Soframiz is a cookbook by Ana Sortun and Maura Kilpatrick, of Sofra Bakery & Cafe, a Middle Eastern-inspired restaurant in Cambridge, Massachusetts. This is a gorgeous book, and as you can tell from the cover, the photography and graphic design are excellent. All of the food is photographed from directly above, and as we all know from Instagram food porn, this is the easiest way to make your food look good. But the food and accessory styling is top-notch, so the quality of the photographs is great. In other words, Soframiz makes a great coffee table book, full of gorgeous photos of mouth-watering food. But that being said, the recipes are totally doable, and very well-written and clear. The book includes definitions of terms and ingredients that might not be familiar to most Americans. I should also point out that the food is Middle Eastern in flavors and inspiration for the most part, but the authors have added their own twists to traditional recipes. For instance, there's a recipe for "Nana's Pumpkin Bread" thrown in there somewhat randomly, and I far as I know, pumpkin bread is not a Middle Eastern thing. There are also Pistachio Toaster Pastries with Rose Water Glaze (the fanciest Pop Tarts of all time?), Tahini Brioche, Brown Butter Pie with Espresso Dates, and Green Apple Fatoush. More traditional dishes like Shakshuka (eggs poached in a spicy tomato sauce), Kunefe (a really delicious dessert sweet cheese pastry with shredded wheat on the top--I know it sounds bizarre, but it is so good), Boraks, and of course, Hummus, are included as well, and they all include the authors' special takes on these classic recipes. This is a beautiful and original cookbook.
(I received this book from Blogging for Books in exchange for an honest review.)
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