A journey through the flavors and aromas of the fantastic East
Award-winning food and food history author, Rosa Belluzzo brings to light the magical world of the Thousand and One Nights stories and Nabobesque banquet recipes
Odalisques, sultans, palaces, riches, battles and magical rugs seduce hearts and minds from immemorial times. This almost dreamlike imagery populates the representations of what is conventionally called the Orient and hits one of its highest points in the book One Thousand and One Nights. Mesmerized by this fascination, the researcher Rosa Belluzzo makes an invitation to a journey towards this fantastic world: in A Thousand and One Nights, a thousand and one delicacies [Mil e uma noites, mil e uma iguarias], published by Editora Unesp, a robust historical research walks alongside traditional recipes of Arab cuisine with beautiful illustrations and engravings that would make the most nabbish banquet jealous.
“This heady gastronomic panorama deserves attention for contributing to the sensual awakening of the tales of One Thousand and One Nights“, the author notes. Faithful to this diagnosis, throughout ten chapters, as Sherazade entangles the sultan with her narrative ability, Rosa Belluzzo carries the readers to the historical East in a fantastic textual construction: at times she speaks of history, sometimes she introduces excerpts from the Thousand and One Nights in vivid descriptions. At the end, a list with recipes, ingredients and preparation methods honor the thousand and one delicaciesdelicacies mentioned in the title.
“This book is not and does not intend to be a methodical incursion into the rich gastronomic landscape of the Harum al-Rashid empire and contemporaries. It’s not the intention”, the editors warn. “The purpose is much more modest. It is not restricted to exposuring, but taking part in the densely scented atmosphere which is one of the strengths of One Thousand and One Nights. Let’s give in to temptation! Let’s partake the allure of a universe that’s more accessible to sensations than words.”
About the author –
Rosa Belluzzo is the author of an extensive production in food history. Her books earned many awards in Brazil and abroad. She has published, among others, “Immigrant Cuisine: Memories and Recipes” (co-authored by Marina Heck DBA/Melhoramentos, Jabuti Award 1999); “The Flavors of America – Cuba, Jamaica Martinique and Mexico” (Senac São Paulo Publisher, Gourmand World Cookbook Awards 2004); São Paulo: “Memory and flavor” (Editora Unesp, Award of the Académie Internationale de la Gastronomie in 2009); “Machado de Assis: Culinary relics” (Editora Unesp, 1st place at the Jabuti Prize 2011) and “Brazilian Cuisine Art” (with Leonardo Arroyo, Editora Unesp, 2013, prizes from the International Academy of Gastronomy and the Brazilian Academy of Gastronomy).
Title: A thousand and one nights, a thousand and one delicacies [Mil e uma noites, mil e uma iguarias]
Author: Rosa Belluzzo
Number of pages: 137
Format: 21 x 21 cm
ISBN: 978-85-393-0672-5
Rights: worldwide free