Sweets and Desserts from the Middle East

Description

All Arto der Haroutunian's twelve cookbooks written in the 1980s became classics; it was his belief that the rich culinary tradition of the Middle East is the main source of many of our Western cuisines and his books were intended as an introduction to that tradition. His Sweets & Desserts of the Middle East is regarded as the seminal work on the subject but it had been out of print for almost thirty years. At last here in a new edition is the Middle Eastern cookbook that everyone wants. In this book he takes us on a sumptuous and erudite tour of one of the delights of Middle Eastern cuisine. Sweets and desserts occupy a special place in those lands where natutal food resources can sometimes be limited. The people have made supreme the art of creating delights from very little and in doing do have enriched their world with wafer-thin pastries, luscious halvas, crunchy biscuits, exotic fruits and cool refreshing sorbets. Many Middle Eastern desserts are very sweey (literally soaked in honey or syrup) and yet their variety is infinite. It reflects the multifarious origins and races of the people of the region and combines ancient traditions and modern influences. One basic sweet may have been adapted in a dozen different ways. Tantalisingly fragrant, sweet and succulent or dry and spiced with the aroma of the East they transport us as if by magic carpet to the exotic lands of the orient. There are recipes for sesame and date baklavas, almond and pistachio coated biscuits, tempting stuffed fruits, rich mousses, delicate sorbets and syrups, jams and preserves, all of which may tempt you to conjure up these Middle Eastern delicacies in your own home.

Arto der Haroutunian was born in Aleppo, Syria in 1940 and grew up in the Levant, but came to England with his parents as a child and remained there for most of his life. He studied architecture at Manchester University and established a career designing restaurants, clubs, and hotels. In 1970, in partnership with his brother, he opened the first Armenian restaurant in Manchester which eventually became a successful chain of six restaurants and two hotels. Given his passion for cooking it was a natural progression that he began to write cookery books as they combined his love of food with his great interest in the history and culture of the region. It was his belief that the rich culinary tradition of the Middle East is the main source of many of our Western cuisines and his books were intended as an introduction to that tradition. He died in 1987 at the untimely age of 47. He is survived by his wife and son who still live in Manchester. As well as his passion for cooking, Arto der Haroutunian was a painter of international reputation who exhibited all over the world.

"Our Western food culture has far deeper and wider roots in the Middle East than you might imagine. And from the Middle East there are still more treasures that await us. Arto knew that and wrote it down with obvious passion in Sweet & Desserts from the Middle East. It's a very sweet book. One you will forever treasure."-- "Cooking By the Book"