Arabesque

Last night, I tried two delicious recipes from the new cookbook, Arabesque: A Taste of Morocco, Turkey and Lebanon, by noted food author Claudia Roden. Roden mixes tips on food preparation (e.g. how to peel tomatoes) with background on regional cooking (e.g. what is a tagine), wonderful traditional recipes and sumptous photographs. I love to read cookbooks and was drawn to Arabesque because of its beautiful blue cover. Initially, I was unsure if I would like the book because I do not tend to make dishes that combine meats and fruits however, I love to try new recipes so I picked it up. I started with two Lebanese recipes: chicken and chickpeas with yogurt served with okra with baby onions and tomatoes. The chicken is slow cooked in exotic spices and then baked over chickpeas and toasted pita bread pieces. The okra and tomatoes were sweet and tangy, which was excellent served over hot Basmati rice. Next I think I will try the Turkish lamb stew with eggplant sauce.