Imad’s Syrian Kitchen: A Love Letter from Damascus

In this moving debut collection, restaurateur Alarnab writes plaintively of migrating from Syria to the U.K., and how cooking—including making meals on a hot plate for hundreds of his fellow refugees in a camp in Calais, France—got him through tough times. Alarnab would go on to open the London restaurant that gives the book its name in 2021, but upon arriving in the city as an undocumented migrant in 2015, he found work in a car wash, where he also slept at night. His unvarnished descriptions of the immigrant experience (“We were cold, exhausted, afraid of what came next”)—are movingly rendered and segue smoothly into recipes where generosity is the watchword. A chapter on spice mixes including dukkah (cumin, coriander, pink peppercorns, and two types of chilli flakes) and another on basics like the crispy onions that top many dishes lay a solid foundation for cuisine that is both homey and elegant. The collection features recipes suited to gathering and sharing: marinated lamb shoulder roasted with abundant garlic; spiced rice with shrimp; a large tray of baklava. Flatbreads are ideal for scooping and “there’s pretty much nothing that hummus doesn’t go with,” Alarnab writes, before offering a recipe for a big batch with a variety of topping choices. Instructions are clear and thoughtful throughout, but it’s the author’s personal experiences that make this heartfelt cookbook shine. (Jan.)