This coffee-table book was on display at the local bookstore and it sparked my interest immediately, especially after I realized that the author was also co-owner of one of the finest Armenian restaurants in Beirut, Mayrig.
What I liked about the book:
- It is a cookbook with a soul; several Armenian gentle folks are portrayed with their life story recounting the terrible ordeal they lived through; the images in this book point out wide subdued landscapes, gnarled hands stretching cheese or dough, close-up shots of taro, flour or sausages being hung to dry and convey a meditative mood.
- The layout of the book is clean and extremely well-done; the recipes are very easy to follow and represent homestyle cooking with ingredients that are common in most supermarkets or available in Middle-Eastern shops throughout the world. This cuisine as an Eastern Mediterranean cuisine makes use of fresh and seasonal vegetables.
- The book is peppered with interesting side bars containing tips and anecdotes relating to the dish described.
- This is a very practical cookbook with comfort-style dishes that can be prepared on a weeknight as well as more elaborate ones such as the stuffed keufte in yoghurt soup for special occasions.
What I did not like about the book:
- This book focuses on Armenian cooking found in the area formerly known as Cilicia which is located in modern-day Turkey. There are no references to Armenia proper, which used to be part of the Soviet Union and is now an independent state.
- The book is high on feeling but the photos do not showcase the food adequately; most of the recipes show a thumbprint of the actual dish with the large images reserved to close-ups of ingredients or hand gestures. Some of the photos are close-ups of hands or gestures in motion which makes them look blurry.
In conclusion, I am glad I bought this cookbook. Armenian cuisine has a lot of commonalities with Lebanese cuisine (similar kibbeh, use of yogurt, vegetable stews); this cuisine places a lot of emphasis on the Aleppo pepper ( a type of red pepper), which is powdered and used to flavor many dishes and happens to be one of my favorite condiments! I was familiar with most of the dishes in this book (sou burek is a fantastic pasta dish), but was excited by two dishes: pickled fresh almonds and sour plums! Next time I know I will pickle them as well as nibble on them fresh.
9 Comments
I can’t say I know Armenian food well – this is a great find!
@Belinda: This type of Armenian food is very close to Lebanese or Syrian or Kurdish or Turkish food.
@Manijeh: I am not sure I implied this when I wrote this review, but thank you! I am also a transplant and now feel a bit like a foreigner when I am in Lebanon!
I agree with you. we all must focus on today’s life not live in the past. If we do, then the future is bright for all of us. I love your blog and is very interesting. I am originally from Mid.East but came to US to go to school and ended up staying . This was 37 years ago!!
Thanks, this looks like an interesting read, I’m fascinated by the pickled almonds!
Thank you very much for introducing this book, I wonder where I can buy this book in USA?
that should be a nice book, hope we’ll see soon some recipes, that you tried
thank you
Well it certainly looks pretty! The Armenian diaspora certainly produced some of the best “Middle Eastern” cooks in Australia, so I am disposed to like their food.
I received the “Armenian Cuisine” cookbook s a Christmas gift from my husband – and love it! Here’s a link to a post I wrote about it and 2 other cookbooks I received: http://www.thearmeniankitchen.com/2012/01/you-can-never-have-too-many-cookbooks.html.
Barbara Drieskens informed me that there is an error on page 319 in the ‘Easter Cookie’ recipe. Instead of 2 2/3 cup flour as stated in the book, it should be 6 cups of flour. You might want to make a note of this.
@Robyn: Thanks so much for the tip!
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