Bottom of the Pot (Naz Deravian)

Staff Pick: As anyone who has ever been welcomed into a Persian home knows, you will most likely get pulled into a chair and have a plate of homemade food in front of you before you can even think about objecting. In Bottom of the Pot, Naz Deravian shares the recipes occupying her family’s table with such warmth and familiarity that it feels like said chair is waiting for you right at the heart of it. With most recipes serving at least six people, Bottom of the Pot is such a great resource to turn to as we enter the holiday season and begin planning menus for larger crowds. From showstopping tahdigs to tangy and comforting stews topped with bright greens, this book has endless ideas on how to feed a crowd with minimal effort and maximal care. -Elizabeth

Naz Deravian lays out the multi-hued canvas of a Persian meal, with 100+ recipes adapted to an American home kitchen and interspersed with Naz's celebrated essays exploring the idea of home.

At eight years old, Naz Deravian left Iran with her family during the height of the 1979 Iranian Revolution and hostage crisis. Over the following ten years, they emigrated from Iran to Rome to Vancouver, carrying with them books of Persian poetry, tiny jars of saffron threads, and, always, the knowledge that home can be found in a simple, perfect pot of rice. As they traverse the world in search of a place to land, Naz's family finds comfort and familiarity in pots of hearty aash, steaming pomegranate and walnut chicken, and of course, tahdig: the crispy, golden jewels of rice that form a crust at the bottom of the pot. The best part saved for last.

In her debut cookbook, Bottom of the Pot, Naz, now an award-winning writer and passionate home cook based in L.A., opens up to us a world of fragrant rose petals and tart dried limes, music and poetry, and the bittersweet twin pulls of assimilation and nostalgia. In over 100 recipes, Naz introduces us to Persian food made from a global perspective, at home in an American kitchen.