Falastin: A Cookbook

A ground-breaking Middle Eastern cookbook from the co-author of Ottolenghi- The Cookbook and Jerusalem, and co-founder of the innovative Ottolenghi delis.

Winner of Fortnum & Mason Cookery Book of the Year 2021

‘This lavish compendium of Palestinian recipes… photographed so vividly you can almost smell the freshly chopped parsley.’ The Times

‘a vibrant collection of recipes that reflect Palestinian traditions and yet is utterly contemporary… I really want to cook everything in this.’ Nigella Lawson

FALASTIN is a love letter to Palestine. An evocative collection of over 110 unforgettable recipes and stories from the co-authors of Jerusalem and Ottolenghi- The Cookbook, and Ottolenghi SIMPLE.

Travelling through Bethlehem, East Jerusalem, Nablus, Haifa, Akka, Nazareth, Galilee and the West Bank, Sami and Tara invite you to experience and enjoy unparalleled access to Sami’s homeland. As each region has its own distinct identity and tale to tell, there are endless new flavour combinations to discover.

The food is the perfect mix of traditional and contemporary, with recipes that have been handed down through the generations and reworked for a modern home kitchen, alongside dishes that have been inspired by Sami and Tara’s collaborations with producers and farmers throughout Palestine.

With stunning food and travel photography plus stories from unheard Palestinian voices, this innovative cookbook will transport you to this rich land.

So get ready to laden your table with the most delicious of foods – from abundant salads, soups and wholesome grains to fluffy breads, easy one-pot dishes and perfumed sweet treats – here are simple feasts to be shared and everyday meals to be enjoyed. These are stunning Palestinian-inspired dishes that you will want to cook, eat, fall in love with and make your own.

Author Biography

Sami Tamimi (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 1990s.

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.

Alongside Yotam Ottolenghi, Sami Tamimi is co-author of two bestselling cookbooks- Ottolenghi- The Cookbook and Jerusalem- A Cookbook, which the New York Times recently named as one of the 25 most influential cookbooks from the last 100 years. Sami’s third cookbook Falastin is co-authored with Tara Wigley and won the Fortnum & Mason Cookery Book of the Year 2021. Sami’s first solo cookbook, Boustany, will be published in 2025.

Tara Wigley (Author) Tara Wigley spent a decade working in publishing – at the Abner Stein Literary Agency in London and then Simon & Schuster – before going to cookery school in Ireland when her twins were 18 months old. She met Yotam Ottolenghi in 2011 and has been writing in collaboration with him ever since. She began by developing, testing and writing recipes for Yotam’s weekly column in the Guardian magazine and his longer monthly column, in 2017, for the New York Times. Plenty More. NOPI- The Cookbook, SWEET and Ottolenghi SIMPLE were all written with Tara.

Yotam Ottolenghi (Foreword By) Yotam Ottolenghi is the restaurateur and chef-patron of the nine Ottolenghi delis, as well as the NOPI and ROVI restaurants. He is the author of eleven bestselling and multi-award-winning cookery books. His championing of vegetables, as well as ingredients once seen as ‘exotic’, has led to what some call ‘The Ottolenghi effect’. This is shorthand for the creation of a meal which is full of colour, flavour, bounty and sunshine. Yotam lives in London with his family. www.ottolenghi.co.uk @Ottolenghi