Notes about Recipes in this book

• Sugar syrup (Attar)

  • j.va on May 17, 2021

    I made the orange blossom variation to use as the soak for the Walnut Baklava (pg.222) as recommended. No amounts are given for the orange juice/zest, but I found 1 tsp orange zest and 2 Tbsps fresh orange juice to work very well. This rounded out the orange blossom water so it had floral notes rather than being overpowering. Exceptional on the baklava...have since used the leftover syrup for yogurt/granola cups and as a cocktail mixer in place of usual simple syrup. Delicious.

• Roasted eggplant, yogurt, and tahini dip (Moutabal)

  • j.va on May 17, 2021

    Delicious moutabal recipe. I've made this three times so far and tried italian (teardrop shaped) and globe: italian eggplant yields the best result. Depending on the lemon size I found 2 Tbsps of juice to be the ideal amount. The garlic will bloom as it rests, so either make it roughly when you plan to eat it or soak the garlic in the lemon juice for 10 minutes (straining out the garlic afterwards) before adding the lemon juice for something that tastes the same on day 3 as it did when you made it.

• Hummus with tahini (Hummus bi tahini)

  • valbe on January 29, 2023

    Boiling the canned chickpeas with sodium bicarbonate is a step well worth doing as the end result was indeed smooth and creamy even with just a stick blender.

• Traditional red lentil soup (Shorbat adas)

  • alysekstokes on March 12, 2026

    This is a warming and nourishing lentil soup. The generous amount of spice and lemon really elevate this. Definitely don’t skip the nigella seeds and sumac on top; they nigella beautifully echoes the onions in the soup and the sumac brings a layer of complexity to the lemon notes.

• Aunt Jinan's bulgur salad (Itsch salad)

  • Camille92 on March 26, 2023

    Very easy and extremely delicious - leftovers keep very well also

• Simple onion and parsley salad (Biwaz)

  • ozfoodie on January 11, 2025

    Loved this! So simple, but beautiful balanced flavours. We had it with the Chicken Kebabs (Chicken Kofta Kebab) in pita bread. Keeper.

• Stew of spinach and ground beef (Sabankh bil roz)

  • kara186021 on December 11, 2025

    Very good. The lemon sauce adds a very nice brightness to it.

• Fish with sumac-tahini sauce (Tajen samak)

  • tacoquokka on April 15, 2026

    Delicious, easy fish dish! The fish bakes at a lower temperature, so it comes out soft and flaky, and we really liked the sumac onions and tahini sauce. Very filling thanks to the tahini, and was great over rice.

• Chicken shish kebabs (Shish tawook)

  • emeewhy825 on June 26, 2022

    I followed the recipe exactly and can confirm that the chicken ends up being really, really spicy (and probably too much so for many people). Aside from that it's tasty and interesting with the honey. If I make this again, I will dial back the cayenne and pepper flakes.

• Walnut baklava

  • j.va on May 17, 2021

    Arguably the best baklava I have ever eaten, with little to no contest. The recipe's magic comes from the raisins and the atter syrup. Pureeing the raisins into the filling provides moisture and helps keep the structure intact when you bite into it. The orange blossom atter syrup is really exceptional and makes the baklava light and flavorful, without ever crossing the line into sickly sweet. Everyone who had it agrees they have never had better. Really a stand out recipe.

• Eat Your Books by Jenny Hartin

  An approachable, beautiful cookbook filled with the vibrance and brilliance of so many Middle Eastern cookbooks.

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• Kavey Eats

  Like many of the cookbooks I cherish most fiercely, Sumac is filled with evocative glimpses into Syrian culture by way of Atassi’s vivid memories, which of course are all bound up with food and family

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