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The North African Kitchen

Regional Recipes and Stories: 15-Year Anniversary Edition

Illustrated by Simon Wheeler
Published by Interlink Books
Distributed by Simon & Schuster
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About The Book

Behind closed doors, North African home cooks are taking the region's food to new heights. Traditional dishes such as tagines, stews, soups, and salads are being adapted and refined, and new dishes are being created using classic ingredients such as fiery spices, jewel-like dried fruits, lemons, and armfuls of fresh herbs.

Behind closed doors, North African home cooks are taking the region's food to new heights. Traditional dishes such as tagines, stews, soups, and salads are being adapted and refined, and new dishes are being created using classic ingredients such as fiery spices, jewel-like dried fruits, lemons, and armfuls of fresh herbs.

The North African Kitchen is the result of Fiona Dunlop's long fascination with the region. She visits eight of the best home cooks in Morocco, Tunisia, and Libya, shopping and cooking with them, and learning their favorite recipes and cooking tricks.

Simplicity is at the heart of the private medina kitchen. The exotic fuses with the domestic to produce dishes that are highly flavored yet quick and easy to prepare. Tunisian cuisine is perhaps the hottest of the region- due in large part to the popularity of the fiery chili paste harissa. As well as a strong French influence, pasta is a passion in Tunisia. Morocco's great forte is its tagines and sauces- with meat and fish being cooked in one of four popular sauces. And Libya, although less gastronomically subtle than Tunisia and Morocco, excels in soups and patisserie.

This culinary journey creates a vivid and sensual picture of how food is really shopped for and cooked in the private kitchens of some of the world's most extraordinary gastronomic cultures.

About The Author

After writing for years on travel, art, and design, her passion for food led to her first cookbook, New Tapas, followed by The North African Kitchen and Mexican Modern. Her latest is Andaluz: A Food Journey Through Southern Spain. Her travel writing has appeared in the Financial Times, The Telegraph, The Independent, The Guardian, BBC Travel and other publications. She is the author of National Geographic‘s guides to Spain and to Portugal, and has worked as a guest lecturer on their expeditions.

About The Illustrator

Product Details

  • Publisher: Interlink Books (May 16, 2023)
  • Length: 192 pages
  • ISBN13: 9781623717711

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Raves and Reviews

“Both cookbook and travelogue, this homage to the land of the Arabs and Berbers reveals mouth-watering and educational excursions into the region’s little towns and the kitchens of local professional chefs and home cooks. A little history adds to the mix, as British author Dunlop (Mexican Modern, 2013) explains how eight centuries of Moorish rule (from the eighth to the fifteenth century) defined southern Spain’s personality, culinary and otherwise. Glorious color photographs alone beckon; what differentiates this 100-plus recipe collection are its origins in the cafes and restaurants of Andalusia, relying on chefs to contribute the best of their best. No one will be disappointed. Both unique and familiar fare populate the pages: gazpacho, caramel bread pudding, lemon cake, and seafood paella; falafel with beet tahini, hummus, and pickles; a fig and almond roll. Chef profiles are featured in tandem with restaurant descriptions; who could resist, for instance, a table in the middle of a bullring, or a chat with an 80-year-old preparing marinated turkey. Includes notes on regional specialties, like iberico ham and black pigs, and an annotated list of the featured restaurants. A true work of art and love:

– — Booklist (starred review) of Andaluz

“In beautifully written prose that is sometimes lyrical, sometimes factual and always respectful, Fiona Dunlop takes us to the area of North Africa known as the Maghreb. The recipes are easy to follow and the photographs evoke not just the dishes of the region, but the region itself, while the stories show the great heart of this area of the world.”

– —www.inmamaskitchen.com

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More books from this author: Fiona Dunlop