SOFREH

Sofreh is Nasim Alikhani's highly anticipated debut cookbook based on her irresistible, sumptuous Persian food. As you will see, this proposal is first rate: authoritative and colorful, with a narrative written straight from the heart. The complex, diverse, intense flavor profiles revealed in Sofreh are pure unadulterated delight as are Nasim's engaging culinary sensibility and personal story.

More than just a collection of recipes, Sofreh (Farsi for “a place of gathering and welcome,” and named for the vibrant tablecloth unfurled for one's cherished guests) is a personal, passionate journey into the luminous soul of Iranian cuisine, told through Nasim's own story of creating a life centered on food and cooking as the medium for memory, tradition, culture and the expression of deep love for family and longing for home. Pivoting between engaging stories of her childhood in Isfahan, an historic desert city in Central Iran, helping her grandmother to bake the daily lavash in a clay oven, learning the secrets of Persian cooking from her mother and other powerful female cooks in their intimate circle, of her years of struggle as a lonely emigrant in New York, and her successful launch as a chef/restaurateur at the age of 59, this book is ultimately a joyous celebration that will delight home cooks everywhere. Readers will come to know and speak Nasim's language – the timeless, earthy yet elegant, sophisticated and soul-satisfying food of Persia, with its intoxicatingly bold herbal and spice flavors, succulent savory stuffed meats, and surprising sweet and sour notes of lemon and sour cherries and its vast bounty of brightly pickled vegetables and much more.

The cuisine of Sofreh is completely enveloping – the colors, scents, tastes and bursting freshness of this sensual, deeply satisfying food simply leap from the page in the easy-to-prepare recipes that Nasim will share – here is a small selection:

“I'll include my most treasured traditional recipes, such as Gormeh Sabzi, a stew of tender beef and hearty, kidney beans laced with dried Persian lime, as well as succulent Herbed Meatballs Stuffed with Walnuts and Plum in a Saffron Verjus Broth that you'll always find on the menu at Sofreh. I want you to know the simplicity and fulfilling nourishment of Caramelized Onion and Chickpea Soup with Fried Mint, as well as the intense flavor of my mom's Koresh e Fesanjan, a Chicken Stew with a luxurious sauce of ground walnuts and sour pomegranate molasses, that is as versatile as it is delicious. (Yes, mom I am sharing all of your incredible, mouth-watering stews.) And I'll share with you every single eggplant dish that moves me: from Stuffed Eggplant with Lamb, Split Peas and Herbs, to my treasured recipe for my Aunt Mihan's "Mind-Blowing" Mirza Ghasemi. I watched her intently and copied her every move until I got the flavor just right.

“I also want to share new Persian dishes... such as Roasted Cauliflower with Shallot Yogurt and Pistachios, where each bite of roasted and pickled cauliflower, tangy shallot-flavored yogurt and salty, meaty pistachios provides sensory pleasure. And you'll see my mom's Chicken Stew with Dried Persian Plum and Barberries transformed for a new audience to enjoy. Enter a beautiful, juicy, de-boned half chicken that I marinate in lemon juice, turmeric, and saffron. I then crisp the exterior to a glorious brown sheet and strew a tart and fruity dried plum sauce over the bird. When my Persian friends tell me, "Nasim, your place is unlike any other Persian restaurant we've been to, but we can still taste the flavors of our culture here," I know my mission has come full circle. (Ok, I can also feel my mom rolling her eyes at me)

As you will see, beyond the superb food and Nasim's expert guidance in all things Persian – from stocking an authentic pantry to perfecting your own crunchy “tahdig,” Nasim's voice (working with co-writer Theresa Gambacorta) is witty, generous, opinionated, revealing, and above all, passionate in her drive to make the deepest connections possible through her food. Her stories from her life in Iran and her adopted home base of New York City are touching and often humorous (read about her Thanksgiving turkey with pomegranate glaze), all told to the beat of Nasim's favorite “cheesy” 1970s Iranian pop music.

Born and raised in Iran, Nasim Alikhani spent her early childhood summers salt pickling tomatoes, making jewel-like fruit marmalades and partaking in the myriad summer projects her school teacher mom lined up for her. As Nasim grew, cooking also became a deep well of comfort and calm during her years at the University of Tehran during a time of tumult. Following the 1979 Revolution, when Iran's universities were shut, Nasim returned home to Isfahan to take over her mother's kitchen. But eventually, the dramatic shifts in her home country and the diminished roles for women left her with little choice but to depart for a new life in New York.

With each visit back to Iran, she began a systematic gathering of ancestral voices and recipes for Persian regional dishes (everyone's grandma brought her something wonderful to try). And although she has worked various jobs unrelated to the culinary world, once even owning a copy shop, Nasim always kept her cooking front and center in her personal life. Through food, Nasim found her calling. She undertook massive cooking projects for her kids' schools, at fundraising events, as well as preparing meals for homeless shelters and even now, feeding front line workers during the pandemic. By the time she opened her Brooklyn restaurant Sofreh, she had spent two decades of cooking, honing, developing, and dreaming of bringing the unique warmth and communal spirit of Persian home cooking to a wide audience, quickly gaining a hugely enthusiastic following from her neighbors and community, as well as from the press, in places such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, the New Yorker, and Saveur. Nasim has also shared her powerful and inspirational personal story on podcasts such as One Woman Kitchen (a complete list of clips can be found in the Marketing and Promotion section of the proposal).

Sofreh will be a must-have book for the wildly enthusiastic, ever-growing audience for discovering everything about Middle Eastern food. And you should know that Nasim's warm, laid-back Brooklyn restaurant of the same name has remained open and just as packed with customers dining outside and doing take-out during the pandemic as it has always been - a true touchstone for New Yorkers' fierce devotion to our communities and beloved eateries. Nasim is a genuinely indomitable woman and a life force in the city and beyond.

Nasim's partner on the project is co-writer Theresa Gambacorta, a food journalist and playwright, who is also the co-writer with chef and restaurateur Joey Campanaro of The Little Owl on Big Love Cooking, his debut cookbook just published by Chronicle.