Silk Roads

“Anna Ansari is a rare kind of home cook who is able to get under the skin of any cuisine and turn the simplest of ingredients into pure magic. She’s also one of the best writers I know: she’s witty, intelligent and very refreshing to read.” – Meera Sodha

“A real feast – vividly evocative, witty and enlightening. Utterly delicious.” – Felicity Cloake

“A superb culinary journey along Silk Roads less travelled.” – Jay Rayner

This is the story of the world’s most famous trade routes, retold through recipes.

In this rich and delicious cookbook, Iranian-American cook and writer Anna Ansari takes us on a culinary, historical, and personal odyssey across the Silk Roads.

Weaving together essays, family photography and 90 recipes, Ansari brings life to the flavours of the Silk Roads – from the walnut groves of her father’s Iranian childhood, across Central Asian markets brimming with fragrant melons and thronged with fat-tailed sheep, and into the neighborhoods of modern-day Chinese cities.

Discover delectable dishes from Baku to Beijing – Azeri-Iranian stews served with crispy-bottomed rice, dill-infused noodles from Western Uzbekistan, Georgian cornbread, Uyghur lamb chops and all kinds of dumplings, from fat, spiraled oromo to tiny, stuffed dushbara in a delicate saffron broth. Plus, you’ll find refreshing drinks and sharbats, and American-inspired desserts like apple pie with quince, sticky persimmon pudding, and walnut-studded spiced blondies.

“A book of delicious recipes interwoven with histories, family stories and a good dash of humour is what we all need just now.” – Olia Hercules