The Middle Eastern Vegetarian Cookbook wins a James Beard Award in the “Vegetable Cooking” category.

‘Rather than serving up a formal three-course meal, why not try Salma Hage’s make-ahead authentic Middle Eastern mezze feast that everyone can dip into?’

“It wasn’t a matter of being the right time, more something that came naturally to me.”

‘Following the worldwide success of her debut cookbook, accidental author Salma Hage returns with a vegetarian take on the exciting flavours of the Middle East.’

‘A vibrant and approachable collection of more than 140 Middle Eastern vegetarian recipes.’

‘The Middle Eastern Vegetarian Cookbook by grand-dame Salma Hage, author of the bestseller The Lebanese Kitchen, is out in April.’

‘In the introduction to her latest release, The Middle Eastern Vegetarian Cookbook, Salma Hage recalls the communal nature of preparing food in the Lebanese village in which she grew up—stringing together beans to dry, pickling turnips, and making batches of her grandmother’s beloved tomato paste. Hage is not vegetarian, but when her son Joe axed meat from his diet, she began adapting favorite recipes to suit his needs. Often she didn’t need to—so many classic Middle Eastern dishes are meat-free that the cuisine is a vegetarian’s dream.’

“They push me to try new things every week and that keeps me interested,” she says. “They’ve become passionate vegetarians, so I’ve started to revisit the recipes I used to cook as a child.”