As a frequent reader of Accad’s blog of the same name (she made me fall in love with cheese stuffed-apricots), I was very eager to see this book. I was not disappointed. I love her friendly, but informative, writing style, and appreciated the fact that she doesn’t talk down to people who are new to this type of cuisine. I never once felt like there was a recipe that I couldn’t make in my own home as well as she could make it in hers. That is due to her concise writing and thorough (sometimes step-by-step) instruction. Along with all of the mouthwatering recipes, the reader is taken on a bit of a journey wherein they learn about the Lebanese people and their culture. I found that aspect to be fascinating. I came away from this book learning so much. The photos are stunning! I wanted to make every single recipe in this book, based upon the photos alone. While I enjoyed many of the recipes that I prepared from this book, my two favorites are the spinach stuffed turnovers and meat pies. I recommend this cookbook to new as well as experienced cooks. It is an absolute delight.

A really great cookbook for beginners and those who know something about Lebanese food. It begins with basic appetizers/condiments and moves onto full meals. As someone who has been around but has very little experience with Lebanese food directly, it had a good mixture of familiarity and novelty. A lot of it takes familiar ingredients that i can find at any store and prepares them in ways that I've never cooked before.

An excellent cookery book filled with passion. Recipes are clear to follow and ingredients are generally accessible. I’ve already tried four of the recipes and they were a success and look forward to trying more.
This book has increased my knowledge of Lebanese food and culture

Taste of Beirut by Joumana Accad
Book Review by Dawn Thomas

303 Pages
Publisher: HCI Books
Release Date: September 2, 2014

Cooking, Food & Wine, Regional Food

A couple of years ago I visited a local mosque. We were served a delicious meal and I have been looking for authentic recipes. This book has many of the items we had for lunch that day. The book is organized into the following chapters.

Chapter 1: The Lebanese Larder
Breads, Grains, Pasta and Rice
Pastes, Pastries, Seasonings, Spice Mixes, and Sweeteners

Chapter 2: Basics in the Lebanese Kitchen

Chapter 3: Breads, Breakfast, and Brunch

Chapter 4: Sandwiches and Soups

Chapter 5: Mezzes: Dips, Finger Foods, Salads, and Sides

Chapter 6: Main Courses
Meals in a Jiffy
Stews and Stuffed Veggies
Rice, Grains, Pasta, and Legumes
Kibbeh
Seafood Dishes

Chapter7: Desserts

It is hard to say which is my favorite chapter. I love falafel, the meat pies and baklava. I am making the lamb chops with sweet potatoes this weekend. I cannot wait to try the red velvet pudding. If you are interested in regional cooking, you should consider this book.

Taste of Beirut is a wonderful cookbook. Having been married to a Lebanese man for almost twenty years, I enjoyed Joumana's "Do's and Don't's of Lebanese Cooking and Eating". Her recipes are delicious and easy to follow. This would make a great cookbook for those familiar with middle easter cuisine or for those just dipping their toes into it.

Although a basic introduction - 101 type - into the Lebanese cuisine, Taste of Beirut offers a comprehensive list of recipes that will create delicious meals, within budget and without a demand of specific cooking skills. The key to achieve is to keep doing dish after dish, learning the texture of dough and the perfect matches between spices and various ingredients for your Lebanese table.
The recipes are easy and the directions are clear enough to help you succeed in your cooking adventure. Most ingredients can be easily found. Specific details are provided in case there is a need to clarify a further taste match or even a cultural/historical connection.
And when words are not enough, there is plenty of great pictures to convince you for a recipe or another. From syrups and sauces to pickles, breads and pastry, there is hardly something missing from the list. All you need now is plenty of time to try at least once every single recipe featured in this book.

If there’s one thing that I MUST have in my house, it is cookbooks. And when I can mix up meals with a new dish, or discover spice combinations that I’ve never tried before, I’m all in. Joumana Accad’s debut cookbook, A Taste of Beirut, provided everything I wanted and more than I could hope for.

Organized into sections that make it easy to add a side, entrée or even nibbles or bread, the recipes are also given context that helps to ‘personalize’ dishes with stories and histories that make this not only a go-to on my shelf for dinner options, but a lovely read.

From the sweet fritters (Uwaymate) to adding the Arooss Labneh, a veggie and yoghurt-cheese roll up sandwich, to the more familiar fatayer bi-sabanegh (spinach turnovers – similar to spanakopita), and the combinations of spices – ordinary dinners are far more creative and tasty. And with the clever substitution options using nuts, beans and lamb or goat fat instead of the meat itself for protein, I also have used options and recipes found in this book to cut back on meat as a main course, in considering making the weekly dinners healthier and lower in fat.

Grab this book – learn and experiment with it. Most of the recipes I’ve tried are simple and take less than an hour with only a few ingredients that wouldn’t necessarily already be in your pantry. And, with the increase in products in international aisles in grocers, and with good options available for on-line sourcing, there are few, if any ingredients difficult to source.

I received an eArc copy of the title from the publisher via NetGalley for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.

I really appreciate that this cookbook explained what I need and how to do it, since Lebanese cooking is not something I am familiar with. The recipes are superb (my kids LOVE the hummus variations and zucchini fritters) and fairly easy to make. As a teacher, I think this is a good book for slightly older children to learn to appreciate other cultures through food. I highly recommend this cookbook!

I was only able to try 3-4 of the recipes and found them easy to follow but lacking a little something something. I will probably try a few more recipes in the future but for now moving past this recipe book for others.

Well described recipes, all I tried were a success. Delicious!

This book is both inspired and inspirational. I received an electronic review copy, which I looked at on a tablet device. The colours are stunning, the recipes are amazing, but to get the best from the content, it truly needs to be hard copy.

I'm not familiar with this style of cooking, and was introduced to herbs and spices I've not previously tried. But the recipes are truly amazing and the great strength is that there's so much background information. There's a context to the recipes and a lot of interesting information about the region. A stunning book with recipes well set out and with no obscure ingredients or complex techniques.

Taste of Beirut was an interesting and beautiful cookbook. As an avid cookbook fan, I am very interested in foods of different cultures, however I don´t know anything about Lebanese cooking. I look forward to trying out some of Joumana´s recipes in the future and am inspired to investigate further into this beautiful cuisine.

I enjoyed the recipes in this read and also the interesting cultural notes shared. If you love Lebanese food as I do but feel clueless about how to prepare it, this title would not disappoint!

No review possible due to personal circumstances. Apologies tendered.