Ripe Figs is a culinary journey through Greece, Turkey and Cyprus documented by recipes and the stories of the people the author encountered on their travels.
The author is food writer Yasmin Khan, a former human rights campaigner. She is the author of two other books, The Saffron Tales and Zaitoun.
You should buy Ripe Figs for the knock out food of course, but it’s so much more than a recipe book. Khan brings the Eastern Mediterranean to vivid life with tales from her journey through the region. She meets Lena Altinoglou, one of four female founders of Nan restaurant in Mytilene in the Greek island of Lesvos, a social enterprise established so that Greek nationals and refugees to the area could work side by side and help bring the two communities together, while in Istanbul, she visits the apartment of Berrak Gocer to learn how to cook yoghurt soup and lamb meatballs with orzo pilaf. The book contains classics such as skordalia, kleftiko and halva as well as Khan’s own creations that include sweet potato, chickpea and tahini salad.
Cuisine: Mediterranean
Suitable for: For beginners/confident home cooks
Cookbook Review Rating: Five stars
Buy this book
Ripe Figs by Yasmin Khan
£26, Bloomsbury
This book has been shortlisted for the Andre Simon Food Award. Read more here.
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