Cookbooks worth your shelf

Two books carry Palestinian home cooking into print.

The Gaza Kitchen by Laila El-Haddad and Maggie Schmitt (2012) documents Gaza’s home cooking and the lives around it: chilli, dill, maftoul, careful frugality, and generosity anyway. The Palestinian Table by Reem Kassis (2017) maps family recipes across the regions and was shortlisted for the Andre Simon food book award.

Cook one dish from each and you will understand the country better than most news reports will tell you.