My wife lived in Syria and traveled in neighboring nations during her graduate work with a focus in Middle East studies. She really misses the food of that region, so I knew I needed to pick up Soframiz: Vibrant Middle East Recipes from Sofra Bakery and Cafe by Ana Sortun and Maura Kilpatrick. After flipping threw it, she concluded that it was heavy on the sweet side and didn’t really highlight the staples of the region. While I can’t speak to the authenticity, it is a book from a US café and two white American women who admittedly present nontraditional recipes inspired by the Middle East. Much of what makes these recipes Middle Eastern must be purchased. It appears that the authors do not provide recipes for basics because they don’t even make them, which is why they provide sources (brands and websites) they recommend. All this makes me wonder why one would need this cookbook for any reason other than attempting to replicate something one tried at their café. I found only four recipes I’ll use from this book (Monk Salad, Pita Bread, Yufka Dough, and Za’atar Bread), all of which are rather basic and easily manipulated to preference.
*I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.
