Lebanese Cuisine by Anissa Helou – review

Lebanese Cuisine by Anissa Helou was short-listed for the prestigious Andre Simon Award when it was first published. That’s not a bad start! Claudia Roden says “Anissa Helou brings a delightful personal touch to one of the world’s finest cuisines”. After an accolade like that from one of the most respected food writers you will be expecting something a bit special, and this book won’t disappoint.

This remains the only fully comprehensive collection of authentic Lebanese recipes in English but you will want to add this book to your library just because it is readable and absorbing with Anissa’s usual charming style of writing.

There is a Brief History of the Lebanon to start and it has had its share (probably more than its share) of invaders and occupiers as well as civil war and unrest that continues, unfortunately, till today. The Lebanese Larder follows with lists of not only herbs, spices, dried produce, but utensils, wines, fruits and drinks.

Few special items

The recipe chapters start with Hors d’oeuvres (mezze) as you would expect, but there are 14 other sections that include Savoury Pastries, Stuffed Vegetables, Stews, Pickles and Desserts. Anissa has thoughtfully also included a list of shops where we can find some of the less common ingredients. You might be surprised at how few special items are needed to be able to make these dishes. Most things you will no doubt already have in your store cupboard: cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg etc. It won’t cost you an arm and a leg to try these subtle and delicious dishes.

Lebanese Cuisine not only supplies us with recipes but also lots of background information that helps this book to be not only a cookbook but also a travelogue. Anissa draws us in and helps us to imagine mountain villages. We can hear the sound of meat being pounded in a marble mortar, (it’s OK for you to use a food processor so don’t panic), and we can smell the enticing aroma of grilling lamb.

The recipes are easy to follow with illustrations for things like stuffing vegetables, rolling vine leaves and forming fritters. None of it is complicated but the pictures are comforting to the novice. You will find it easy to present authentic dishes without tears.

Lebanese Cuisine is already considered something of a classic and rightly so. It’s a unique volume that has been praised by the good and worthy of the industry. I find no reason to disagree.

Lebanese Cuisine
Author: Anissa Helou
Published by: Grub Street
Price: £12.99
ISBN 978-1-906502-18-8

See more books by Anissa Helou here

Cookbook review by Chrissie Walker © 2018