Arabesque: Contemporary Recipes from the Arab WorldArabesque: Recettes contemporaines du monde arabe | Kassis, Reem

With Arabesque, Reem Kassis takes traditional Arabic cuisine to better reinterpret it. In her very personal style, she invites us to the table of today's Arab world, through a mosaic of stories and 130 recipes, as delicious as they are easy to make in la maison, whether simple salads, tasty dishes or fragrant desserts.

In the fall of 2017, Phaidon published Reem Kasssi's The Palestinian Table which showcased family-friendly and authentic Palestinian cuisine with highly detailed recipes. Having won numerous culinary awards, Reem Kassis continues to deepen her knowledge and research in her newest project, Arabesque: Contemporary Recipes from the Arab World, a collection of 130 current recipes from the Arab world.

The recipes are organized by ingredients:

• Dairy & Egg Products
• Tomatoes and aubergines
• Pomegranates and lemons
• Roots, shoots and leaves
• Coriander, cumin and cardamom
• Za'atar and sumac
• Cereals and pulses
• Oilseeds and seeds
• Tahini
• Fruits & Floral Waters

The "Ingredients" chapter looks back at the history and origins of the basic ingredients, while the "Basic Recipes" chapter includes spice blends, chilli pastes and different pickles.

In the other chapters, the reader will find contemporary and original recipes such as the Tahini Cheesecake, the Caramelized Butternut Fatteh with Za'atar or the Braised Grape Leaf Rib Dish, as well as updated ancient recipes, such as Narjissiyeh (a bean puree, minced beef and egg), Makmoura (a chicken pie, with onions and pine nuts) and cabbage pie stuffed with rice.

Each chapter begins with a trial run and each recipe begins with a personal note. From her culinary experiences gleaned from across the Arab world to her extensive research into the cross-cultural influences of each recipe, Reem Kassis invites readers to discover not only flavors, but also a certain perception of time and space. Each recipe uses the usual symbols of Phaidon : vegan, vegetarian, dairy-free, gluten-free, 30 minutes or less, 5 ingredients or less. Appetizing and informative, Arabesque combines knowledge, anecdotes and daydreams to celebrate contemporary Arabic cuisine. The result of a wealth of research, interviews, travels and explorations, Arabesque is the only book to comprehensively present the "new" Middle Eastern home cuisine with recipes rooted in history, but reinterpreted for the present.