Food for Sharing: Love and Spices from an Immigrant Kitchen, written by Ashia Ismail-Singer, features an incredible collection of memorable recipes for every season alongside beautiful photography and personal stories. A few highlights include Vegetarian Samosa Chaat, Mixed Heirloom Tomato & Labneh Salad, Stuffed Naan with Turmeric Apple Achaar, Lamb Biryani with All the Layers & Crunchy Filo Rosettes, and Baklava Cheesecake with Orange Blossom Syrup. I will also be featuring her recipe for Rose, Apricot and Honey Iced Tea following the review.
Disclosure: I received a digital copy of this book from Interlink Books in exchange for my honest review. All comments and opinions are my own.
Ashia Ismail-Singer
Ashia Ismail-Singer is a nurse, mother, home cook, and food writer. She also recently retrained to start a career in real estate.
Her grandparents came from Gujarat, on the western coast of India; she spent her early childhood in Malawi, Africa; and moved to England as a teenager. She is now based in New Zealand with her family.
Ashia is also the author of Ashia’s Table and the upcoming Sweet Saffron and Cardamom.
Food for Sharing
Ashia begins Food for Sharing with an introduction and a few photos of her life, family, and the inspiration behind this beautiful book. She states it is “the culmination of my love of food, cooking and entertaining.”
The resulting flavors found across the pages showcase this incredible blend of her experiences in India, Africa, the Middle East, France, the UK, and New Zealand.
Chapters are divided according to the following: Breakfast & Brunch, Summer Picnics & Alfresco Dining, Glorious Vegetables, Elaborate Dinners & Festive Feasts, Sunset Snacks & Sharing Plates, and Sugar & Spice.
Following the recipes, Ashia finishes with a handful of menu plans to help bring everything together.
The photography is provided by Lottie Hedley. Every recipe is paired with at least one full-page, vibrant photo of the finished dish.
Measurements are listed in US Customary and Metric. Titles are written in English and/or the original language. Each recipe has a headnote with background information, yield, personal stories, and serving ideas.
Rose, Apricot and Honey Iced Tea
To pair with this review, I made Ashia’s Rose, Apricot and Honey Iced Tea!
This refreshing and easy drink uses puréed apricot and green tea as the base with floral notes from rose water and honey. It is definitely perfect to contrast the current summer heat or even as a part of a weekend brunch.
Start by puréeing peeled and chopped fresh apricots with sugar in a blender until smooth. Add the mixture to steeped green tea along with honey and rose water.
Once the tea has cooled, strain and mix in water until diluted as desired.
Serve cold in small glasses over ice with a garnish of dried rose petals.
Notable Ingredients
Rose water is created by collecting the liquid from distilled roses.
I have been able to locate it in markets (make sure it is culinary rose water) with Middle Eastern and South Asian ingredients and more recently in some larger American grocery stores.
A Few Rose, Apricot and Honey Iced Tea Tips
To easily peel the apricots, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the apricots and blanch just for 30-60 seconds. Immediately remove to a bowl of ice water. Once cooled, peel away the skins, remove the pits, and chop before adding to the blender.
Ashia mentions you can swap the fresh apricots for canned apricots. If using canned apricots, omit the sugar.
Adjust the amount of water between 2-2 1/2 cups (500–600 milliliters) as desired to dilute the apricot mixture. We stirred in right around 2 cups.
Other Dishes
We also made Strawberry Cheesecake Pancakes, Koftas with Marinated Feta in Thyme & Chile Oil, Chile & Parmesan Smashed Potatoes, and Parmesan-Crumbed Paneer with Chile & Mayo.
My daughter requested the Strawberry Cheesecake Pancakes from the Breakfast & Brunch chapter. These light and fluffy buttermilk cream cheese pancakes are pan-fried until golden with pieces of fresh strawberries. To finish, they are served with a strawberry jam, powdered sugar, and a dollop of mascarpone or cream.
The Koftas with Marinated Feta in Thyme and Chile Oil were my son’s favorite. Spiced ground beef meatballs are pan-fried until golden, then served with pita or naan, marinated feta and sun-dried tomatoes, and fresh thyme leaves. The flavors were absolutely fantastic and I cannot wait to make this meal again.
The Chile & Parmesan Smashed Potatoes can be found in the Glorious Vegetables chapter. Potatoes are lightly coated with butter, olive oil, chile flakes, garlic, then smashed over a Parmesan-coated baking sheet before cooking until golden.
The Parmesan-Crumbed Paneer with Chile & Mayo is the first recipe in the Sunset Snacks & Sharing Plates chapter. Ashia dresses up paneer with a panko Parmesan coating, then pairs the pan-fried sticks with a sweet chile mayonnaise sauce.
Food for Sharing is a wonderful option for those interested in a variety of small bites and celebratory meals packed with flavor. The pages are filled with a diverse blend of drinks, appetizers, meat/seafood options, vegetables, snacks, and desserts for every occasion.
Many of the ingredients are becoming more available in larger American grocery stores. Having a South Asian and Middle Eastern market nearby will be helpful in locating items such as Kashmiri chile powder, amchur (mango powder), curry leaves, pomegranate molasses, tamarind paste, nigella seeds, cassava, and star anise.
Rose, Apricot and Honey Iced Tea Recipe
Excerpt from Food for Sharing
Rose, Apricot and Honey Iced Tea
Ingredients
- 2 pounds 4 ounces (1 kilogram) fresh apricots peeled and chopped
- 3/4 cup (150 grams) sugar
- 3-4 green tea bags
- 4 tablespoons honey
- 2 teaspoons rose water
- edible dried Persian rose petals to garnish
Instructions
- Purée the apricots in a blender with the sugar.
- Bring 4 1/4 cups (1 liter) of water to a boil in a very large pot.
- Add the green tea bags and steep for 5 minutes, before removing.
- Add the apricot purée, honey and rose water, stir to mix and leave to cool.
- Once cool, strain the liquid and add 2-2 1/2 cups (500-600 milliliters) water until diluted to your liking.
- Serve in pretty little glasses with ice, and garnish with dried rose petals.
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