Product Description

This book is at once an exploration, a celebration, and a little-known tale of unity. It presents 150 delicious vegetarian dishes that together trace a fascinating story of culinary linkage. As renowned cookbook writer and teacher Najmieh Batmanglij explains, all have their origins along the ancient network of trade routes known as the Silk Road, stretching from China in the east to the Mediterranean in the west. On this highway moved not just trade goods but also ideas, customs, tastes and such basics of life as cooking ingredients. The result was the connecting and enrichment of dozens of cuisines. In Silk Road Cooking: A Vegetarian Journey, Najmieh Batmanglij recounts that process and brings it into the modern kitchen in the form of recipes that are venturesome and yet within reach of any cook. They are intended for vegetarian, partial-vegetarian and non-vegetarian alike -- anyone who is looking for balanced, unusual and exceptionally tasty dishes. The book offers a wealth of information derived from the authorÍs extensive research and her travels along the Silk Road during the past 25 years. She complements the recipes with stories, pictures, histories of ingredients, and words of wisdom from her favorite poets and writers of the region.

The scope of her culinary journey of discovery is vast -- from Xian in China, to Samarkand in present-day Uzbekistan, to Isfahan in Iran, to Istanbul in Turkey, and to the westernmost terminus of the ancient trade routes in Italy. Her recipes -- all of them personal favorites -- include such exotic yet simple fare as Sichuan Crispy Cucumber Pickles; Afghan Boulani, a savory pastry stuffed with garlic chives; Persian Pomegranate and Walnut Salad; Kermani Pistachio and Saffron Polow with Rose Petals; Chinese Hot and Sour Tofu Noodle Soup; Turkish Almond and Rice Flour Pudding; Uzbek Candied Quince with Walnuts; and Sicilian Sour Cherry Crostata. Fortunately, all the ingredients for these recipes can be obtained at local supermarkets and farmersÍ markets. In recent years America has become a kind of modern Silk Road, where wonderful ingredients from all over the world are available to everyone.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #140594 in Books
• Published on: 2004-05-14
• Released on: 2004-05-14
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 336 pages

From Library Journal
Iranian-born Batmanglij, author of several other books on Persian food, has spent a good part of the last 25 years traveling the ancient "Silk Road," the spice and trade route from China through the Middle East to Italy. Because of economic realities, the fare native to those countries has been vegetable-based, so Batmanglij concentrates on that here, though her book will certainly appeal to nonvegetarians as well. She presents diverse and wide-ranging recipes, both familiar and exotic, from Alexandrian Spicy Fava Bean Spread to Afghan Garlic Chive Ravioli, among many others, set against a background of culinary and cultural history. More than 250 color photographs, including some great portraits of people whom Batmanglij met in her travels, furnish additional context. Strongly recommended.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review
An absolutely beautiful cookbook filled with vegetarian and numerous vegan-friendly recipes…. The book contains incredible color photos…. -- Vegetarian Journal

Exquisite to behold and very easy to handleÑprovides coherently written and exciting recipesÉConveys richness of the regionÉ. -- Gastronomica, Summer 2004

Like a good novel. The recipes also pack a punch. -- New York Times December 8, 2004

Offers armchair travelers and culinary adventurers alike a delectable voyage into ancient eating habits and history…. -- Associated Press

SILK ROAD COOKING: A VEGETARIAN JOURNEY (Mage Publishers, $35) is like a good novel once you start, it's hard to put down. It is ideal for those who like to read cookbooks as much as cook from them....The recipes also pack a punch. I served Levantine pilaf in pastry at a party and felt a genuine thrill as I cut into the golden dome of phyllo encasing a filling of vermicelli and rice flecked with apricots, almonds and raisins and seasoned with cinnamon, cardamom and rosewater...." --The New York Times

Sumptuously illustrated, wide-ranging. Many of the recipes are illuminating. -- Gourmet Magazine

From the Publisher
This is the second editon of the book with the stories translated directly from the original poem.

Customer Reviews

An Adventure in Taste
The silk road from China to Italy traverses an unbelievable diversity of cooking styles and tastes, yet Najmieh Batmanglij somehow manages to conquer this complexity. All of the recipes are well-developed, creating dishes with the full flavor and aroma one would expect if each night one walked into a Persian, a Turkish, Indian or even Thai restaurant.

The book is lavishly illustrated with pictures and stories from the regions of the recipes. Although broadly diverse, the cooking of Batmanglij's native Iran is exceptionally well-represented.

The recipes themselves are easy to follow, but not intended for the casual cook. Pomegranate juice, rose water, pistachios and saffron are common, but a prepared cook will find the rewards worthy the effort and expense. It has been a delightful change for my carnivorous family to reduce our meat consumption and enliven our larder.

Silk Road Cooking - The Road to Rapture
I work for a large metro area public library system, have access to tons of books, and as a result, don't often buy them. My personal purchasing guideline: if I've checked out a book at least three times, am reluctant to return it, and find myself copying large sections of it, it's time to buy. Silk Road Cooking was one of those books. Avid foodies (vegetarian or not) will love it for its recipes based on the cuisines of countries along the old Silk Road, such as Persia, India and China. The recipes include spice mixtures, coffess & teas. Travel nuts will enjoy the essays on people and places. Beautifully photographed. Worth every penny.

Incomparable Journey
The Silk Road is alive in the present, thanks to this remarkable work of research and investigation, which relates geography not only to its history and circumstances, but to its products and flavors, its culinary tradition, its hospitality, and thanks to the tradition of the ancient trade lanes, to its sublime cosmopolitanism.