Arabiyya

Starred review from March 7, 2022
In this knockout debut, Assil, owner of San Francisco bakery Reem’s California, wryly and skillfully kneads a call for social awareness with an invitation to the table via “recipes for resilience” that are inspired by her Arab heritage. A primer on bread-baking and its cultural significance offers two master recipes for dough (one using sourdough, and the other, commercial yeast) that is used to fashion disks baked on an overturned wok, flatbreads topped with lamb, and sesame-crusted pouches, called ka’ak, that resemble purses. Sweets include nests of laminated dough with quince preserves, Yemeni honeycomb bread, and three kinds of baklava. Expert instruction and commentary appear throughout: a recipe for hummus, for instance, comes with a sidebar on culinary appropriation (“The word hummus means ‘chickpea’ in Arabic—not ‘dip.’ Calling it black bean tahini hummus is like calling a hamburger ham”) and is accompanied by a range of spreads, including one that incorporates smoked fish and caramelized onions. Assil also showcases variations on familiar standards: falafel encases a spicy onion mixture, while labor-intensive ma’amoul cookies are streamlined as bars. This is packed with delicious food and universal truths—chief among them that, “through our food, we create home wherever we are.”

March 1, 2022

Award-winning chef Assil writes that "Middle Eastern cuisine" can be an ambiguous term; the "Middle of whose East?" she asks. She aims for specificity in this Arab diaspora cookbook, whose recipes gain depth and context from Assil's account of her roots in Palestine and Syria and of her family's immigration to Lebanon, Massachusetts, and California. The recipes are straightforward and geared to home cooks; each has a headnote, outlining the dish's significance to Assil and her family, and offering prep or storage tips. Assil owns the San Francisco bakery Reem's California, so recipes for breads and desserts (like hazelnut-praline baklava rolls with milk and honey) make up a large portion of her book, rounded out by vegetables, pickles, mezze, main plates, and drinks. Photographs of Assil's family are interspersed with photos of the dishes; for some recipes, particularly baked goods, step-by-step photos provide more guidance. A detailed spice chart is also very useful, covering flavors, uses, and possible substitutions, followed by recipes for several spice mixes used throughout the book. VERDICT Part memoir, part cultural primer, but mostly cookbook, Assil's work is a delicious take on cuisines and cultures of the Arab diaspora.--Susan Hurst

Copyright 2022 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 1, 2022
California bakery owner and social justice advocate Assil draws from her grandparents' diasporic journey across the Middle East and eventually to the U.S. as the inspiration for the recipes in her first cookbook. She starts by introducing home chefs to the building blocks of Arab cooking--spice blends and pastes--before sending readers to the hearth with a comprehensive guide to both sweet and savory bakes. Practical, step-by-step photos show techniques for shaping and cooking breads, pouches, flatbreads, and more. Traditional flavors are rounded out with chapters devoted to small plates, mains, and veggie dishes that are a balance of time-honored technique and modern interpretation. Readers will enjoy Assil's family discovery and personal culinary journey that are threaded throughout the book. Assil delivers her family's recipes to readers' kitchens with warmth while not shying away from the trauma that created the uniqueness of their food legacy. Arabiyya can serve as both a popular introduction to Arab cooking and a fantastic inspiration for home chefs wanting to spice up their meals and bakes.

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