Click Here To Purchase Crazy Water, Pickled Lemons: Enchanting dishes from the Middle East, Mediterranean, and North Africa

Author: Diana Henry

ISBN: 1 84533 284 9

Crazy Water, Pickled Lemons is one of those delightful cookbooks that combine colorful and engaging writing as well as intriguing recipes – wonderful to read through, not just to use as a kitchen tool. In the best culinary prose traditions, Diana Henry’s writing – a few pages accompanying each if the twelve chapters – is warm and captivating, conjuring up visions of the fascinating birthplaces of her dishes – the exotic headiness of Moroccan spice markets, the lavender fields of Provence, and the sunny lemon groves of Sicily. The actual reality of Henry’s recipes, however, is much closer to home: the Middle-Eastern and Mediterranean dishes use fairly common ingredients, most easy to find in North America, and vary in level of complexity, with most leaning towards the simplicity that the Mediterranean foods particularly are known for.

The recipes are creatively grouped by ingredient themes: “The Sweet and the Sour”, for instance, compiles recipes showcasing the sweetness of honey and the acidity of vinegar, while in “Fruits of Longing”, juicy figs, pomegranates, quinces and dates feature prominently.  But even though many of the recipes rely on basic Mediterranean and Middle Eastern ingredients – such as garlic, lemons, and olive oil – the dishes themselves are anything but basic: what struck me most about the book was Henry’s inspired use of common ingredients in unexpected new ways. Her savory herbs such as rosemary and thyme, for instance, get sweetened up in a Chocolate and Rosemary Sorbet and Herb-Scented Chocolate Truffles, while basil and parsley transform from a flavoring agent to the main event in Lemon and Basil Ice Cream and Sabzi Khordan, a Persian dish of herbs, flatbread, and cheese. The intent here, both in the recipes and the writing, is to awaken the senses, with a fresh and playful culinary vision and an inherent appreciation for the beauty of simple ingredients.

Diana Henry’s Crazy Water, Pickled Lemons is culinary armchair travel at its best. Whether you want to be transformed to the exotic lands of the Middle East, or just decide what to make for dinner, Henry offers an adventurous journey for the senses.

The above review was contributed by Kate Andronov, Communications Student

Click Here To Purchase Crazy Water, Pickled Lemons: Enchanting dishes from the Middle East, Mediterranean, and North Africa