Poignant and touching book with accessible recipes provided by people from Israel and Palestine with short interviews accompanying each recipe. Really memorable and I've already made 2 recipes successfully.
Arc provided by NetGalley

A book that highlights that food is best shared and can overcome political or cultural events. All religions have sharing food as an important part of society and building bridges. I found that the recipes were so superb, apart from the fact that some of them could not be scaled down and I do not often cook for numbers in the hundreds. I loved the discussions with the local people who shared their family recipes and the historical sections helping to understand why the food being eaten was perhaps different to what we expect. One example of cultural eating habits was explained so clearly with the Bedouin tribe section and was very informative.
I did not see the documentary that was the basis for this recipe book and I will try now to see if it is possible to still see it as this has wetted my appetite, especially now that the middle East is under so much turmoil and war currently.

The Arab-Israeli Cookbook by Robin Soans and Claudia Roden is a beautifully presented collection of recipes that feels like a comforting journey through everyday kitchens. This cookbook is unique because it features recipes from ordinary people, bringing an authentic and homey touch to the pages.

Many recipes in The Arab-Israeli Cookbook took me back to my childhood, evoking the comforting aroma of the dishes my Egyptian-born grandmother used to make. It was a nostalgic trip down memory lane, a journey that I'm sure many readers will find themselves on. The book's user-friendly nature, with its easy-to-follow instructions and use of everyday ingredients, makes it accessible for beginner cooks, instilling a sense of confidence that they, too, can recreate these dishes at home.

I particularly loved the personal stories and tidbits shared by the people the authors interviewed to gather these recipes. This adds a warm, everyday feel to the book, making it more than just a collection of recipes but also a celebration of shared culinary heritage.

I highly recommend this cookbook to novice cooks looking to expand their repertoire of home-cooked meals.

Thank you to NetGalley and Aurora Metro Publishing for gifting me the e-book in exchange for an honest review.

#TheArabIsraeliCookbookrecipes #NetGalley.

Robin Soans, a British actor and playwright, brings a unique perspective to the culinary world with The Arab-Israeli Cookbook. Initially, I believed this was a new publication, given its relevance to the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict. However, I discovered it was originally published in 2005. Despite the years that have passed, the themes of the book remain timely, making it well worth revisiting today.

What sets this cookbook apart is its blend of authentic recipes and the compelling stories behind them. Soans doesn't just share recipes; he shares the lives of the people he dined with and learned from during his travels. The book features a diverse array of dishes, not limited to Palestinian and Israeli cuisine but encompassing a broad spectrum of Arabic and Middle Eastern flavors that have delighted generations.

what a wonderful cookbook, I love that in this political climate, there`s something that unites us all - a love of food!
I enjoyed preparing the hummus from this book and my kids adored it!
If you like spice, flavours and middle eastern food, this is a great cookbook.

A truly fascinating book especially in light of what is happening in Israel/Gaza today. It gives a wonderful insight the life of the people and the recipes are ones I will definitely be trying.

Dies ist ein wunderbares Buch voller Geschichten, die zu jedem Rezept gehören. Ich liebe es, etwas über neue Kulturen zu erfahren und habe dieses Kochbuch sehr gerne gelesen. (ja, ich lese Kochbücher). Es gibt so viele wunderbar klingende Rezepte, die man ausprobieren kann, vom Frühstück bis zum Abendessen und alles dazwischen. Ich werde es genießen, mich durch dieses Buch zu kochen.

This is a good way to communicate what once was, in light of what’s currently happening, using the one thing that can usually bring people together, FOOD. The stories behind the recipes are equal parts uplifting and heartbreaking.
I hope the time will come when the focus is how to live peacefully and the origins of the conflict, while not forgotten, be forgiven and laid to rest.

What a wonderful book full of tasty recipes and photos. I loved the stories about the people who shared the recipes with the author. Highly recommend for any one who loves middle eastern food. Thanks to Aurora Metro and Netgalley for this review copy.

I received a free ebook copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for a fair review.

This is a wonderful cookbook, filled with recipes, stories, and photos of the people who share meals with the author. What a treat. There are lots of delicious recipes for food I know I enjoy, but haven't had a reliable recipe to work from until now. There are breakfasts, snacks, mains, and sweets that you can try at home. Most ingredients needed are relatively easy to find in grocery stores and specialty shops, and the recipes are easy to follow.

Definitely check this book if you'd like to expand your culinary repertoire!

The Arab-Israeli Cookbook is spectacular. Although I haven’t cooked from it, the recipes are well-known and uncomplicated. ( You will have to convert to American standard measurements.) what I loved about the book was the introduction to each recipe- the author’s anecdotes about the Israeli and Palestinian cooks who welcomed her crew into their homes. She depicted them as gentle, king, and welcoming as I had found them to be in my trips to Israel and Jordan. So, while the food and recipes will enrich the reader’s palate, the narrative will enrich the reader’s connection with humanity.

Thanks to Net Galley and Aurora Metro Books for an e print in exchange for an honest review.

This is a fairly basic cookbook. It has great recipes in it but the instructions aren't always super easy to understand in the way that they are just very simple. Instead of detailed directions they are more vague. The reason for republishing this book is really nice ans understandable.

Possibly a little unfair to review this book twenty odd years after its publication. This book was written before Ottelengification and before Sabrina Gayhour. The recipes seem somewhat dated and simple. Perhaps a tuna melt was “authentic” to that household but not really something I want to find in an Israeli/Arab cookbook.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

Absolutely love this! As a Lebanese woman, it is so wonderful to not only find a cookbook with authentic recipes, but also have it filled with personal stories to go along with each one. Highly recommend!!

Beautiful original pictures, mouth watering recipes and an exotic atmosphere that made me feel hungry all the time. I really loved it!

A true representation of the cuisine of Israel and Palestine from the local people who make the best of the best. Worth every penny to add it to your collection.

There's something very poignant about reviewing 'The Arab-Israeli Cookbook' by Robin Soans (Aurora Metro, Sep 2005) during Pesach while the news is filled with the latest conflict. And yet, it's also precisely the right time for this small, gentle book.

I haven't seen the show that this book accompanies, and wouldn't have normally opted to read something that would likely heavily reference something I hadn't watched, but adding Claudia Roden's name to the cover cinched it, and I'm glad I took the chance.

This sits somewhere between a travelogue, a cookbook, and a series of mini autobiographies. The author's writing is comfortably reined in: you can feel the moments when Soans really wants to wax poetic but doesn't, and instead allows his interviewees' words to center his prose. It strikes the right balance, I think; given a larger canvas, perhaps his prose would have become overbearing, but tightly wrapped around descriptions of people, locations, and tastes, the relative restraint works.

As a travelogue, it's very brief, but edited skillfully - each little snippet brings you into a home, or a restaurant, or a not-quite-tent, and into a place that for many feels distant and unknowable.

The interviewees are a diverse as the reality of this restive slip of earth: the observant Muslim who smokes, the gay couple who host Shabbat, the Amazigh partiarch who longs for the pastoral freedom that the current situation can't allow. And between the hurt and the worry, you get a glimpse of the reality: of the everyday people, Arab and Jewish, observant and atheist, who just do their best to coexist in an increasingly fragile peace.

As a cookbook, it's somewhat niche: these are recipes as told by the cooks, and so some feed 400, some are from a restaurant, and some are from home. A confident cook will find lots here to enjoy, and have no trouble adapting the recipes to their needs. I certainly wouldn't recommend most of the recipes for anyone new to cooking or not used to tasting, adjusting, and making a recipe their own, but those that do will find plenty of inspiration.

This is a lovely little book, and a balanced representation of society & politics, which doesn't try to reach beyond presenting the interviewees as genuine, warm, and real. Very much worth the read.

Thank you to the publisher for providing this ARC for my unbiased review.

A wide variety of recipes with some nice pictures. I personally prefer when recipe steps are numbered instead of in paragraph form like in this book, but still easy enough to follow.

What a wonderful, and timely collection. I cannot wait to dive in to some of the dishes described herein. A great addition to a growing shelf

I think this is exactly the cookbook we need right now. Arab-Israeli cuisine has such rich heritage and echoes of it can be found across the world. I've attempted a hummus recipe more than once over the years with questionable success, but I can safely say it's one of my favourite foods.

A quote right at the beginning really resonated with me, "If you have shared food with someone, you can never betray him as you have sealed your relationship before God". I am not particularly religious but food is incredibly important to me and my family heritage (Mediterranean), we absolutely show love and respect through food and I get the feeling this is also at the heart of this book.

I love the personal touches throughout the book, stories of making things like hummus, or people's individual touches to dishes and what they mean to them makes this different and so important during the current atrocities.

My only complaint is that sometimes the recipes aren't clear and/or refer to recipes elsewhere in the book without clear page guidance and I found it quite hard to follow.