Product Description

Greg Malouf is one of Australia's most innovative and influential chefs, drawing his culinary inspiration from childhood memories, family traditions and his travels through the Middle East, North Africa, the Eastern Mediterranean and Moorish Spain. In Arabesque, Greg and his writing partner Lucy present a comprehensive A-Z of ingredients widely used in Middle Eastern cooking. The list covers everything from the basics, such as almonds, lemon and yoghurt, through to lesser-known ingredients such as rosewater and sumac. Each ingredient is showcased with a brief description and history, as well as invaluable tips on how to select, prepare and cook them.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #230909 in Books
• Brand: Books
• Published on: 2007-10-05
• Format: Illustrated
• Binding: Hardcover
• 352 pages

Synopsis
Greg Malouf is one of Australia's most innovative and influential chefs, drawing his culinary inspiration from childhood memories, family traditions and his travels through the Middle East, North Africa, the Eastern Mediterranean and Moorish Spain. In Arabesque, Greg and his writing partner Lucy present a comprehensive A-Z of ingredients widely used in Middle Eastern cooking. The list covers everything from the basics, such as almonds, lemon and yoghurt, through to lesser-known ingredients such as rosewater and sumac. Each ingredient is showcased with a brief description and history, as well as invaluable tips on how to select, prepare and cook them. The accompanying recipes are a wonderfully modern take on the traditional dishes he grew up eating, such as Lamb Rump with Pistachios and Peppercorns, Salmon Kibbeh Nayeh and Seven Vegetable Cous Cous with Onion Jam. There are also tempting dinner party menu suggestions like Cardamom Honey-Glazed Roast Duck or Whole Roasted Snapper with Walnut Coriander Dressing. Irresistible desserts like Rose-Scented Berry Mousse, Date Brulee with Kahlua or Pine Nut Praline are destined to become favourites.

About the Author
Greg Malouf was born in Melbourne, Australia, of Lebanese parents. He served his formal apprenticeship in several of Australia s finest restaurants, and has forged a unique style of cooking that combines Middle Eastern tradition with contemporary flair. He has worked extensively in Europe and Asia and is the executive chef at MoMo restaurant in Sydney. Under his leadership the restaurant has won numerous awards and high respect from local and international critics. Lucy Malouf is a Melbourne-based writer and editor. She has worked as a freelance editor and manuscript adviser for several leading Australian publishers, as well as contributing features and reviews to major Australian newspapers, restaurant guides and magazines. She is the author of The Food and Wine Lover s Guide to Melbourne s Bays and Peninsulas and The Seasons Plate Cookbook.

Customer Reviews

okay for reference, not for meal planning
I love cooking middle eastern inspired food and thought this might be a better bet than the other Arabesque book (by Claudia Roden) because a reviewer said her book didn't have enough pictures. Well, there aren't many in this book either, which is disappointing - especially as they are all grouped together rather than appearing next to their recipe.

There are some quite appetising recipes here, written by an intelligent and knowledgeable chef. But if you are like me and like to plan meals for friends by flicking through several cookbooks for inspiration, it's almost impossible to do that with this book because it is arranged as an A-Z list. It's an idea that might have made sense to the writers, who wanted to give a comprehensive overview of what you can create with classic middle eastern ingredients, but who plans meal or dinner party thinking they want to tempt their friends with dishes based on A for Artichokes or C for Cardamom? Happen upon the Cardamom page and you'll find recipes from Cardamon orange wafers to Cardamom-crumbed lamb cutlets (although, to be honest, they don't sound particularly tempting or innovative to me). But if those same recipes had been grouped in conventional chapters, this book might have stood a much better chance of being used rather than sitting unused, gathering dust on the shelf. If you want mouthwatering modern middle eastern inspiration, try the Ottolenghi book instead!