Saghar Setareh left Iran in 2007 at 22 years old. She came to Rome to study graphic design and photography. The way she tells it, when she arrived she “certainly didn’t have a particular passion for food”. Slowly, though, that passion developed, first for Italian food and then by extension for the food of her homeland. Her book, which emerged from her passion, shares stories and recipes from Iran, from Italy, and from all the countries in between, and it is simply gorgeous, showcasing her multiple talents: writer, cook, photographer. I know I’m going to have to scan the pages, so that I can cook from it without splattering it in the kitchen. Notes Saghar Setareh has a website at labnoon.com where you will find more about her story and the book, including an explanation of labnoon. You can also see her photos on Instagram Here is the transcript. If you’ve been waiting, thanks for your patience and apologies for the delay. I was happy enough to snap the cover portrait myself, but with a photographer as talented as Saghar, you ask nicely, and you receive. The banner image is of her sour cherry pilaf.    Huffduff it