East of Orphanides: My Middle Eastern Food

George Lassalle, author of the award-winning "The Adventurous Fish Cook" and "The Fish in My Life", looks back on 30 years spent in the Middle East. He lived, worked and, of course, ate in Greece, Egypt, the Lebanon, Syria and Turkey, before settling in Cyprus. Anecdotes are included in each chapter as he recalls cooking for workmen on the island of Aghios Nikolaos, wangling recipes from his mother-in-law's cook, living and cooking in Cairo and Istanbul and learning the best of Lebanese fare from the Three Wise Ones of Nicosia. The recipes cover a wide variety of meat, fresh vegetables, pulses and fish.