A lovely cookbook but the recipes weren't suitable for my family at this time. It would make a great gift though.

Back in April, when I requested an e-arc of "Arabiyya", by Reem Assil, I was taking part in a #bookstagram challenge called #arabiclitapril. I was reading books and watching movies set in various Arab countries, and invariably coming across descriptions of very appetizing foods. It's worth noting that I don't cook much myself, but when I saw this book featured on NetGalley, I felt that I just had to at least leaf/scroll through it.

This cookbook is very beautiful, inside and out. The writer is of Palestinian descent, and her introduction about the connection between food, identiyy, culture, and history, was very poignant. Throughout the book, she candidly shares her family history, from her grandparents' forced evacuation from their land, to her own struggles being an Arab immigrant in the United States right after 9/11.

To me, this book felt more like a memoir than a cookbook, more like a way to learn about Arab culture and Palestinian history, than a way to learn how to cook. Past the above mentioned introduction, there is a detailed history of the common spices in Arabic cooking, and the recipes themselves are infused with cultural elements and stories about the author's life. Even though I haven't tried the recipes in the book, I felt like there was a lot for me in "Arabiyya". I would definitely recommend it to people interested to learn about the Arab culture. It could also make a beautiful coffee-table book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Clarkson Potter/Ten Speed Press for the e-arc. All opinions are my own. "Arabiyya", by Reem Assil, has been available since April 2022.

Middle Eastern food is some of my all-time favorite food in the world, so I was super excited when I saw I was approved to read a galley of it! Arabiyya is a rich, gorgeous look into the world of Arab food. Reem Assil shares her personal experiences with these stunningly beautiful recipes, and honestly, it's one of my favorite cookbooks I've ever read. The love for her culture, where she comes from, and the food she shares is so prevalent throughout the book, and more than anything else, I think that's what makes it so successful. Arabiyya is a labor of love, but it's a love letter to the people, places, experiences, and food that have shaped her life. I highly recommend this cookbook and will definitely be getting it as a gift for my loved ones!

For foodies, a good cookbook is not a list of recipes; rather, a good cookbook includes several important elements: background, stories and vignettes that humanize the author, beautiful photographs, how-to instructions, and mouthwatering recipes. Foodies like to curl up and read a cookbook before starting cooking, and Arabiyya: Recipes from the Life of an Arab in Diaspora definitely includes all of these elements. The author, Reem Assil, is a celebrated chef who owns Arab bakeries in California. She knows her stuff, and has excellent writing skills so that those of us who want to enjoy and learn will love her book.

Those who are interested in the Arab culture will want to pick up this book. The background information, as well as cooking information and ingredient lists are helpful, and the recipes are truly mouthwatering. Not only are there dozens of familiar Arab recipes, but also some unusual ones that will tempt even the pickiest of eaters.

The recipes are written in the traditional manner so they are easy to follow for everyone, from beginners to seasoned cooks. There are photographs of most of the recipes, and they are beautiful. The variety of recipes covers appetizers, snacks, main dishes, mezze, vegetables, salads, and desserts. Most call for ingredients that are available at larger grocery stores, so there will be little need to seek out an Arab grocery.

Anyone who reads this cookbook will fall in love with the Arab culture and especially Arab food. This will be an asset to any cookbook shelf.

Special thanks to NetGalley for supplying a review copy of this book.

Middle Eastern food is one of my favorite types of food to cook and learn about. Living in California, I thought this book would be right up my alley. It is a very good book... and would be a great introduction to cooking this type of cuisine... there are also come 'california cuisine' touches. That being said,,.. having every ottolenghi book... and lots of other titles in this category... this wasnt 'different' enough to merit a purchase.. close..

I

I am on a cooking spree these days – what can I say? It relaxes me. And I especially enjoyed this cookbook, not the least because I love Middle Eastern cuisine.

Arabiyaa is a mix of cookbook and memoir, telling us the stories of the recipes but also of Assil’s life and her path toward becoming a chef (hint: it’s not straightforward). The book is divided into five sections that cover all the basics of the cuisine – spice mixes and condiments, sweet and savory baked items, small plates and big plates, veggies and pickles, and desserts and drinks.

The recipes for the most part used traditional flavors, though sometimes the author added her own twists on them. There’s a lot of lamb and beef in the recipes, so someone who doesn’t eat those meats (like me) would miss out on a good selection of the small and big plates. One must also be warned that the veggies section consists of more salads than main dishes, though there’s plenty of vegetarian options in the Mezze chapter.

The recipes I made were Spicy Garlic-Smashed Potatoes With Spicy Red Pepper Aioli, Sumac-Spiced Chicken Wraps, Blossom-Scented Shortbread Cookies, and Damascus Lemonade. Everything came out well, though the cookies were rather crumbly. The main difficulty I had with the recipes was sourcing ingredients – I had to cobble stuff together from the local Kroger and Patel Brothers, and sometimes could not locate certain spices especially. For example I ended up using za’atar instead of sumac for the chicken wraps.

What really stood out to me about this book, though, are the essays by the author. They were candid and personal, describing her experiences growing up as the daughter of Arab immigrants in the United States, and she drifted to and away from food at different points in her life. She critically examines the dichotomy of bringing Arab culture to the public without ‘selling out’ and commercializing it to the point of inauthenticity. I thought they were well-written and added a lot of valuable context to the recipes in the book.

Fantastic thorough cookbook that cuts between talking about her place in the diaspora (both on the context of Palestinian liberation and her post 9/11 experience) and dismantling some of the more harmful ~unity~ stereotypes (were the same bc we eat hummus!), and some fantastic recipes. The formatting makes it a bit difficult to follow the recipes but I’m pretty sure this got fixed for full release. Definitely worth picking up

Yummy dishes and great photographs. Easy to understand recipes. Definitely something I will recommend in store for shoppers.

Thank you me for an advanced copy. I enjoyed the historical family accounts that accompany the recipes. There is a good balance of traditional cultural descriptions added to the modern food fusion recipes. The recipes are measured, easy to follow, and considerate of ingredient swaps. It’s not the way I cook the recipes, or even how I’m used to eating it, but I’m sure you will enjoy the food regardless. This would make a great wedding gift for all the Arab ladies I know who now have to start cooking on their own. So, I plan on buying a few copies to give as well as recommending it for those interested.

Reem Assil has created a beautiful cookbook with a great variety of dishes. The stories at the beginning of the book and interspersed between sections give the reader a wonderful background/context for the recipes. I love that each page has the dish name written in Arabic as well.

I greatly appreciate the mini tables of contents before each chapter--once I've used a cookbook a few times, I prefer to browse the book by recipe name in each section instead of having to flip through the whole book. I don't mind that there isn't a picture for each dish since I'd rather have a greater variety of recipes. I enjoyed this eBook so much that I purchased a physical copy of the book for my kitchen. It's even better in print!

Obsessed! I might be biased but Arabic food is top tier. Love how the author gives us the Arabic words. This book covers all the best dishes, some might be simple but it wouldn’t be an Arab meal without it. A whole section for flatbread? The author knows the way to my heart!

Arabiyya is truthfully one of my first forays into Arab cuisine, but, wow, what a visual feast! This cookbook is pretty long compared to the average celebrity chef's cookbook, but every section is full of recipes that you know are full of flavor just from the titles. Some of them might feel daunting with harder-to-get ingredients than you would find in a traditional American supermarket. The technique for some of the bread also required looking over more than once to understand what she's instructing you to do. Still, Chef Reem Assil's instructions along with the visual presentation of the final result make it feel worth it!

I enjoyed learning about her unique path to the kitchen in every chapter and appreciated how she wove the thread in every section that food is political. Unique to this book is also the artwork that divided each chapter that added a nice personal touch that made it feel like more than a cookbook. Overall, can't wait to try some of the recipes in this one!

“This book is about not just food but also about the communities and culture that inform it.” The author was born in the United States and is of Syrian and Palestinian heritage. The title of the book means Arab woman. The recipes are based on dishes from Southwest Asia and North Africa (SWANA). The book has a lot of biography and history. The author has been attacked for her Palestinian activism and her commentary is very political and could be polarizing (“Israeli occupation”). This may not be what you want to read when you just want to cook some interesting recipes.

The book doesn’t have a picture of each recipe, some of the pictures are quite small (at least on my Kindle fire) and look like they were taken from a distance. The pictures were usually not identified, so it could be a challenge figuring out the dish in the photo. Also challenging is the fact that the Table of Contents doesn’t list the recipes, and there is no Index. Without one or the other, it’s hard to find a recipe. The end of the book has a list of online suppliers for Arab ingredients. There are some recipes I would like to cook, but I would really prefer that someone cook them for me, because it would take all day.

A few of the recipes are listed below.

Chapter One. Spice Mixes and Pantry Snacks: zingy marinated olives

Chapter Two. Base Sauces, Stocks and Condiments: Many use lemons and sound good like tangy garlic spread (toum) and red and green hot sauces.

Chapter Three. Savory Breads and Pastries: Preceding this chapter, there is a long section on bread making and a trip to Lebanon. The spinach and onion turnovers (fatayer sabanikh) are appealing.

Chapter Four. Bakery sweets: orange turmeric tea cake, tangy coconut semolina cake, pistachio cardamom sticky buns, phyllo dough and spiced walnut baklava

Chapter Five. Mezze: hummus, falafel, smoked fish, caramelized onions and tahini spread, ground meat and bulgur pattie’s, and tahini spreads with eggplant, beets, butternut squash or chard

Chapter Six. Main Plates: spiced rice with fried vermicelli, lentil and rice pilaf (mujaddarra) and lamb and yogurt stew

Chapter Seven. Veggies: fattoush salad, pumpkin bulgur casserole, green beans in tomato reduction and spiced rice tower layered with caramelized veggies

Chapter Eight. Pickles and Preserves: stuffed and cured mini eggplants and sun-dried apricot preserves

Chapter Nine. Special Occasion Sweets: spiced rice flour pudding, farina custard and cream trifle and orange and espresso date cookie bars

Chapter Ten. Drinks: Arab coffee, thickened hot chocolate and Damascus lemonade

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

A cookbook filled with stories, recipes, family and friendships. Reem Assil has a full career as a chef in the San Francisco Bay Area, and she is clearly committed to food activism. The rich spices and tastes of the Arab kitchen, though, are what makes this book a standout for me. I’ve cooked a half dozen delicious meals from the book (Arab-Spiced Burger Patties, Loaded Hummus, Lentil and Rice Pilaf were all standouts), and I’ll keep returning to it when I crave the addictive combination of herbs, spices and lemons that characterize the Arab table.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

So lovely. As much as a love story for the authors family and culture as it is a cookbook!

The recipes are well written with mostly easily accessible ingredients. But the real star of the show are the family stories and pictures. The author clearly loves their family. It was wonderful to read and learn about their culture.

<b>As I read through the recipes, I could almost smell the spices!</b>

My thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for an ARC of this gorgeously illustrated cookbook and memoir.

<img src="https://excellencenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/1-1-1-1024x683.jpg"/>

I loved the family portraits most of all. This author is passionate about her culture, the political turmoil and biases that have shaped her life, and even her family's mental and physical well-being. (Due to copyright restrictions, I cannot reproduce any of the wonderful family photos she illustrated the book with, but these images that I found on the internet will give you a clue as to what to expect.)

<img src="https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/20200426_2_42117374_54309852.jpg?quality=85&strip=all&zoom=1&ssl=1"/>

The author changed careers and became a successful restaurateur/chef. She found fulfillment in doing the thing she loves most: preparing authentic dishes and sharing them with family and friends.

<img src="https://kaleela.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/shutterstock_1690553083-1024x683.jpg"/>

This was an interesting read for me and I hope to attempt several of the mouth-watering recipes in this epicurean journey through this woman's life. The recipes are usually prefaced by some personal back story, or the historical origins of the particular dish, but if you prefer to get straight to the recipe, you can do that as well.
Enjoy!

This is definitely a well written Cookbook, with the background history of the many dishes featured, and A bit of the reader's family history. There are some great recipes from the most simple dishes to many more complex ones. Most the ingredients used can be found locally in any large city. It's a great book for those looking for more than just a collection of recipes.
I received this book as an Advanced Reader's Copy.

Goodness, this was a gorgeous cookbook! I definitely plan to pick up a hard copy for my collection!

The concept and the personal stories and connection throughout the book is really special, and the photos and graphic design/layout really works beautifully--it's such a cohesive story and collection of recipes. A lot of flavors and ingredients that I'm not super familiar with--at least not in terms of cooking myself--but this cookbook feels very doable and approachable and has me SO excited to get in the kitchen and try them all out! There's also a helpful section at the front of the book in terms of stocking an Arab kitchen, as well as some suggested swaps if you can't find a certain hard-to-source ingredient. I'd say the recipes here skew more complicated/time/labor-intensive, though there is certainly a mixture of simple/easy recipes as well. I do wish there were more recipe photos, which continues to be a surprising bit of feedback for me to give--I'm sure there are considerations for reducing photos, but from a consumer perspective, I want the photos! Some it made sense not to include, such as the recipes for spice mixes etc.

Still, a minor qualm overall in what is really a stunning and inspiring cookbook

This was delightful, and practical, and I loved reading the accompanying stories and background and I want to eat all the things! Hoping for more pictures in the finished copy, but I loved everything that was available in this delightful book.
Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for making this ARC available.

Loving food from North Africa all the way to India, I loved not only the food but also the stories behind some of the dishes and the history of the place these recipes come from Palestine and Syria. War-torn places but full of deep-rooted cultures and ancient crossroads. With so many tasty recipes, I will most likely buy this cookbook for my collection.