"I always knew of Samarkand, Uzbekistan as a famous crossroads of the Silk Road, and should have expected that to translate into a food culture as rich and complex as any other great city of antiquity; still, this cookbook was a delightful surprise. The recipes are delicious and the essays and photographs immerse you in the culture of this fascinating and relatively unknown part of the world. This book is a wonderful opportunity to experience a part of the world that has long fascinated poets and explorers alike."
Sweet to ride forth at evening from the wells
— When shadows pass gigantic on the sand,
And softly through the silence beat the bells
— Along the Golden Road to Samarkand.
-The Golden Journey to Samarkand, James Elroy Flecker
Publisher Kyle Books
Publication Date 2021-10-05
Section Cooking / All Staff Suggestions / Nonfiction Suggestions / Alex R.
Format Hardcover
ISBN 9780857839770
Over hundreds of years, various ethnic groups have passed through Samarkand, sharing and influencing each other’s cuisine and leaving their culinary stamp. This book is a love letter to Central Asia and the Caucasus, containing personal travel essays and recipes little known in the West that have been expertly adapted for the home cook.
An array of delicious dishes introduce the region and its different ethnic groups – Uzbek, Tajik, Russian, Turkish, Korean, Caucasian and Jewish – along with a detailed introduction on the Silk Road and a useful cupboard of essential ingredients.
Chapters are divided into Shared Table, Soups, Roast Meats & Kebabs, Warming Dishes, Pilavs & Plovs, Accompaniments, Breads & Doughs, Drinks and Desserts. 100 recipes are showcased, including Apricot & Red Lentil Soup, Chapli Kebabs with Tomato Relish, Rosh Hashanah Palov with Barberries, Pomegranate and Quince, Curd Pancakes with Red Berry Compote and the all-important breads of the region. And with evocative travel features like On the Road to Samarkand, A Banquet on the Caspian Sea and Shopping for Spices under Solomon’s Throne, you will be charmed and enticed by this region and its cuisine, which has remained relatively untouched in centuries.
