Comptoir Libanais, subtitled A Feast of Lebanese-style Home Cooking has been written by Tony Kitous, owner and founder of the popular Comptoir Libanais restaurants, along with Dan Lepart, cookbook author and photographer. Between them they have created a book that is a feast for the eyes with its superb photography and thanks to Tony’s delicious looking recipes for the taste buds too.
We were recently introduced to the spice sumac, with its delicious sour/astringent/lemony flavour, and as soon as we can track down some squid we shall definitely be attempting the straight-forward sounding Almond-crusted Squid with Sumac Mayonnaise.
Labneh is another favourite of ours, and much to our delight the recipe for this easy light and delicious soft cheese –like dish (actually it is made with strained yoghurt) is included along with some ideas for varying the flavours.
Tony’s advice throughout the book is that things should be fresh and light thereby allowing the ingredients to retain their natural flavours. Quite delicious!
Comptoir Libanais. Tony Kitous & Dan Lepard. Preface. ISBN 978-1-848-093993-5. £20. www.randomhouse.co.uk