Cooked with Love: World Recipes Without Borders

September 20, 2022 3:26 AM

Cooked with Love is a recipe book collated by 30 unaccompanied minor asylum seekers, with help from social workers, carers, and city officials in Leeds, UK. Featuring recipes from Afghanistan, Iran, Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea and Chad, the book is downloadable for free from the first link.

From the Guardian link:

The Cooked with Love book makes for a joyous read and is packed full of clear, tantalising recipes, but it is also deeply moving. Each chapter starts with brief testimonials from all the young people involved, small snapshots of what they have left behind and the longing they must endure.

posted by EndsOfInvention (10 comments total)

Elsa, an Ethiopian who has been in England for three years: "In our culture, we use lots of spices like ginger, garlic, chilli powder and cardamon, but I have noticed that British people often use ketchup and mayonnaise to add flavour instead."
posted by box at 5:45 AM on September 20, 2022 [10 favorites]

Well, this is delightful. I'm not a very adventurous eater so this felt really aimed at someone like me. Many of the recipes look really delightful and I can't wait to try them out.

I hope the authors of this cookbook know there's someone in rural eastern Washington state looking at their work!

Thanks so much for posting!
posted by hippybear at 10:29 AM on September 20, 2022 [2 favorites]

I like that the cookbook includes not only the usual cooking time and number of portions but also an estimated cost.
posted by jedicus at 10:31 AM on September 20, 2022 [5 favorites]

This is a great idea, and the food looks fantastic. Here's a related effort in Lisbon: Mezze, a restaurant run by refugees from Syrian

The story is from 2018, the restaurant is still there...
posted by chavenet at 10:42 AM on September 20, 2022 [3 favorites]

I love it! and I've said it before, but I'll defend my local refugee kitchens with sharpened forks.
posted by cobaltnine at 11:16 AM on September 20, 2022 [3 favorites]

Thanks for posting this. It's not online, but I can recommend The Syrian Spoon, a cookbook written by two Syrian refugee women and published to raise money for Sevenoaks Welcomes Refugees.
posted by paduasoy at 12:31 PM on September 20, 2022 [2 favorites]

"Assida is perfect to eat with savoury dishes from Sudan. Mixing assida is hard work. Get someone to help you." Love it!
posted by hydra77 at 12:32 PM on September 20, 2022 [1 favorite]

I appreciated the attractive layout with actual pictures of both the food and the people who contributed the recipes. The writeups are clear, simple, and touching. Thank you for posting this!
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 8:28 PM on September 20, 2022 [3 favorites]

I would love to buy a physical copy to give as a gift.
posted by M. at 6:25 AM on September 21, 2022 [1 favorite]

Thank you for sharing this; it is lovely.
posted by BekahVee at 10:52 AM on September 22, 2022 [1 favorite]