Endorsements

These recipes are distinctively Palestinian and many also uniquely of Gaza--with more pronounced flavors, more herby, spicy, peppery, lemony, than those of their regional neighbors. We also get from this very special book a rare insight into the intimate everyday lives of engaging people...

The Gaza Kitchen cookbook is a vital attempt to safeguard a rich culinary heritage that has existed in the Middle East for thousands of years. In documenting Palestinian recipes and food culture, despite the ravages of war, Laila El-Haddad and Maggie Schmitt have significantly succeeded in sharing their culinary travels while bringing dignity and pride to those who continue cooking traditional meals at home in Palestine. This book is an asset to those living in Gaza and to the rest of the world who would like to participate in protecting this rich cuisine.

The best cookbooks inspire you to be a better chef. This one can make you a better person. Laila El-Haddad and Maggie Schmitt guide readers through the rich, subtle and complex flavors, history and politics of the Jews, Christians, and Muslims of the Levant... This is gastronomic writing at its finest.

This book becomes more essential with every passing day. Not just such a superb cookbook, a collection of vital recipes from a delicious yet often overlooked cuisine, but an argument for understanding. A classic of world food.

Laila El-Haddad and Maggie Schmitt truly are story-tellers sharing the stories of the women, men, and children of Gaza in a way that illuminates their humanity, their dignity, their strength.

The recipes and stories are magically woven together, inspiring to read, to cook, and to eat. Telling us about the food of Gaza is key to understanding the people’s way of life, and this is what Laila and Maggie do so fantastically well.