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Claudia Roden head shot - Epicurious

Claudia Roden

Cookbook Author

Born to a Syrian-Jewish family in Cairo, Claudia Roden studied in London to become a painter before becoming engrossed by the stories and recipes of Britain’s expatriate Egyptian community. She began teaching Middle Eastern cooking from her home, hosting the BBC series Claudia Roden’s Mediterranean Cookery and becoming a prolific food journalist and cookbook author. She is best known for two publications: A Book of Middle Eastern Food, a cookbook first published in 1968 that remains an important influence on top chefs around the world, and The Book of Jewish Food: An Odyssey from Samarkand to New York, an opus on Jewish cooking that provides a detailed history of Jewish holidays and recipes from the diaspora. The Book of Jewish Food won the James Beard Foundation Cookbook of the Year Award and the National Jewish Book Award. Roden is the President of the Oxford Food Symposium and, in 2022, was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for her services to food culture.

Recipes & Menus

Paella With Seafood

This classic Spanish recipe from cookbook author Claudia Roden makes a celebratory seafood and rice dish flavored with sweet paprika and golden saffron.
Recipes & Menus

Easy Yogurt Soup With Orzo and Chickpeas

This delicate soup relies on egg yolk and cornstarch prevent the yogurt from curdling as it cooks.
Recipes & Menus

Yogurt Cake

There are many versions of Turkish yogurt cake. This one is like a light, airy, fresh-tasting cheesecake. If you wish, you can make a syrup, which should be passed around in a jug for people to help themselves. I prefer the cake pure and simple, without the syrup.
Recipes & Menus

Brochettes de Kefta

Moroccans call their diminutive kebabs brochettes, in the French manner. The streets of Fez are dotted with little braziers of glowing charcoal over which turn wood or metal skewers heavy with tiny pieces of meat, liver, or kefta, enveloping passersby with their irresistibly enticing aromas. Many spices are used in the kefta, but so discreetly that you can hardly guess what has gone in.