The Saffron Tales

A glorious celebration of the food and people of Iran: stories from home kitchens and more than 80 delicious modern recipes

‘This is so much more than a compilation of recipes, gorgeous though they themselves are. This is a book that tells a story, both cultural and personal, and her voice is as engaging as her food’Nigella Lawson ‘Barberries, fresh herbs, date molasses, dried limes, saffron; Yasmin’s Persian pantry staples are a roll call of my favourite ingredients. Her recipes are a mouthwatering showcase of a beautiful country’ Yotam Ottolenghi‘Not just a great cookbook but a book full of stories – a love letter to Iran and its people’ Diana Henry Armed with little more than a notebook and a bottle of pomegranate molasses, British-Iranian cook Yasmin Khan traversed Iran in search of the country’s most delicious recipes. Her quest took her from the snowy mountains of Tabriz and the paddyfields of Gilan 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. In The Saffron Tales, Yasmin weaves together a tapestry of stories from Iranian home kitchens with exclusive photography and fragrant, modern recipes that are rooted in the rich tradition of Persian cooking. All fully accessible for the home cook, Yasmin’s recipes range from the inimitable fesenjoon (chicken with walnuts and pomegranates) to kofte berenji (lamb meatballs stuffed with prunes and barberries) and ghalyieh maygoo (prawn, coriander and tamarind stew). She also offers a wealth of vegetarian dishes, including tahcheen (baked saffron and aubergine rice) and domaj (mixed herb, flatbread and feta salad), as well as sumptuous desserts such as rose and almond cake, and sour cherry and dark chocolate cookies. With stunning photography from all corners of Iran and gorgeous recipe images, this lavish cookbook rejoices in the land, life, flavours and food of an enigmatic and beautiful country.