Doma: Traditional Flavors and Modern Recipes from the Balkan Diaspora

Doma means home in Slavic languages. For Spasia Pandora Dinkovski, born and raised in the UK by parents who had immigrated from a region which was once part of Yugoslavia but is now the country of North Macedonia, home is both the Balkan countries and wherever others of similar heritage have settled, carrying on culinary traditions and adapting to local ingredients and influences.

The cultural intersections of the Balkans are on ample display here in color-saturated photos that seem to have come straight from social media. Adding in British influences, as well as the effect of a few years Dinovski spent living in Brooklyn, there are some interesting surprises.

We noted:

• Cucumbers pickled with hibiscus and pistachios
• Mekici: sweet fritters topped with gorgonzola and roasted grapes
• Gibanica, a filo pie with egg and cheese filling
• Sesame onion rings with tarragon honey mustard
• Sour cherry baklava 

While not a systematic survey of the region, this is an appealing collection which is likely to intrigue.

Hardcover. Color photographs throughout.