Research Catalog

Title

From Persia to Napa : wine at the Persian table / Najmieh Batmanglij ; with Wine and Persian poetry [by] Dick Davis ; Pairing wine with Persian food [by] Burke Owens.

Author

Batmanglij, Najmieh, 1947-

Publication

Washington, DC : Mage Publishers, 2006.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Additional Authors

• Davis, Dick, 1945-
• Owens, Burke.

Description

255 p. : ill. (chiefly col.), col. map; 31 cm.

Summary

'Wine is seen as the natural partner of many great cuisines, but few people associate it with Persian food, one of the world's most sophisticated culinary traditions. The ties, in fact, are age-old. 'From Persia to Napa' weaves together history, poetry, a look at modern viniculture, and a wealth of recipes and wine pairings to celebrate the rightful relationshiip of wine and food on the Persian table." "... winemaking has been traced all the way back to the northern uplands of the Fertile Crescent some seven millennia ago, the start of a journey that would take it across the Near East and then into Europe in the dawning years of civilization. Iran was one of the nurseries of the wine grape, and, as empires rose and fell there, princes, priests, poets and people in ordinary walks of life all embraced wine in various ways. After Islam came to Iran, wine drinking sometimes slipped from public view, but it never disappeared. In this lavishly illustrated book, Najmieh Batmanglij explores that long and eventful history, then shifts her story to California's famed Napa Valley, half a world away." "The final section of the book offers 80 recipes, a guide to Persian hospitality, both old and new, and seasonal menus for various occasions. Grapes play a role in most of the recipes, whether in the form of the fruit, the leaf, the juice, the syrup, unripe grapes or their juice (verjuice), vinegar or wine. Although these recipes are presented for the modern table, they are traditional--based on sources as various as a tenth-century Persian cookbook or the culinary archives of a sixteenth-century Persian court."--Front flap of dust jacket.

Subject

• Cooking, Iranian
• Wine and wine making
• Iran > Social life and customs

Genre/Form

Cookbooks

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references (p. 255) and index.

Processing Action (note)

• committed to retain

Contents

Contents -- Introduction -- Seven thousand years of wine -- The taming of the vine -- An ancient nexus of wine -- Outward bound -- Persia takes form -- The old order changes -- The rise of Islam -- Persian endurance -- Toward modernity -- Wine and Persian poetry -- Under a new sun: The Darioush winery -- At the table -- Pairing wine with Persian food -- Small dishes & salads -- Soups -- Main courses -- Desserts, sherbets, teas & brews -- The culture of hospitality -- Planning a Persian-style dinner -- Seasonal menus -- Credits -- Acknowledgments -- Index -- Sources & resources.

ISBN

• 1933823003 (hardcover : alk. paper)
• 9781933823003 (hardcover : alk. paper)

LCCN

^^2006003666

OCLC

• 63660530
• SCSB-10737540

Owning Institutions

Harvard Library