Claudia Roden

I feel I ought to review this, as nobody else has yet, but honestly, once you have said that it is by Roden, you have more or less said it all. Her recipes are reliably good, but it is the texts around the recipes that always make me hungry. In Med she returns to the food she has researched for so long, but this time not looking for exact 'authenticity' but for food that can be easily presented to family and friends that have the right spirit. In many cases she transforms a flavour she found show more in one place with a presentation from another.

This is a very personal collection of the food she likes to cook and to serve and to eat. show less

No one knows more about Middle Eastern cooking than Claudia Roden. This updated version of her classic cookbook is an essential part of any cookbook library. It might not be her best cookbook, or contain the best versions of every recipe, but provides an unequaled overview of the cuisine. The hundreds of recipes and dizzying array of variations provide insight into regional differences and influences, and provide a great jumping off point for further exploration. Even if you never cook a show more single recipe as written, the commentary and insight is invaluable.

On the downside, while huge it isn't quite comprehensive, and there are many popular dishes that for whatever aren't included. Although updated for a modern audience, since many of the recipes originated with transcribed accounts from a variety of sources and were adapted for the Western kitchen of 50 years ago, there remains a certain amount of inconsistency and inauthentic adaptation in some of them.
There are also a bunch of recipes that aren't strictly "Middle Eastern", from European sources such as Greek and Albania. The same argument can be made for many of the North African dishes, but those share a much closer culinary bond in my mind. Either way, I would have preferred a tighter regional focus. show less

This is a wonderful cookbook. Claudia Roden not only compiled recipes - she also compiled stories and anecdotes and historical descriptions of various Jewish communities around the world. Her book has become an essential part of my cooking routine during every major Jewish holiday, to the point that when the book was lost in my move to DC I immediately rushed to a bookstore to get a replacement... Indispensable.

Just as with another of her books, Arabesque, with The Book of Jewish Food Roden manages to combine food writing with recipes that make this book a delight to both read and cook from. She explores her own Jewish roots and the culture and history of the whole diaspora by writing about the meals, traditions and recipes she uncovers on her search for Jewish food.

The recipes are organised in two broad sections - Ashkenazi and Serphadic - and within different food categories within these two show more broad distinctions. Some of the recipes are complicated or time consuming, but many are simple and plenty could be made from regular ingredients you have in the kitchen right now (though half the fun is finding out about new ingredients or new ways to use ingredients you thought you already knew about). For this household there is the added bonus that many of the recipes are vegan - especially those of the Bene Israel, the Jews of India - or are easily 'veganised', though this is more true for the Serphadic than Ashkenazi section.

I also found it very interesting to find many recipes my non-Jewish grandmother cooked, obviously influenced by her Prussian roots - much of what is perhaps now considered 'Ashkenazi food' was once just 'poor middle European people food'.

Even if you are not Jewish or even interested in Jewish culture, try and get your hands on this book. The food writing is fantastic and the recipes are worth exploring. show less