Musing on food with ‘queen of Eastern cooking’
The cuisine of Iran is evident throughout Sabrina Ghayour’s new cookbook, Sirocco
When Sabrina Ghayour saw the May cover of U.K.’s Delicious magazine hailing her as the “new queen of Eastern cooking,” she laughed for a good five minutes.
“I used to be the ‘Persian princess’ but I’ve obviously upgraded now to queen,” says Ghayour, whose second cookbook, Sirocco, features recipes influenced by both her Iranian and European heritage.
“If it makes people happy, then I’m so honoured to be even the Duchess of Middle Eastern cuisine.”
A self-taught cook who has been experimenting in the kitchen since she was 6 years old, Ghayour takes the praise in stride.
By now, she should be used to it: after the release of her first book, Persiana, in 2014, Ghayour was named by the Evening Standard as one of London’s 1,000 most influential people.
Ghayour was born in Tehran and the cuisine of her homeland is evident throughout Sirocco, where traditional explanations are paired with a fresh twist — the Grilled Peach and Gem Lettuce Salad recipe comes with a brief ode to the origins of the kebab. Ghayour also incorporates regional recipe blends and techniques, such as the Lebanese baharat and Moroccan ras el hanout.
She doesn’t claim any of the homestyle dishes to be authentic, but rather an expression of her personality and expertise.
“If we said ‘oh this is authentic Middle Eastern food,’ people from every country would knock on my door and be like ‘hey, hang on a second,’ ” says Ghayour, who moved to London in 1979 with her family.
“I’m not too pedantic about method, about highhonoured tradition,” she says.
“I write recipes based on what I’m actually, genuinely eating at home.”