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With the first of Spring and Norooz around the corner, Persian feasts are on our minds. Delicious and delectable grilled meats, jeweled rices, and fresh stews will be on family tables everywhere. There is no better time to Master the Art of Persian Cooking from top Persian chefs. Learn from the masters themselves. Dazzle your family and guests with something new and unexpected!
These stunning cookbooks provide vivid and mouthwatering recipes that range from traditional to modern takes on Persian cuisine. Even the most seasoned Persian home cooks will learn new recipes and modern upgrades to their family recipes. For the next generation, they provide wonderful gifts, while serving as guides to traditional dishes and Persian culture. My kids absolutely love their cookbooks. They proudly show off their skills to friends and display them as coffee table books as a sign of heritage. Follow along and learn how to Master the Art of Persian Cooking!
Persian Cooking Is Fresh and Healthy
Persian cooking is rich with flavor, making it seem rather intimidating and time consuming to tackle in the kitchen. While some dishes may take more time, there are many fast and fresh ways to add Persian flavor to your table. Above all, it’s a healthy way of eating, since ingredients are wholesome and fresh.
Persian Shallot Yogurt Dip, Olives and Herbs
“Most Iranians will happily explain … why Persian cooking is healthier than other kinds of cooking …”, Louise Shafia explains in her book The New Persian Kitchen. Indeed, the use of fresh staples, such as finely chopped green herbs, serve as a base for stews. Other stews use fresh vegetables, such as eggplant, okra and tomatoes mixed with meats. Moreover, many dishes easily become vegetarian dishes with the elimination of meats. It’s a delicious marriage of fresh flavors!
Beautiful, delicious rice platters are jeweled with dried fruits, herbs, nuts and legumes. Platters of fresh bread, herbs, walnuts and feta cheese are always at breakfast. Pomegranates, dates and fresh fruits add color and natural sweetness on desserts tables. The use of fresh herbs, vegetables, nuts and fruits brings out extraordinary flavor, while making dishes fresh and healthy.
Saffron Shines in Persian Cooking
Saffron shines in Persian cooking as the star of dishes. Naz Deravian calls it “liquid gold” on her award-winning food blog. For thousands of years, this ancient spice has been used in Persian cooking. In fact, Iran produces over 90% of global saffron production. Saffron’s red and golden threads come from small amounts of dried crocus stamens that are harvested manually by hand. It’s quite labor intensive, with one pound of saffron coming from 75,000 saffron flowers, hence making it extremely pricey. While adding beautiful golden color to rice dishes, it is also used as a medicinal plant with immense health benefits. It’s often considered an antioxidant boost, PMS reliever, erectile dysfunction treatment, depression treatment, and weight loss aid. Due to its high price tag, use it carefully and artfully.
Learn from the Masters in Persian Cooking
While Persian food may seem daunting to prepare, you can most certainly Master the Art of Persian Cooking. Several Master Chefs have emerged with beautiful, easy-to-follow cookbooks providing step-by-step recipes.
Persian Cuisine
- Najmieh Batmanglij: The Grand Dame of Persian Cooking is Najmieh Batmanglij. She is undoubtedly one of the pioneers and most well known of Persian chefs. She has published several cookbooks that have helped countless people Master the Art of Persian Cooking. With over 40 years of experience, she has been hailed as “the guru of Persian cuisine” by The Washington Post. Her Food of Life was called “the definitive book on Iranian cooking” by the Los Angeles Times. From traditional to regional dishes, her cookbooks are true love letters to the Persian culture and must-have books.
Completely redesigned for today's generation of cooks and food enthusiasts, the 25th Anniversary Edition of Food of Life: Ancient Persian and Modern Iranian Cooking and Ceremonies by Najmieh Batmanglij provides a treasure trove of recipes, along with an immersive cultural experience for those seeking to understand this ancient and timeless cuisine.
In Joon, master chef Najmieh Batmanglij distills one of the world's oldest and most influential cuisines to capture its unique flavors in recipes adapted to suit our busy lives. 75 Persian recipes made simple: many requiring only one pot and less than an hour to cook while keeping the authentic flavors of Iran. Includes many vegan and vegetarian options.
Another gem from the grand dame of Persian cooking, Najmieh Batmanglij, Cooking in Iran: Regional Recipes and Kitchen Secrets contains more than 250 recipes and 400 photographs from different regional specialties in Iran. It is packed with inspiring ideas and practical tips—everything you’ll need for recreating glorious dishes so that you can embark on a culinary journey of your own.
- Naz Deravian: Naz Deravian is a writer, actor and food blogger born in Iran, yet also lived in Italy, Canada and the US over the years. Her cookbook, Bottom of the Pot, is a loving ode to Persian cooking. It not only has wonderful recipes to use in your kitchen, but it is a beautiful coffee table book as well. While her family moved from Iran to different countries, they kept their Persian heritage alive through the love of Persian food. Of course, they always saved the best for last … the golden crunchy rice found on the bottom of the pot.
Naz Deravian is a writer and actor born in Iran, who grew up in Italy and Canada, and now lives in Los Angeles with her husband and two children. She is the award-winning voice behind the food blog Bottom of the Pot, which won the 2015 International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP) Award for best culinary blog. She has also been twice nominated in several categories for the Saveur Food Blog Awards. Naz has been profiled in The New York Times, Sunset magazine, and Condé Nast Traveler, among others.
- Nasim Alikhani: A newcomer to the cookbook scene is Nasim Alikhani, chef of the famous Sofreh Restaurant in Brooklyn, New York. In 2018 and at age 59, she followed her heart and opened Sofreh in Brooklyn, which has won wide acclaim. In fact, reservations are quite hard to come by, requiring reservations well in advance. She has over 30 years experience cooking and was one of 10 chefs recently asked to participate in the Met Gala 2021 menu. She is an inspiring example of how age should never be a factor in chasing your dreams. Her latest book, Sofreh: A Contemporary Approach to Classic Persian Cuisine: A Cookbook is was just released in June, 2023 and can be ordered here.
The much-anticipated cookbook—an exquisite collection of Persian recipes—from Sofreh, one of Brooklyn’s most acclaimed restaurants. Here is the timeless, soul-satisfying food of Persia, with its trademark bold herb and spice flavors, succulent, savory stews and stuffed meats, vast bounty of brightly pickled vegetables and fresh fruits, and much, much more. Containing more than 120 recipes, Sofreh brings together traditional Iranian dishes and modern Sofreh favorites.
- Louise Shafa: Louise Shafa is author of The New Persian Kitchen. From New York to Nashville, she has been exposing countless people to beautiful Persian food. Her fresh and modern take on traditional Persian dishes is refreshing and updated. In her book, she describes Persian cuisine as a “lush garden in the desert”. She strives to create traditional dishes with the health conscious in mind, using whole grains, gluten-free flours, minimal oils and alternatives to white sugar.
![The New Persian Kitchen: [A Cookbook]](https://modernemptynester.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/61dWNvc3-8L._SL500_.webp)
In The New Persian Kitchen, Louisa Shafia explores her Iranian heritage by reimagining classic Persian recipes from a fresh, vegetable-focused perspective. These vibrant recipes demystify Persian ingredients like rose petals, dried limes, tamarind, and sumac, while offering surprising preparations for familiar foods such as beets, carrots, mint, and yogurt for the busy, health-conscious cook.
- Sabrina Ghayour: Tehran-born Sabrina Ghayour is a British-American chef and host of the supper club, Sabrina’s Kitchen. She’s the “go-to” girl for Persian and Middle Eastern recipes in London. She is also author of Persiana, Simply and Bazaar to name a few. Designed to ensure maximum flavor with the greatest of ease – including no-cook, quick-prep, quick-cook and one-pot dishes, Persiana Everyday is her latest cookbook, full of generous, inviting and delicious recipes to cook again and again for family and friends.
This all-new collection of more than 100 fuss-free, crowd-pleasing recipes for everyday eating from from Tehran-born Sabrina Ghayour's award-winning, Sunday Times bestselling cookbook Persiana. Designed to ensure maximum flavor with the greatest of ease - including no-cook, quick-prep, quick-cook and one-pot dishes, Persiana Everyday is full of generous, inviting and delicious recipes to cook again and again for family and friends.
- Yasmin Khan: Yasmin Khan is a best-selling and award-winning author, broadcaster who shares her passion with food through stories from Iranian home kitchens. Her books intersect food, travel and politics. With stunning photography from all corners of Iran, this book with beautiful recipes shows off the beauty of the country, life and flavors of Iran.
The Saffron Tales: Recipes from the Persian Kitchen is glorious celebration of the food and people of Iran, featuring stories from home kitchens and more than 80 delicious, modern recipes. Her quest took her from the snowy mountains of Tabriz to the cosmopolitan cafés of Tehran and the pomegranate orchards of Isfahan, where she was welcomed into the homes of artists, farmers, electricians, and teachers. Through her travels, she gained a unique insight into the culinary secrets of the Persian kitchen, and the lives of ordinary Iranians today.
Preserve the Heritage of Persian Cooking
These beautiful cookbooks not only provide glorious Persian recipes, but they preserve Persian heritage for generations to come. Whether you are a seasoned Persian chef or new to this cuisine, you can definitely whip up a Persian feast and Master the Art of Persian Cooking. Delve into the beauty of what this culture has to offer. Your tastebuds will thank you over and over again.
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