From Persia to Napa : Wine at the Persian Table

by Batmanglij, Najmieh

• ISBN13: 9781933823003
• ISBN10: 1933823003
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2006-08-01
• Publisher: Mage Pub

Summary

Wine is seen as the natural partner of many great cuisines, but few people associate it with Persian food, one of the worlds most sophisticated culinary traditions. The ties, in fact, are age-old. This book weaves together history, poetry, a look at modern viniculture, and a wealth of recipes and wine pairings to celebrate the rightful relationship of wine and food on the Persian table. 'Whoever seeks the origins of wine must be crazy', a Persian poet once declared, implying that simple enjoyment of this greatest gift of the grape ought to be enough. Since he wrote those words, however, 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 civilisation. 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 Californias famed Napa Valley, half a world away. There, in a kind of up-to-the-minute homage to the past, an Iranian-American named Darioush Khaledi uses the latest vinicultural techniques to make superb wines at a winery reminiscent of Persepolis, the ceremonial capital of the ancient Persian empire. 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. The book has two special sections. One, written by Dick Davis, a leading authority on Persian literature, discusses the unique links between poetry and wine-drinking in Persian culture. The other, by wine-and-food expert Burke Owens, offers guidelines for pairing wine with the distinctive ingredients used in Persian cooking. He has also provided wine suggestions for each recipe.

Author Biography

Introducing people to the pleasures of Persian cuisine has been a lifelong mission for Najmieh Batmanglij. Her New Food of Life: Ancient Persian and Modern Iranian Cooking and Ceremonies was called ôThe definitive book of Persian cookingö by the Los Angeles Times, and her Silk Road Cooking: A Vegetarian Journey was selected as one of the Vegetarian Cookbooks of 2004 by the New York Times. She has spent the past 25 years traveling, teaching cooking, and adapting authentic Persian recipes to tastes and techniques in the West. She is a member of Les Dames d'Escoffier and has taught and lectured throughout the United States. She currently lives in Washington, DC, where she is teaching master classes in Persian cooking and is working on a new book for children to cook with the family.

Table of Contents

Introduction	1	(6)
Seven Thousand Years of Wine	7	(48)
The Taming of the Vine	9	(5)
An Ancient Nexus of Wine	14	(2)
Outward Bound	16	(8)
Persia Takes Form	24	(10)
The Old Order Changes	34	(4)
The Rise of Islam	38	(3)
Persian Endurance	41	(9)
Toward Modernity	50	(5)
Wine and Persian Poetry	55	(14)
Under a New Sun: The Darioush Winery	69	(30)
At the Table	99	(145)
Pairing Wine with Persian Food	101	(4)
Small Dishes & Salads	105	(38)
Soups	143	(14)
Main Courses	157	(50)
Desserts, Sherbets, Teas & Brews	207	(25)
The Culture of Hospitality	232	(2)
Planning a Persian-Style Dinner	234	(1)
Seasonal Menus	235	(9)
Credits	244	(3)
Acknowledgments	247	(2)
Index	249	(6)
Sources & Resources	255