Silk Road | Cook Books and Recipes

Just beefed up the Silk Road Section of my Scriptorium with two new cooking titles: the first is Silk Road Cooking: A Vegetarian Journey. I am an omnivore but I do like vegetarian repasts and this coffee table-type book has some great recipes to say nothing of nice photos and interesting essays on various aspects of the Silk Road. 

Then there’s The Silk Road Gourmet by renowned Chef and Tethys Sea Expert Laura Kelly.

I have read through both books and will have updates on the various recipes soon. In the meantime here is a Good Kebab Recipe from Sasha Martin at Global Table Adventure.

Mouth-wateringly delectable Kebabs 

Sasha Martin It’s hard to say which is the most intoxicating, the wine or her eyes.

Although I have had it in the Scriptorium for quite a while, perhaps now is the proper time to mention A Baghdad Cookery Book. 

This book is not only of culinary but also of historical interest, since it dates to the thirteenth century, presumably before the arrival of Khülügu Khan in Baghdad in 1258. Arabist A. J. Arberry first translated the text in 1939; the current translation is by culinary historian Charles Perry. Provides some interesting insights into what was tickling the palates of Mesopotamians during the Caliphate. For more on this you might also want to see Annals of the Caliphs' Kitchens.