OP: Ziryab: Authentic Arab Cuisine
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Ici la Press, Woodbury, CT, 2002. Hardcover. Fine. First US printing.
Borrowing its name, Ziryab, from the eighth century Persian musician and gourmand, this book, first published in French in 1998 by Syrian scholar Farouk Mardam-Bey (1944– ), defies neat classification. It is at once a full-service cookbook, gastronomic history, and collection of folklore, all in celebration of Arab cuisine, both in its root form and its reimagining in the diaspora.
Despite its many faces, Ziryab does not confound but draws its readers in, sharing in the author’s enthusiasm and curiosity. Mardam-Bey’s tone is chatty, sometimes humorously diplomatic, as in his opening line to the section on apricots: “I hope my Armenian friends forgive me. Although the apricot’s name is Prunus Armeniaca, its origin is not Armenia, but China.”
Later, the author makes the case for pasta having Middle Eastern roots, humbly ending the essay, “I might be tempted to say that our ancestors the Arabs invented pasta, or else, that they greatly contributed to it. But I will not say so, out of modesty, and sympathy for Italy.”
Presented as a series of brief essays, some only a few paragraphs, Ziryab is easily consumed in handfuls—at home on the nightstand as much as in the kitchen. Handsomely illustrated by Odile Alliet.
Ours is a Fine first US printing, including the jacket.
