Preface

Every country expresses itself in food—the meals and casual delights created from what grows in its soil, swims in its seas, grazes on its fields. Food is so much more than sustenance. In ways both subtle and powerful, it maintains bonds of family, friends, communities, and entire societies.

Iran is the country of my birth, but I’ve lived away from it for much of my adult life. This book is about going back. For a long time, I have wanted to renew my ties directly: to wander in Iran’s amazing markets; to meet its cooks and restaurateurs; to share kitchens and tables and tastes and scents that convey the very essence of the place.