Boustany: A celebration of vegetables from my Palestine
About this ebook
A homage to Palestinian food and culture, Boustany, is the first solo cookbook from Sami Tamimi, Ottolenghi co-founder and champion of Palestinian food and culture.
Boustany translates from Arabic as 'My Garden', and the down-to-earth, relaxed and plentiful recipes are reflective of Sami's signature style and approach to food. Bold, inspiring and ever-evolving, Boustany picks up where Falastin left off, with flavour-packed, colourful and simple vegetable- and grain-led dishes; this is how Sami grew up eating - platters of aubergine and chickpeas with a spicy green lemon sauce and fragrant lentil fatteh that always tasted better the next day. These are the dishes he has known, loved, cooked and shared with friends.
With over 100 recipes, Sami offers recipes for breakfast, sharing plates, big celebrations, simple breads, moreish sweet treats, easy dinners and more. It’s an approach that’s strongly present in Palestinian cuisine, from building your mooneh, or pantry, by preserving seasonal vegetables and herbs to lining the dinner table with a variety of salads and condiments reflective of a love for fresh and vibrant food.
About the author
Sami Tamimi was born and raised in Jerusalem and was immersed in food from childhood. He started his career as commis-chef in a Jerusalem hotel and worked his way up to become head chef of Lilith, one of the top restaurants in Tel Aviv in the 1990’s.
Sami moved to London in 1997 and worked at Baker & Spice as head chef, where he set up a traiteur section with a rich Middle-Eastern and Mediterranean spread. In 2002 he partnered with Noam Bar and Yotam Ottolenghi to set up Ottolenghi in Notting Hill. At Ottolenghi, Sami and Yotam created a concept that has proven a huge success from day one, serving trademark savoury food and pastries, providing catering and running two busy restaurants in central London. Over the years, Sami was in charge of food creativity and nurturing younger chefs around the company.
Alongside Yotam Ottolenghi, Sami Tamimi is co-author of two bestselling cookbooks: Ottolenghi: The Cookbook and Jerusalem: A Cookbook. Sami’s third cookbook Falastin is co-authored with Tara Wigley and was the winner of the Fortnum & Mason Cookery Book of the Year 2021.
