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Over hundreds of years, various ethnic groups have passed through Samarkand, sharing and influencing each other´s cuisine and leaving their culinary stamp. This book is a love letter to Central Asia and the Caucasus, containing personal travel essays and recipes little known in the West that have been expertly adapted for the home cook.

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Over hundreds of years, various ethnic groups have passed through Samarkand, sharing and influencing each other´s cuisine and leaving their culinary stamp. This book is a love letter to Central Asia and the Caucasus, containing personal travel essays and recipes little known in the West that have been expertly adapted for the home cook. An array of delicious dishes will introduce the region and its different ethnic groups - Uzbek, Tajik, Russian, Turkish, Korean, Caucasian and Jewish - along with a detailed introduction on the Silk Road and a useful store cupboard of essential ingredients. Chapters are divided into Shared Table, Soups, Roast Meats & Kebabs, Warming Dishes, Pilavs & Plovs, Accompaniments, Breads & Doughs, Drinks and Desserts. 100 recipes are showcased, including Apricot & Red Lentil Soup, Chapli Kebabs with Tomato Relish, Rosh Hashanah Palov with Barberries, Pomegranate and Quince, Curd Pancakes with Red Berry Compote and the all-important breads of the region. And with evocative travel features like On the Road to Samarkand, A Banquet on the Caspian Sea and Shopping for Spices under Solomon´s Throne, you will be charmed and enticed by this little known region and its cuisine, which has remained relatively untouched in centuries.

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Caroline Eden is a regular contributor to the travel and food pages of The Guardian, Financial Times, Independent, as well as a weekly travel page for London´s Metro. Eleanor Ford has been a recipe developer and editor for the Good Food Channel and BBC Good Food. She has judged The Guild of Food Writers´ Awards, was local editor for Zagat´s Hong Kong guide and has been a Time Out restaurant reviewer.

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