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Lugma: Abundant Dishes & Stories from My Middle East
Noor Murad (Quadrille)
One of the greatest tests of a cookbook is not just whether the recipes appeal on first glance, but whether they have the power to weave themselves into your regular cooking life. By this measure, Lugma is my top food book this year. Its author, Noor Murad, is a young Bahraini-British food writer who has previously worked with Ottolenghi. It is a delight to find her writing here in her own voice about the Middle Eastern ingredients that mean so much to her (you’ll need black limes!). The recipes hit a sweet spot between ease and specialness. Even a simple side dish of greens becomes a feast, sauteed with fried onions and turmeric oil. Alongside a pantheon of rice dishes for celebrations, there are simpler midweek hits such as tuna jacket potatoes enlivened with a spicy tomato sauce and preserved lemons. Noor’s deeply fragrant Middle Eastern bolognese is now the recipe against which I judge all other ragus.
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