The Middle East

The Middle East covers the Levant, meaning Palestine, Lebanon, Syria and Israel, as well as Iran, Iraq and the Gulf states.

Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi were born in Jerusalem on opposite sides of the city and together wrote Jerusalem in 2012, one of the bestselling and most influential cookbooks of recent decades. It turned tahini, za'atar, sumac, pomegranate molasses and labneh into staples of Western kitchens and helped establish vegetarian dishes as main courses rather than concessions.

Tamimi has since documented Palestinian cooking in its own right in Falastin, while Reem Kassis has done similar work from within her own family tradition.

Sabrina Ghayour represents Persian cooking, which differs markedly from that of the Levant with its saffron rice dishes with tahdig, tart fruit stews and dried lime.

Throughout the region you find spiced vegetables, pulses, sesame, acidity from lemon and pomegranate, grilled lamb and bread in every form. It is also the region where meze originated as a way of eating, with many small dishes served at once instead of a single main course.