Arto der Haroutunian – författare

This book is about vegetables: the known, the little known and the few still largely unknown. It is vegetarian because vegetables are at their best when treated as they are without the addition of meat, fish or poultry. What is collected here is a rich, wholesome repertoire of fascinating recipes reflecting mans tireless drive to create food that flatters his palate, fills his stomach and satisfies his bodily needs.

All Arto der Haroutunian’s twelve cookbooks written in the 1980s became classics; it was his belief that the rich culinary tradition of the Middle East is the main source of many of our Western cuisines and his books were intended as an introduction to that tradition. His Sweets & Desserts of the Middle East is regarded as the seminal work on the subject but it had been out of print for almost thirty years. At last here in a new edition is the Middle Eastern cookbook that everyone wants. In this book he takes us on a sumptuous and erudite tour of one of the delights of Middle Eastern cuisine. Sweets and desserts occupy a special place in those lands where natutal food resources can sometimes be limited. The people have made supreme the art of creating delights from very little and in doing do have enriched their world with wafer-thin pastries, luscious halvas, crunchy biscuits, exotic fruits and cool refreshing sorbets. Many Middle Eastern desserts are very sweet (literally soaked in honey or syrup) and yet their variety is infinite. It reflects the multifarious origins and races of the people of the region and combines ancient traditions and modern influences. One basic sweet may have been adapted in a dozen different ways. Tantalisingly fragrant, sweet and succulent or dry and spiced with the aroma of the East they transport us as if by magic carpet to the exotic lands of the orient. There are recipes for sesame and date baklavas, almond and pistachio coated biscuits, tempting stuffed fruits, rich mousses, delicate sorbets and syrups, jams and preserves, all of which may tempt you to conjure up these Middle Eastern delicacies in your own home.

Every one of the 12 cookbooks Arto der Haroutunian wrote became a classic; his thoughtful, erudite writing helped to explain to westerners the subtlety, complexity and diversity of Middle Eastern and North African cooking. In Vegetarian Dishes from the Middle East he collected together a treasury of recipes. The cooking of vegetables is treated with reverence in the in the lands that make up the rich and varied tapestry of the Middle East. The people depend on the grains and pulses, nuts, vegetables and fruits of the region for their daily food. Here are warm and spicy stuffed vegetables, cool and fragrant soups, delicate preserves, pilafs, breads, pickles, relishes and pastries. Arto der Haroutunian was born in Aleppo, Syria in 1940 and grew up in the Levant, but came to England with his parents as a child and remained here for most of his life. He studied architecture at Manchester University and established a career designing restaurants, clubs and hotels. In 1970, in partnership with his brother, he opened the first Armenian restaurant in Manchester which eventually became a successful chain of six restaurants and two hotels. Given his passion for cooking it was a natural progression that he should then begin to write cookery books as they combined his love of food with his great interest in the history and culture of the region. It was his belief that the rich culinary tradition of the Middle East is the main source of many of our Western cuisines and his books were intended as an introduction to that tradition. All the many cookbooks written by Der Haroutunian have now been out of print for many years and second hand copies fetch hundreds of pounds. He died in 1987 at the untimely age of 47. He is survived by his wife and son who still live in Manchester. As well as his passion for cooking, Arto der Haroutunian was a painter of international reputation who exhibited all over the world. His other interests included composing music and translating Turkish, Arab, Persian and Armenian authors. He was a true polymath.

Arto der Haroutunian takes adventurous cooks on a tour of the cuisines of Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya in this comprehensive guide to North African food. There are over 300 recipes for traditional dishes such as tagines, stews, soups, and salads using classic ingredients such as fiery spices, jewel-like dried fruits, lemons, and armfuls of fresh herbs. Simplicity is at the heart of the medina kitchen. The exotic fuses with the domestic to produce dishes that are highly flavoured yet quick and easy to prepare. Vegetables are prepared in succulent and unusual ways while dishes such as chicken honey and onion couscous, and 'gazelle horns' filled with almonds, sugar and orange blossom water provide a feast for both the imagination and the palate.

The basis of society in Arabia, especially in the south, was agriculture – cereals, aromatics and spices were produced and exported via the caravan routes which passed from Syria through Arabia to the Yemen. Thus Arab dishes are subtle, varied and exotic. The basic diet largely comprised, and still does, dates, rice, milk, goat or lamb meat and coffee.The patchwork of peoples and countries that form this medley comprise dishes from Egypt – some of the oldest recipes in the world such as melokhia, the famous soup of the Pharaohs. From Syria – an enormous range of vegetable salads. From Lebanon – sun-ripened fruits. From Iraq – date, hazelnut, mushroom and fig recipes. From Armenia and Kurdistan – the cracked wheat burghul dishes. From Cappadocia – the exotic flavours of sesame and tahini. From the Caucasus – the vast array of kebabs. From Assyria and Armenia – classic stuffed vegetable dishes – mahsi, and from Persia – yogurt dishes, fabulous rice dishes, sherbets and sweet and sour dishes.Incorporating the history, traditions, and techniques of these countries Arto der Haroutunian has assembled an unparalleled breadth of recipes representing the whole gamut of Arab cooking.