Zov
Recipes and Memories from the Heart
By Zov Karamardian
Photography by Pornchai Mittongtare
Orange
County favorite Zov’s
Bistro in Tustin, Calif., breaks the French bistro stereotype
with its Mediterranean-influenced menu and focus on Middle
Eastern foods like beef kebabs with sumac, silky hummus
and flatbreads with spiced meat. Fans of chef/owner Zov
Karamardian’s cooking—and those who love experimenting
with exotic ingredients—will be pleased to try Zov:
Recipes and Memories from the Heart, offering recipe
after recipe of many of the bistro’s beloved dishes
and more.
Karamardian
opened the landmark spot in 1987 and has finally released
this cookbook filled with recipes for foods like rice pilaf
with lentils and caramelized onions, sautéed calamari
with tomatoes and oregano and meatball soup with lemon and
mint, each accompanied by a beautiful color photograph taken
by Pornchai Mittongtare.
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Zov
Karamardian is all smiles |
Karamardian
begins by introducing basic ingredients and cooking techniques
specific to her style of cooking. For instance, she explains
what Aleppo pepper and pomegranate molasses are and how
to toast nuts and spices for maximum flavor and texture.
She then divides the remainder of the book into chapters
for various courses beginning with appetizers, or “mezze,”
and finishing with an array of desserts and breads. We especially
love Karamardian’s stories about her culinary memories,
from coming home as a teenager in San Francisco to her mother
pickling vegetables to preparing cheese with her grandmother
in Syria. She describes her memories in vivid detail that
make us remember our own warm food-related moments.
The
recipes are relatively easy for a novice cook but unique
enough to impress family and friends. They can be mixed
and matched to make a complete meal. Begin with the olive
salad with tahini or the walnut and pomegranate dip followed
by a cold cucumber-mint soup with yogurt. Then, savor the
roast pork rack with sour cherry sauce accompanied by a
spinach and leek spanakopita. Finish up the meal with comforting
jasmine rice pudding with fresh berries or the sweet and
sour creamy lemon bars with a shortbread cookie crust. With
recipes and stories like these, Karamardian’s culinary
memories can equally be yours.
Reviewed
by Barbara Bowman
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