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Growing up in a Middle Eastern household gave Michael Mina an innate understanding of how to cook with spice and use acidity to amp up flavors. But when he started working in restaurants, Mina went out of his way to cook everything but the Egyptian food he had grown up with. His family had left Cairo for the United States when he was two years old, and he felt the need to assimilate to thrive.
Decades later, after making his name as a technique-driven California chef and opening dozens of acclaimed restaurants, Mina looked back to what got him excited to cook in the first place: dishes like his mom’s ta’ameya, or Egyptian falafel, and tables heavy with dips and spreads at family barbecues. Thus began years of travel back to Egypt and a new story in his cuisine.
In My Egypt, Mina brings readers to contemporary Cairo and Alexandria to share the foundations of Egyptian cooking and hospitality, from the traditional breakfast of ful medames to the streetside meal of baladi bread stuffed with spiced hawawshi. He also marries Egyptian flavors with influences from around the world in dishes including:
- Harissa Ratatouille
- Halloumi and Watermelon Salad
- Feta-Brined Spatchcock Chicken with Mint and Green Onions
- Labne Frozen Yogurt.
This is the story of a lauded chef at the top of his game, triumphantly returning to his roots.
