Ottoman Kitchen [Hardcover]

Although contemporary Turkey's cooking has found welcome in many U.S. cities, few are familiar with its culinary ancestor, the imperial table of the Ottomans. Sarah Woodward has compiled recipes from that era and has updated them just enough to make the dishes reproducible in modern kitchens. The Ottoman Kitchen, as Woodward reconstructs it, emphasizes quick cooking and commonly available ingredients. Recipes abound with fresh pomegranates, nuts, yogurt, cheeses, parsley, and mint. Only a few ingredients, such as pomegranate molasses, demand special trips to Middle Eastern markets. When meat is used, it's usually lamb, but many recipes call for chicken or other poultry. Mark Knoblauch
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

One of the earliest exponents of fusion cooking, the Ottomans elaborated and refined the culinary traditions of the entire Eastern Mediterranean region to create one of the world's greatest, and most eclectic, cuisines. The Ottoman Kitchen explores the culinary traditions of the region, the vast Ottoman Empire, which at the height of its glory spread East-West from Baghdad to Tripoli and North-South from Budapest to Cairo, and offers a collection of practical recipes for up-to-date versions of classic dishes. Interwoven with illuminating tales of history and culture, over 100 photographs are featured-stunning recipe pictures and evocative location shots of modern-day life.

Sarah Woodward's cookbooks include Oranges & Lemons, The Classic Mediterranean Cookbook, and Tastes of North Africa. Jan Baldwin is a leading international photographer of food and interiors. Her photographs illustrate one other Interlink cookbook, The African Kitchen.