Sami Tamimi Author Event • Boustany: A Celebration of Vegetables from my Palestine

Sami Tamimi was born and raised in Jerusalem and immersed in food since childhood. He started his career at 17 as commis-chef in a Jerusalem hotel and gained expertise by working his way up, through a variety of restaurants, mastering diverse culinary traditions along the way, to become head chef of Lilith, one of the top restaurants in Tel Aviv in the 1990s. In 2002, he partnered with Noam Bar and Yotam Ottolenghi to set up Ottolenghi in Notting Hill. The company now has seven delis and two restaurants, NOPI and ROVI, all in London. As the executive head chef, Sami was involved in developing and nurturing young kitchen talents and creating new dishes and innovative menus. Sami and Yotam have written two critically acclaimed cookbooks, Ottolenghi: The Cookbook and Jerusalem: A Cookbook. Sami’s third cookbook Falastin is co-authored with Tara Wigley and is a winner of the Fortnum & Mason Cookery Book of the Year, a James Beard Award nominee, an IACP Award winner and longlisted for The Art of Eating Prize. Nowadays, Sami divides his time between London and Umbria in Italy.

Reem Assil is a multiple award-winning Palestinian-Syrian speaker & chef based in Oakland, CA working at the intersection of food, community, and social justice. With food as a tool, Reem uses Arab hospitality to build strong, resilient community. Combining a lifelong fight for justice with nearly 20 years of nonprofit & food industry experience, Reem builds her vision for a more socially and economically just world. 

Boustany - The highly anticipated cookbook from Ottolenghi co-founder Sami Tamimi, Boustany is an homage to Palestinian food and culture. "Boustany" translates from Arabic as "my garden," which reflects Sami's signature style and approach to food: colorful and simple vegetable- and grain-led dishes. Bold, inspiring and ever-evolving, Boustany picks up where his previous Palestinian cookbook Falastin left off, with flavor-packed vegetable-based dishes, including pantry items, midweek easy meals and special to-be-shared dishes. 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.

This is how Sami grew up eating - platters of eggplant and chickpeas with a spicy green lemon sauce and fragrant lentil fatteh that always tasted better the next day. These are the 100 vegan and vegetarian dishes he has known, loved, cooked, and shared with friends, including:

• Braised eggs with pita bread, tomatoes & za’atar
• Smoky chickpeas with cilantro tahini
• Crushed butter beans with orange, makdous & mint
• Fried halloumi with purslane salad
• Couscous fritters with preserved lemon yogurt
• Jerusalem sesame bread
• Fenugreek & onion buns
• Pan-baked tahini, halva & coffee brownie
• Labneh & pomegranate ice cream