The Temporary Bride

Electronic book text

A Memoir of Love and Food in Iran

'It is the pursuit of love that drives me to Iran. It is for love I am willing to sit night after night alone, eating in the empty women's dining rooms of the few restaurants that survived the revolution. Since I ate my first Persian stew, tearing fibres of lamb between a spoon and fork, breathing in the scent of dried black limes, I have chartered a course to this place.'

Jennifer Klinec has always been drawn to travelling in pursuit of her love of food. Raised in Canada to Hungarian-Croatian parents, she made her way across the world before ending up in London. And for her, a visit to Iran means one thing - learning more about the food that Iranians eat. So she packs her suitcase, puts on a scarf and closes up the cookery school she hosts in her home before leaving for a land that has long fascinated her. She wants to eat the food of the people and try recipes that have changed little in five-hundred years: tahdig, the crisp, buttery golden crust of rice that Iranians covet; long simmered stews of chicken with golden plums and quince; lamb braised with pomegranate seeds.

So when she is given the opportunity to cook with the mother of an Iranian family, Jennifer jumps at the chance. Soon she is learning to cook the Iranian way, while the son of the family, Vahid, takes her on a culinary tour of the land. But more than food is on the cards, and falling in love is not easy in a country that isn't your own.

Moving, fascinating and full of the sights, smells and tastes of Iran, this is a heart-warming tale of love against the odds.

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