Persian cooking - Nesta Ramazani

The oldest cuisine known to man, Persian cooking is based on lamb, fruits, vegetables and grains, used in subtle and varied combinations. The food is neither highly spiced nor hot but seasoned with herbs. It is very nutritious and very economical requiring minimum amounts of meat. Many dishes are easy to prepare ahead of time and well suited to reheating. As Mrs Ramazani writes: Here is a culinary art so highly developed that the most lowly vegetable can taste divine, every meal can be a gastronomic treat, every cook a creative artist.

Nesta Ramazani is the doyenne of Persian cuisine in America. In addition to Persian Cooking, she is also the author of The Dance of the Rose and the Nightingale, which relates her experience as a founding member of the Iranian National Ballet Company. She holds an M.A. in English Literature from the University of Virginia and has written widely on various subjects relating to Iran and the Middle East in various scholarly and mainstream journals. She and her husband live in Charlottesville, Viriginia where she writes, teaches ballet and occasionally lectures. She has four grown children and six grandchildren.