On the Hummus Route: A Journey Between Cities, People, and Dreams (Ariel Rosenthal, Orly Peli-Brohshtein & Dan Alexander)

On the Hummus Route is a one-of-its-kind collection of recipes, stories, essays, street photography, and other imagery. Both art book and cookbook, it runs across the streets and alleyways of nine Middle Eastern hummus hubs, from Cairo all the way to Damascus via Gaza, Jaffa, Tel Aviv, Nazareth, Jerusalem, Acre, and Beirut.

With contributions from celebrated cooks such as Claudia Roden and Sami Tamimi, as well as historians, poets, photographers, illustrators, and calligraphers, On the Hummus Route is a remarkable salute to the humble chickpea and the many ways it is eaten. The title's deft synecdoche substitutes a part for the whole: there is much hummus here, but also falafel, crackers, soups, casseroles, salads, sauces, pies, and even a thousand-year-old hangover cure. Evocative photographs capture the street life of each of the cities, along with the cooks and diners who populate them.