Cooking with Nafas: Recipes to Make Anyone Feel at Home [A Cookbook and Stories]

Celebrate chosen family, gathering, and the stories that can only be forged through food with 95 global recipes for every meal of the day, from the James Beard award–winning creator behind Lahbco.

Culinary creative and storyteller Nasim Lahbichi grew up in many kitchens throughout New York City. People who became his chosen family—long before he knew the term—invited him in, shared a meal, and provided a safe space through all the ebbs and flows of coming of age. The dishes he loved were ones rooted in tradition, adapted through the diaspora, and created on a whim. As he came into his own, Nasim grew and nurtured his community and his ever-expanding palate with the global flavors of Vietnam, Trinidad, Italy, Ghana, and more. 

Nafas is the Arabic word for self, soul, and spirit, and it's the "it factor" that makes someone's cooking and hosting exceptional. And yet, despite it's Arabig origins, nafas is something anyone can tap into at home. In Cooking with Nafas, Nasim brings you into the lives of those with this "it factor" who shaped his culinary lexicon. With 95 delicious recipes, Nasim shares equally heartwarming and hilarious stories spanning his Puerto Rican and Moroccan upbringing to finding acceptance and community in his queer identity as an adult. The recipes carry just enough tradition to keep the purists happy, while also exploring food through the lens of a third culture kid, giving you inspiration on how to improvise for your own taste—tapping into your own nafas. Chapters are organized by meal, with recipes that span the global influences that shaped Nasim's  upbringing in Brooklyn:

• Foundations of Flavor and Carb Loading set the basis for the recipes to come, showing you how to make your own Sofrito and Tamarind Chutney as well as Buss-Up-Shut Roti and Savory Adobo Squash Rolls.
• A Good Start and Midday Munch are filled with lighter but filling recipes like Curried Chana Shakshuka, Ivan’s Malaysian Steamed Yam Cake, and Tinned Fish Pajeon.
• Salacious Soups & Sides and Everyone Needs a Drink remind you that what gets served alongside your meal is just as important as the main, with recipes for Sesame Tahini Caesar Salad, Vegetable Sancocho, and Almond Tea Spritzer.
• The Main Act and A Lil’ Something Sweet round it all out with recipes like Bridget’s Ghanaian Spinach Stew, Citrus Harissa Chicken Kabobs, and Orange Blossom Ice Box Cake.

Cooking with Nafas will remind you of the power held in moments shared together over a meal and will renew your faith in finding your people, one dish at a time.