Pardiz is a personal journey into Manuela Darling- Gansser’s “paradise past”. Having lived in Iran for the first nine years of her life, she returned as an adult to reconnect with the country she remembered so fondly. This book is a celebration of that time; a compilation of beautiful recipes, stories and memories that underline the depth and broad appeal of this great and enduring food culture.

In Pardiz, Manuela demonstrates how seamlessly Persian food fits with trends of today: flourishing food markets; the primacy of local ingredients; the health-giving aspects of vegetable-centric dishes; and the joys of a shared table. The latter is a theme in her book – and in her life.

In her choice of recipes, Manuela gives  a sense of the diversity of Persian food – its celebration of rice, abundant use of fresh herbs and subtle combinations of meat, fish, fruit and vegetables with exotic spices such as saffron, cardamom and dried limes. And in their simplicity, dishes like Gheymeh nazir (Jewelled rice with meat filling) and Khoresh-e bademjan ba bareh (lamb with eggplant, peas and beans) bring the flavours of Persia into your home. With glorious photography which combines food, life in Iran today and stunning black and white imagery from Manuela’s childhood, Pardiz is a rich and many- sided story.