Boustany: A celebration of vegetables from my Palestine

Vegetarian recipes celebrating the food of Palestine, from the co-author of Falastin, Jerusalem and Ottolenghi: The Cookbook.

A homage to Palestinian food and culture, Boustany, is the first solo cookbook from Sami Tamimi, Ottolenghi co-founder and 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.

Review

Full of food that’s sincere and homely but also bold and vibrant. I want to cook everything. There’s nothing like being able to cook the recipes from someone else’s childhood. Vibrant, intense, bold food from Sami’s childhood and home. A gift of a book. -- Diana Henry

I have been working alongside Sami in one form or another for nearly 20 years and have never failed to be inspired by him. He is supremely graceful in the kitchen, has an exquisitely-tuned palate and uncannily good judgment. It is no coincidence that Sami’s food is always delicious, and true to its name, Boustany is a verdant treasure. How lucky we are to have this beautiful book. -- Helen Goh

I have known Sami for over 25 years now and have always loved his food and his personal modern take on classics from our region. In this book, he applies that same inspired take on vegetarian and vegan dishes from his tragic homeland, making this collection of recipes and stories even more invaluable given the systematic erasure of both Palestine and Palestinians. -- Anissa Helou

This is my dream cookbook. It's full of heart, soul and Sami's very delicious food. I have a library of cookbooks, but Sami's are one of the only ones I genuinely cook from. -- Meera Sodha

I love Sami Tamimi’s wonderful Boustany. It is thrilling and also moving to see what a great chef has done with the flavourful home cooking of a people with a rich and diverse culinary tradition and a deep connection with the land. -- Claudia Roden

Yotam and Sami brought a generation of Brits and then Americans to za’atar and harissa and pomegranate molasses. They made us comfortable with a type of ingredient and a type of food that didn’t really exist in the mainstream before that. ― Samin Nosrat Published On: 2024-11-15

There are wine bars in New York’s Greenwich Village run by young chefs where, I bet if you looked through the vegetable sides on their menu, a significant chunk would derive from “Jerusalem” ― and they might not even know it. ― Brooks Headley Published On: 2024-11-15

About the Author

Sami Tamimi was born and raised in Jerusalem and was immersed in food from childhood. He started his career as commis-chef in a Jerusalem hotel and worked his way up to become head chef of Lilith, one of the top restaurants in Tel Aviv in the 1990s.

Sami moved to London in 1997 and worked at Baker & Spice as head chef, where he set up a traiteur section with a rich Middle-Eastern and Mediterranean spread. In 2002 he partnered with Noam Bar and Yotam Ottolenghi to set up Ottolenghi in Notting Hill.

Alongside Yotam Ottolenghi, Sami Tamimi is co-author of two bestselling cookbooks: Ottolenghi: The Cookbook and Jerusalem: A Cookbook, which the New York Times recently named as one of the 25 most influential cookbooks from the last 100 years. Sami’s third cookbook Falastin is co-authored with Tara Wigley and won the Fortnum & Mason Cookery Book of the Year 2021. Sami's first solo cookbook, Boustany, will be published in 2025.