On the Hummus Route

A celebration of street food and life in nine Middle Eastern cities, including Cairo and Jerusalem, Gaza and Tel Aviv, Jaffa, and Damascus, told through 70 recipes and 250 photographs. 

Across the Middle East, one humble ingredient transcends the boundaries of language, politics, and history to define the cuisine of multiple cultures: The humble chickpea. On the Hummus Route is the story of this simple ingredient. Part cookbook, part art book, On the Hummus Route takes readers on a journey through nine major cities—including Cairo, Jerusalem, Gaza, Tel Aviv, Jaffa, and Damascus. In each city, the book shares photos, essays, and anecdotes of the location’s street food culture, as well as the iconic dishes. There are 70 recipes that highlight all the ways to cook with chickpeas, such as Pita Pockets from Jaffa, Tomato-Chickpea Soup from Cairo, and Chickpea and Spinach Pies from Beirut. There are many iterations of hummus, such as hummus with buttered lamb in Damascus and with squid ink in Beirut. And there even more flavors of falafel, including Za’atar in Nazareth, Onion-Stuffed in Gaza, Green in Damascus, and Sardine in Jaffa. Authors Ariel Rosenthal and Orly Peli-Bronshtein worked with more than 30 contributors across the region to gather the recipes, photographs, and stories contained in these pages. The result is a truly groundbreaking tome that celebrates Middle Eastern food in a way no other cookbook has before.

• "Dedicated to the holiest of Israel’s street foods. . . On the Hummus Route was created by prominent figures in the world of culture, cuisine, and science. [It’s] a first-of-its-kind collaboration led out of Paris across nine Middle Eastern cities, from Cairo all the way to Damascus, via Gaza, Jaffa, Tel Aviv, Nazareth, Jerusalem, Akko, and Beirut." 
  Tablet
• "A lavish volume on hummus. Different renditions of hummus, appealing preparations like a chicken and chickpea casserole and Yemeni spiced falafel, and a history of the chickpea are strewn throughout as the book explores the hummus route, with contributions from writers like Claudia Roden."
  The New York Times
• "Hummus, controversial and explosive"
  Le Monde
• "Hummus is as much an art book as a cookbook, and its organizing principle is geography. Alexander wanted to make the book a journey “between cities, people, and dreams” where borders and political arguments had vanished. The book focuses on nine cities—Cairo, Beirut, Damascus, Gaza, Jaffa, Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Acre, Nazareth—that comprise “the hummus route.” 
  Atlas Obscura
• "Israeli, Palestinian, Lebanese, Syrian cuisines and Egyptian each claim ownership of the famous mashed chickpeas with sesame. But its simplicity and its strength symbolic might well end up transcending borders thanks to a few enthusiasts." 
  Marie Claire