Sami Tamimi: 'Food is a wonderful way of sharing heritage'

This won’t be London-based author, chef and restaurateur Sami Tamimi’s first time at the Edinburgh International Book Festival. The Ottolenghi co-founder visited last year, and had a brilliant experience.

“I love Edinburgh. I’ve been a few times,” he says. “It’s wonderful to be around so many talented people.”

Sami Tamimi PIC: Ostaszewska Smit

In 2024, he was discussing his last cookbook, Falastin, which was co-authored by Tara Wigley, and talking about food as an expression of community, resistance and celebration. However, on this trip he’ll be sharing the beautiful Boustany. This vibrant new release, with a name that translates from Arabic as “my garden”, showcases the colourful vegetable-based dishes of Palestine and is his first solo book.

As part of the EIBF’s How to Live a Meaningful Life theme, he’ll be headlining the programme’s Jenny Lau, Chitra Ramaswamy and Sami Tamimi: Food and Home event on 17 August, from 10:15am to 11:15am. Later on the same day, if you want to taste his recipes, he’ll also be involved in a Table Talks session, Have Lunch with Sami Tamimi, from 1pm until 4pm at Elliott’s Studio.

We don’t know yet what will be cooking. It could be anything from his book, which features over 100 recipes. The options might include pickles, like baby aubergine, and condiments such as sumac onions; soups, salads, breads, breakfast dishes including broad bean falafel; small plates and spreads of crushed butter beans with orange, makdous and mint; salads such as a fridge-raid fattoush and a load of gorgeous desserts. We like the sound of labneh and pomegranate ice-cream.

“There’s a mother inside of me that wants to feed people. I always say, what’s the point of cooking when nobody’s enjoying it? That’s part of the whole Palestinian tradition where people are always welcome and it’s an open house,” says Tamimi, who grew up in Jerusalem. “They cook more than they need because they don’t want to end up in a situation where somebody is dropping by and they can’t eat, and it’s a wonderful thing. It’s about caring for people, making sure that they are well fed and welcomed.”

Although the book’s bounty is lush and every dish is like a jigsaw piece in a vast feast, it was conceived during a fallow period for Tamimi. He’s a self-confessed workaholic, and had what he describes in the book as a “mini meltdown” back in 2020, after he and his partner were sequestered at their Umbria home during lockdown. Just before this, he had been running six kitchens, and was recovering from a serious heart operation. As always, he turned to cooking as a therapy, but also rediscovered foraging in Italy.

“This is something we did in Palestine, and it’s a kind of ritual,” he says. "I was fortunate enough to be able to forage for things that I remember from childhood and it’s a lovely connection to the land. I always think that people that have a garden and grow their own vegetables, it’s such a wonderful experience and you’re connected to what you eat. It’s not just something you buy in the shop.”

Without his hectic job – he was then working as executive chef across the Ottolenghi group – there was time to think, and reminisce, about his childhood and his grandparents’ house in Hebron, and the dishes they’d make him. There is one option in particular that makes him feel nostalgic.

“I call it Palestinian egg and chips. It’s really such a simple dish in the book,” he says. “I have so many memories of being at my grandfather’s house, where everybody would sit around and enjoy this. They had their own chickens, so they had fresh eggs. Potatoes were always from the boustan. So they did it in a big pan, then shared it with a little cheese and greens. Every time I eat it, it transports me back to my childhood.”

As he thought about these dishes, more seeds were planted for the book, and the result is “a tribute to the beauty of culinary exploration and the profound impact it can have on our lives”. Those who are new to Tamimi’s cooking might want to start with his “easy” recommendation of cardamom pancakes with tahini, halva and carob. For the more advanced, there’s the Jerusalem sesame bread nests, or ka’ak.

“They’re really nice to do with kids, because you do the dough and then add the egg. It’s a fun thing. And they look really cute. I’ve taken them a couple of times to picnics, and people love them because they don’t just look cute, but also they’re quite tasty,” he says.

These seed-speckled rolls are usually sold with a hard-boiled egg, and a sachet of za’atar and salt, on the streets of Jerusalem. In the book, Tamimi describes buying them as an “experience that encapsulates the essence of tradition and local flavours”.

Tamimi, who moved to London in 1997, has siblings who still live in that city. He worries about them, though he says they’ve almost become inured to what’s happening. It seems more urgent than ever for this author to share his heritage. At this point, he hasn’t been back to his late grandparents’ house in Hebron and maybe never will.

“I didn’t want to go back, because I thought all my beautiful memories would vanish. I regret not going before, but the house is still there, though the garden isn’t,” he says.

He’s open to talking about the situation. The audience and panel at last year’s EIBF event were keen to know what his favourite recipes were, but also what it’s like to be a Palestinian today.

“I’ve been quietly campaigning, about the importance of keeping the cuisine, culture and heritage alive, by talking about it and showcasing and sharing. I started a little bit in Jerusalem, but more so in Falastin, and now in Boustany,” he says, in reference to a couple of his co-authored books. “I think we all connect to food, and we all love to eat and cook, and it’s a wonderful way of sharing heritage. People can cook and feel connected and they also want to know more about the history of the dish. We see how absolutely horrific what’s happening is at the moment in Gaza and the rest of Palestine, and it makes it even more important to talk about that and keep talking. For me, it’s a mission.”

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Boustany by Sami Tamimi is published by Penguin on 19 June. Sami Tamimi is appearing at the Edinburgh International Book Festival at 10:15am and 1pm on 17 August