Louisa Shafia

The book is printed on plain paper, clearly visible print and many (in my opinion not enough) color photos of many of the dishes. A few of the dishes come w/ a "vegetarian" option, the titles are printed in English in red with the Farsi below in a smaller brown script. There is a small explanation of the dish w/ optional variations & serving suggestions & the number of servings. The recipes & ingredients are clear easy to read & follow... but Middle Eastern cooking takes a bit of time when it comes to preparation, so these are not quick & easy meals.

I really enjoy the discussion of spices, many of which I often use, and I found a better way to prepare my saffron before adding it to my dishes.

The book is broken down to the following sections: Introduction; Overview; Guide to Persian Ingredients; ten (10) sections of Recipe; Menus; Resources; Acknowledgements; About the Author; and Index.

The recipes for the most part are gluten free, use minimal of oil & fat, and call for alternatives to white sugar. There are several Jewish/Kosher recipes, which in my mind do not mix with the other dishes.

Starters & Snacks: As the authors states Iranians really do not serve "appetizers" but a series of small plates to awaken the the palate & appetite.... Whole grilled fava beans; Winter squash fritters w/ rose petals; New potatoes w/ dill & lemon; Turkish roasted tomato & red pepper dip (Armenians serve this too); Garlicky eggplant & tomato spread; Passover Charoset (see...Kosher).

Soups: Cold pistachio w/ mint & leeks; Saffron corn soup (this sounded really good); "Persian 'Matzoh Balls' w/ chickpeas & chicken (Riiiight); Savory amaranth & turkey porridge; Cleansing spring nettle soup; and one of My Favorites Ash-e Reshteh (Bean, herb & noodle soup).

Salads: Chicken w/ potatoes & olives (Salad Olivie); Tomato & Cucumber; Vinegar carrots w/ toasted sesame seeds; & Radish, rhubarb & strawberry.

Vegetable & Egg Entrees: Herb frittata w/ walnuts & rose petals (Kuku sabzi, very often served during lent & easter w/ fish); Roasted stuffed artichokes w/ mint oil (this sounded good); Stuffed tomatoes w/ pistachio pesto; and Tempeh kebabs w/ minty cilantro-lime sauce.

Meat & Fish Entrees: Chilie-saffron fish kebabs; Parvin's tamarind stuffed fish; Lamb kebabs in pomegranate-walnut marinade (fesenjan sauce); Grilled liver w/ cumin, garlic, & fresh basil; and Turmeric chicken w/ sumac & lime.

Main Dish Stews & casseroles: Pomegranate walnut stew (fesenjan); Barley stew w/ lamb & rhubarb; Seared chicken & peaches; Green herb & kidney bean stew w/ dried lemons (Gormeh sabzi, my favorite); and Persian gulf style spicy tamarind fish stew.

Rice & Grains: Saffron rice (my favorite); Sweet rice w/ carrots & nuts; Rice w/ rose petals & barberries (sour); Quinoa w/ french lentils, wild rice & golden raisins; and Rice w/ favas (or limas) & fresh dill (another of my favorites & easy to make).

Sweets: Chickpea & almond flour icebox cookies (yum); Rhubarb & rose water sorbet w/ rice noodles; pomegranate semifreddo w/ blood orange compote; Amaranth rice pudding w/ rose water; and No-bake persimmon & goat cheese cheesecake.

Beverages: Salty mint yogurt soda; Sour cherry spritzer (so refreshing in summer); Cardomon coffee; Naturally sweet dried lime tea; and Winter orchard tea.

Pickles and Preserves: Sour plum pickle; Mixed vegetable pickle; Fig mustard; Tamarind date chutney; and Sour cherry & rose preserves.… (altro)

Lucid Food arrives, already a present, gorgeous with scrolling artwork and vibrant images, wrapped and ready. I am enamored. Also, I am hungry. Thumbing past photography for Chickpea Cakes with a verdant green Cilantro-Jalapeno Sauce, Fall Fruit Focaccia succulent with apple wedges, Crispy Yuba Rolls that look toasty brown and crunchy, ready to dip, I confess to some absent-minded lip licking. On the second pass, I’m stuck on the Ash-e-reshteh, or Persian New Year’s Soup with Beans, Noodles and Herbs, all the colorful, herby bits crowded into a steaming bowl.

Louisa Shafia knows how to eat well, fashioning meals from quality produce and local fare. Nestled amid the recipes are the nuggets of valuable health information that expand Lucid Food from a mere (heavenly) cookbook to kitchen notebook. Shafia’s voice, warm and genuine, weaves her decades of food knowledge throughout the book, sharing her notes on sustainability, locality, and old-fashioned DIY values.

I’ll admit I am obsessed with the new wave of seasonal collections. Particularly, I enjoy the variety of produce that pop up in these, even if it isn’t always available in rural Kansas. These are people bedeviled by produce. (My kind of people.) Shafia adds a rich reference to the home cook’s stash, reimagining tired winter vegetables into savory staples.

Poised to win a spot on my shelf of beloved, dog-eared cookbooks, Lucid Food serves up nearly 100 delectable recipes, only about a dozen featuring fish or meat. (It’s not frowned upon, don’t worry about harsh words; it’s simply not the focus here.) There aren’t photos of every recipe, but the photos included showcase lush preparations of plump, perfectly-cooked veggies with occasional animal proteins tucked in.

Shafia is one of the rare chefs able to communicate her intensity about quality, seasonal ingredients in amiable terms. No lectures here, simply facts and considerable inspiration for making dinnertime shine. And extraordinary food, with a little help from Shafia, speaks for itself.… (altro)