Dine in Palestine

As Mediterranean diets gain popularity, cookbooks featuring such recipes are also becoming popular. This book is one of many, but it is one that focuses specifically on Palestinian cuisine and uses ingredients and techniques from that region. The book is divided into five parts: breakfast (eleven recipes, but some of these dishes can be served anytime), vegetarian (thirteen recipes), meat and seafood (sixteen recipes), desserts (sixteen recipes), and beverages (four recipes). The various sections contain recipes for main dishes, salads, and sides.

Each recipe starts with a personal note, followed by a list of ingredients, servings, and preparation instructions. Each is also accompanied by a full-color picture of the finished product, which is helpful for those new to Palestinian cuisine. There are some typographical errors (such as one zucchini for serving four), but these do not detract from the text, and readers can easily spot and correct them. The personal notes and introductions to each section provide a nice cultural reference for the recipes.

The recipes are generally fairly straightforward to prepare for most, although some of the ingredients may be difficult to get in supermarkets that do not carry ethnically Middle Eastern ingredients. It is an excellent book for those who would like to try cooking Palestinian foods but do not have a deep background in Middle Eastern cuisine.