Zaitoun: Recipes and Stories from the Palestinian Kitchen

It is currently olive harvest season in Palestine, which makes it the perfect time to talk about Yasmin Khan’s book Zaitoun, which translates to “olive” in Arabic and is the essence of Palestinian cuisine. There are very few dishes in Palestine that are not either started or finished with a drizzle of olive oil.

This is not just a cookbook, as Yasmin shares not only the cuisine of the Palestinians, but also her experiences during her travel in the country. She takes us into the homes of Palestinians both in Palestine and in the diaspora. I especially like her honesty in telling their stories and how not everyone was thrilled at being seen as another subject of research. I believe she did a good job of telling their stories, highlighting their challenges and celebrating their food and culture.

This book has been shortlisted for the Palestine Book Awards 2019, please click here to read the full review on the Palestine Book Awards site