I’m still reviewing books that made “best of“ cookbook lists in 2025. Today I’m reviewing Boustany: A celebration of vegetables from my Palestine by Sami Tamimi.

About the book:

A homage to Palestinian food and culture, Boustany, is the first solo cookbook from Sami, a champion of Palestinian food and culture.

Boustany translates from Arabic as ‘My Garden’, and the down-to-earth, relaxed and plentiful recipes are reflective of Sami’s signature style and approach to food. Bold, inspiring and ever-evolving, Boustany picks up where Falastin left off, with flavour-packed, colourful and simple vegetable- and grain-led dishes; this is how Sami grew up eating – platters of aubergine and chickpeas with a spicy green lemon sauce and fragrant lentil fatteh that always tasted better the next day. These are the dishes he has known, loved, cooked and shared with friends.

With over 100 recipes, Sami offers recipes for breakfast, sharing plates, big celebrations, simple breads, moreish sweet treats, easy dinners and more. It’s an approach that’s strongly present in Palestinian cuisine, from building your mooneh, or pantry, by preserving seasonal vegetables and herbs to lining the dinner table with a variety of salads and condiments reflective of a love for fresh and vibrant food. (From Sami Tamimi’s website.)

About the author:

Tamimi grew up in the old city of Jerusalem, before leaving on a journey of self-discovery, first to Tel Aviv and then London.

His cooking career began at 17 working at at boutique hotel in Jerusalem as a porter. He quickly became a chef in charge of breakfast. The journey continued in different restaurants, cafes and even a hospital kitchen, giving him a large and diverse scale of experiences.

1997 marked a move to London where Sami was running the savory kitchen at Baker & Spice. At this food and bakery shop in Chelsea, he was given the freedom to show his talent and creativity in the deli side of the business, which later turned into a successful catering business.

In 2002, Sami partnered with Yotam Ottolenghi (whom he met and worked with at Baker & Spice) in opening the first Ottolenghi deli in Notting Hill. The company has since expanded to more locations in London, including five delis and two restaurants: NOPI and ROVI. 

At Ottolenghi, Sami and Yotam created a concept that has proven a huge success from day one, serving trademark savory food, pastry, providing catering and running two busy restaurants in central London. Over the years, Sami was in charge of food creativity and nurturing younger chefs around the company.  

Sami and Yotam have written two critically acclaimed cookbooks, Ottolenghi and Jerusalem, the latter winning many awards, including the International Book Award from the James Beard Foundation in 2013. Jerusalem has been credited with starting many cookbook clubs all over the world.

Sami’s third cookbook Falastin, co-authored with Tara Wigley, is a winner of the Fortnum & Mason Cookery Book of the Year 2021,  James Beard Award Nominee 2022, IACP Award winner and Longlisted for The Art Of Eating Prize 2021. (Edited from Tamimi’s website)

What I thought…

I’ve been getting more and more into vegetarian cooking lately so I was anxious to read Boustany. The cover is lovely and I love the title of the book (garden).

The book opens with “Pantry: pickles, dairy, condiments and spice mixes.” This section just might be worth the price of the book. There’s over twenty pages of pickles, condiments, and spice mixes (with one labneh recipe). Tamimi adds how to use these pantry staples and they are referred to in the following recipes.

The rest of the book is categorized into “Breakfast and brunch,” “Small plates and spreads,” “Salads,” “Soups,” “Weekday dinners,” “Sharing and special occasions,” “Breads,” and “Sweets.”

Here are the recipes from each section that seemed to stand out (read “I want to try them”):

Pantry: Labneh (23)

Breakfast: Cardamom pancakes with tahini, halva & carob (54-55)

Small plates: Honestly, there are too many to name here BUT they all require such garden fresh ingredients that I will have to wait for our growing season.

Salads: The same was true for most of the salad recipes because lots of fresh herbs are called for. I do want to highlight his Garlic-infused broccoli & labneh dip though (102) and Turmeric cauliflower & chickpeas with lemon yogurt (126).

Soups: Chilled tomato & avocado soup with burnt chile (140)

Weekday dinners: Loaded sweet potatoes with black-eyed peas (182)

Sharing and special occasions: Asparagus, leek & hazelnut galette (218)

Bread: Za’atar & anise crackers (246)

Sweets: Spiced apple, walnut & lemon cake (274)

The photographs are beautiful and would be helpful in putting the dishes together.

There might be a bit lost in translation from the Palestinian kitchen via London to the U.S. When Tamimi calls for chiles, I wasn’t sure exactly what kind. Red chile and green chile were ingredients in many recipes. I just wasn’t sure what varieties. (I didn’t find any help in the glossary.) Other than that, most all ingredients are readily obtainable.

This is a book I’m glad I checked out of the library and didn’t buy, though. I found a few things that spoke to me but not like in Linger. (I’m still making dishes from that cookbook.)

I did find a recipe that intrigued me. I found myself in the same situation as Tamimi one weekend:

Craving a flavorful yet easy lunch option, I sought to create something delicious without the need for extensive cooking. Inspired by Palestinian cuisine, where cooked greens often become delicious dishes, I decided to make a dip similar to the traditional taghmees. (102)

Tamimi used a head of broccoli that was staring back at him from his refrigerator. I used an over abundance of spinach that was staring back at me.

Tamimi lists his recipe under “Salads” yet this is truly a dip.

Garlic-Infused Spinach & Yogurt Dip

Based on Garlic-infused broccoli & labneh dip (Broccoli bil Toum w al Labneh) from Boustany by Sami Tamimi

I replaced the broccoli with spinach and used a jalapeno for the fresh “red chile.”

Ingredients

• 1/4 c. extra virgin olive oil
• 3 large garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
• 2 c. baby spinach, packed
• 1 c. thick Greek yogurt
• 1 T. fresh lemon juice
• 1 jalapeno, seeded and finely chopped
• 1 T. dried dill
• 1 T. dried parsley
• 1/2 t. Aleppo chile flakes (or regular chile flakes)
• Salt and fresh ground black pepper
• halved cherry tomatoes, optional

Instructions

1. Heat the oil in a small sauté pan over medium-low heat. Add the garlic and cook for 3-4 minutes, being careful not to burn it. The garlic should be a golden brown. Remove the garlic from the oil to a plate lined with paper towels. Reserve the oil. Set both aside to cool.
2. Blanch the spinach in boiling water for 1 minute. Drain and rinse under cold water. Drain well. (It’s best to squeeze it out with your hands). Then, rough chop the spinach and place in a large bowl.
3. Add the yogurt, lemon juice, chopped jalapeno, the dried herbs, chili flakes and ½ teaspoon salt. Mix well. Season with black pepper. Taste and add more salt and pepper as needed. 
4. To serve, spread on a serving plate and drizzle with the reserved garlic oil and fried garlic. Top with cherry tomatoes.

Notes: 

• If you have fresh herbs, use them!
• Tamimi also calls for mint in his dip and garnishes with sumac.
• Serve with crackers or warm bread.
• Make sure you see mu note at the end of this post.

Yield: 4-6 servings

I added the cherry tomatoes at the last minute for color (and because they were also staring at me). I actually like this dip with all the changes. I was very skeptical. I can imagine using fresh dill and parsley and the difference that would make.

While I know that Tamimi is a star chef and master of all things vegetables, for some reason he just didn’t speak to me. The first time I flipped through the cookbook, I almost decided to just take it back to the library. I am glad I went through it again, though! I also think it would have totally made a difference if I had read this in the summer when fresh ingredients were available. One does need the fresh herbs!

NOTE: I made some shawarma chicken and we used this dip and the chicken to make some wraps with more fresh spinach. They were delicious. Highly recommend!

I’m linking up with Foodies Read.