Claudia Roden returns to the countries of Turkey, Lebanon and Morocco in search of new and old recipes and to find out how cooking has evolved since she first introduced us to these cuisines in the 1960s. The result is a tribute to the different culinary histories and contemporary food of these fascinating countries, from the mezze dishes of Turkey and the sweet pastries of Lebanon to the unmistakable flavours and spices of Morocco. In her inimitable style, in Arabesque Claudia Roden has created a passionate, evocative book full of stories, memories and delicious food.

Arabesque is the winner of the André Simon Memorial Fund Award for Best Food Book, the Glenfiddich Best Food Book Award and the Gourmand World Media Special Award of the Jury

Praise for Arabesque:

‘In a review in Slate, Michael Lukas, an American living in Turkey, points out that Arabesque is not just — is not even primarily — an excellent cookbook: by socially, politically and historically contextualizing the three cuisines, he argues, Roden has also written an effective primer on the diversity of the Middle East. Lukas even goes so far as to suggest that the late scholar and activist Edward Said (the author of “Orientalism,” an influential critique of traditional scholarship about the Middle East) might have recommended Roden’s book as a reliable guide to the region’ – The New York Times Magazine

‘A thoroughly enjoyable and fascinating look at the cuisines of Morocco, Turkey and Lebanon…  In each recipe flavours are exquisitely balanced’ – Publishers Weekly

‘A generous, warm, open-door invitation to explore the tenets and nuances of a rich culinary legacy… [Roden’s] an excellent source for the tradition and history of Middle Eastern cuisine… The eggplant salad is easy to make but also impressive enough for a party. That’s what’s great about so many of Roden’s recipes. They’re straightforward… but they can also be spectacularly impressive… dishes that recall the courts of glamorous sultans’ – The L. A. Times