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Sami Tamimi


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, through many restaurants and ethnic traditions, to become head chef of Lilith, one of the top restaurants in Tel Aviv in the 1990’s.
Sami moved to London in 1997 and worked at Baker and 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. The company now has four stores and two restaurants, NOPI and ROVI, all in central London.
In his position as the executive head chef, Sami is involved in developing and nurturing young kitchen talents and creating new dishes and innovative menus.
Alongside Yotam Ottolenghi, Sami Tamimi is co-author of two bestselling cookbooks: Ottolenghi: The Cookbook and Jerusalem: A Cookbook.

Books by Sami Tamimi

Falastin: A Cookbook

A ground-breaking Middle Eastern cookbook from the co-author of Ottolenghi: The Cookbook and Jerusalem, and co-founder of the innovative Ottolenghi delis.

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Jerusalem

Packed with mouthwatering recipes inspired by the food of Jerusalem, this is the long-awaited third cookbook from Yotam Ottolenghi, winner of the Observer Food Monthly Best Cookbook award 2013

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Ottolenghi: The Cookbook

Ottolenghi’s ground-breaking classic cookbook, which captured the zeitgeist for using imaginative flavours and ingredients, is relaunched with a contemporary design.

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More features

Video
An introduction to Palestinian Food | Sami Tamimi & Tara Wigley

Sami and Tara show us how to create three dishes from their fabulous new book on Palestinian cuisine, Falastin. You can buy the book here: https://amzn.to/2z95yna Travelling through Bethlehem, East Jerusalem, Nablus, Haifa, Akka, Nazareth, Galilee and the West Bank, Sami and Tara invite you to experience and enjoy unparalleled access to Sami's homeland. As each region has its own distinct identity and tale to tell, there are endless new flavour combinations to discover. The food is the perfect mix of traditional and contemporary, with recipes that have been handed down through the generations and reworked for a modern home kitchen, alongside dishes that have been inspired by Sami and Tara's collaborations with producers and farmers throughout Palestine. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe to the Penguin channel: http://po.st/SubscribePenguinYouTube Follow us here: Twitter | http://www.twitter.com/penguinukbooks Website | http://www.penguin.co.uk Instagram | http://www.instagram.com/penguinukbooks Facebook | http://www.facebook.com/penguinbooks

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Falastin Q&A

Falastin authors Tara Wigley and Sami Tamimi lift the lid on Palestinian cooking.

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The yoghurt-making ladies of Bethlehem

From Falastin, Sami Tamimi and Tara Wigley recall a memorable Palestinian detour.

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Labneh cheesecake with roasted apricots, honey and cardamom

A cheesecake recipe that is sweet, of course, but at the same time punchy and totally distinct.

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Roasted cod with a coriander crust

A fish dish that can be on the table less than fifteen minutes after you’ve started making it.

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Chicken musakhan

One of Palestine’s national dishes, where chicken is cooked and served with layers of olive-oil-drenched flatbread.

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Apple and olive oil cake

Try this enduring fan favourite recipe from Ottolenghi: the Cookbook.

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Stuffed aubergine recipe

Try your hand at this stuffed aubergine recipe from Yotam Ottolenghi's Jerusalem.