Pomegranates & Artichokes

By Saghar Setareh

Published Mar 2023

When Iranian writer and food photographer Saghar Setarah moved to Italy at the age of 22, she was enchanted by the rich food culture of her adopted country, and this inspired a curiosity in the cuisine of her homeland and the surrounding countries of the Levant and eastern Mediterranean. Pomegranates and Artichokes is the story of Saghar’s own culinary journey from Iran to Italy, in which she describes the many parallels that link Middle Eastern and Mediterranean food cultures, and shows how ingredients and recipes – unconstrained by borders – are shared and transformed through the immigrant experience.

Divided into three sections representing stops on Saghar’s culinary ‘road trip’ ­– Iran, In Between and Italy – this book features more than 80 recipes celebrating the foods of these regions. Among the highlights are a simple Iranian breakfast platter, a celebratory Persian feast, Sicilian-style stuffed artichokes, guinea hen braised with pomegranate, sweet–sour meatballs from Aleppo, a Roman ricotta and wild cherry pie and a velvety Middle Eastern milk pudding.

Illustrated with Saghar’s own beautiful photography, and peppered with personal insights and experiences, Pomegranates and Artichokes tells the story of two food cultures, and the delicious space in between.

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‘Refreshingly unusual in its concept and geographical spread, filled with heady pleasure, deep locality and genuine know-how’ CAROLINE EDEN

‘An utterly enchanting book that captures the essence of migration and the magnificence of Iran’s culinary traditions’ YASMIN KHAN