Flavors of the sun The Sahadi's guide to understanding, buying, and using Middle Eastern ingredients

Sahadi--culinary director and co-owner of the eponymous, James Beard Award--winning Middle Eastern market in Brooklyn--presents an exemplary guide to the region's staples. Readers need not "worry that you might end up with dozens of single-use ingredients," she assures, because those covered can be used in plenty of recipes. Some of the items are familiar, such as tahini--which she leans on heavily in savory and sweet dishes, including a beef and lentil bowl with tahini dressing and tahini swirl brownies--while the more obscure--such as mahlab (a spice made from St. Lucie cherries)--are given their due in recipes such as double cherry rice pudding and spiced pecans. In addition to classics like fattoush and za'atar bread, readers will enjoy Sahadi's creative spins on jambalaya (which features jasmine rice, merguez sausage, and preserved lemon) and fava bean nachos. Throughout, sidebars list ideas on how to use different ingredients (as with harissa, which can be added to a seafood marinade or combined with melted butter for a chicken wing dip). This excellent volume offers something for any home cook, no matter how well-versed in Middle Eastern cuisine. Agent: David Black, David Black Agency. (Sept.)

The James Beard award-winning market Sahadi's, based in Brooklyn, NY, has long been a hub for immigrant families seeking staples for home cooking. Seeing the wide popularity of foods and flavors from the Middle East, Sahadi Whelan (the market's culinary director and fourth-generation co-owner) has written an inviting collection of versatile recipes for both new and experienced home cooks. Dishes both sweet and savory reflect the author's Lebanese heritage, along with culinary connections to Syria, Israel, Jordan, Greece, Turkey, and North Africa. Communal cooking is at the heart of the book. Recipes are sorted into five chapters, each dedicated to a flavor profile: bright (pomegranate molasses, sumac); savory (za'atar, mint); spiced (harissa, ras el hanout); nutty (tahini, dukkah); and sweet (date syrup, honey). Sahadi Whelan's detailed descriptions of each ingredient stand out. The serving suggestions and the sections listing 10 ways to use any given ingredient are worth the price of admission. In addition to subsections on starters, salads, entrees, and sweets, the cookbook helpfully suggests menus that mix and match recipes, like Herbed Egg Bites served with Individual Spinach Walnut Pies. VERDICT Blending essential guidance with winning recipes, this debut will satisfy a variety of tastes; it pairs well with Eden Grinshpan's Eating Out Loud.--Stephanie Sendaula, Library Journal