"Sitting with Sami Tamini in his beautiful, sunlit London kitchen, his two dogs lying loyally by his side, our conversation is a happy reflection of his own childhood memories. He tells me of the beauty of his homeland in Palestine; the warm and welcoming nature of his relatives and their love of fresh ingredients often cooked in a large boustan (garden)."
"Tamini is a well-known member of Yotam Ottolenghi's alumni, having spent two decades managing the operations side of the food and kitchens business. He co-authored the Ottolenghi Cookbook with Ottolenghi himself, as well as the bestseller Jerusalem, and subsequently collaborated with Tara Wigley, one of Ottolenghi's in-house writers, on Falastin. Tamini has since gone solo and spent about four years thinking about Boustany before it came to be."
"Tamini and his partner spent eight months of lockdown in the Italian region of Umbria, so he says, "the idea of the book came about there, and I wrote all of it there, too. The weather in the summer in Umbria is very similar to that in Palestine. I would pick all these herbs, fruits, and vegetables during lockdown, finding solace in cooking."
Palestinian culinary traditions center on communal meals, abundant use of fresh herbs, fruits, and vegetables from a boustan (garden), and warm family hospitality. Recipes draw on childhood memories and seasonal produce that foreground natural flavours through simple techniques. Periods of displacement and distance encourage adaptation while similar climates enable continuity of ingredients across regions. Time spent in Umbria during lockdown provided space for reflection, gathering herbs and creating comforting dishes tied to home. Culinary exploration functions as cultural preservation, connecting people across distance and reaffirming food's role in identity and belonging.
Read at CN Traveller
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