Under the Copper Covers

If u ever had the pleasure of eating Sherine's cooking, you would know why you have to RUSH and buy her cook book! Sherine has an incredible passion and talent for cooking, and she has put all her favorite recipes in this book. If you want true and authentic middle eastern Lebanese, Iraqi, Persian cuisine as authentic as it comes then you have to try her recipes!!

'Under the Copper Covers' is a moving, heartfelt and in my view a fantastic pioneer book, part biography and part cookbook of different Arab regional cuisines. Its tells the story of what happened to the Libyan Diaspora, in the personal and moving story of the Ben Halim family (a highly respected Libyan family, with a Palestinian mother, in which the father was the Libyan Prime Minister during the Libyan Monarchy Era)...Once you move from this heartfelt story, you get the lovely homecooking ideas of different Arabic regions: Libya; Iraq; Iran; Palestine; Lebanon, and Syria. The Libyan recipes are the most new, since the few Libyan cookbooks that are around are usually in Arabic, and published in Libya and Egypt. So the Author has broken new ground, introducing Libyan food to the Western foodie world....My favourite thing of the book, is how she explains her personal connection to the country, from her love of Libyan coucous, or whether her fascination with Iraqi food, through her marriage to her Iraqi husband, her love of Iranian food and the importance of the different rice dishes, through her friendships with Iranians that she grew up....The book has a easy to use style. I feel the book is going to be one of my cookbooks that I will use again, and again, and not one of the more aloof cookbooks I have. Its a lovely book, and I recommend buying it. Definitely worth getting. :)

This is no ordinary cookbook! Sherine Ben Halim Jafar has led an extraordinary life, and this book blends her unique experience with her relentless optimism, curiosity and sense of humour, to create one of the most remarkable books - in any genre - that I've read in a long time....Fundamentally, though, this is a book that takes the cookbook genre and turbocharges it with a story that the reader will never forget. It is as though the author were with you in the kitchen, putting each dish in context, and demonstrating the power of food to reveal the essence of life itself - to keep going, keep learning, keep laughing, keep celebrating.

The book's opening chapter - affording the reader a glimpse of life in pre-Qaddafi Libya, and taking us back to the night Jafar was born - begins with a memorable anecdote, with a punchline that made me laugh out loud. If you've read Keith Richards' autobiography, "Life", it's reminiscent of that book's unforgettable opening - however, "Life" has only one recipe (albeit a good one), "Keef's" bangers and mash. Jafar's book, which could itself have been called "Life", is full of the most mouth-watering recipes, plus a life story which is both incredible and yet resonates with anyone who has faced challenges in life; in other words, this is a life-affirming book, a celebration both of food and of life itself. I can't recommend it too highly.

How Middle Eastern Food Became Jafar's Most Powerful Healer - The personal story that precedes the recipes in Sherine Ben Halim Jafar's new culinary book - ‘Under the Copper Covers' - is so highly moving and inspirational that I would advise immediate purchase. Offering a beautifully compiled printed edition - with valuable historical and family-related photo-illustrations - this author draws upon strong memories for each dish mentioned and every recipe lovingly included. Jafar takes the reader on a wonderful gastronomic journey that will urge you to get into the kitchen as soon as possible and start cooking or baking!

An excellent book incorporating her true story about growing up in Libya. It is sad and joyful and compelling reading and I could not put it down. It has encouraged me to cook again and to try the recipes.
A good buy for a present, for young or old