Mediterranean Cooking Revised Edition

By Paula Wolfert

Book Overview

"When I develop my recipes I always look for ways to create what I call the Big Taste. While I enjoy eating simple grilled foods, what interests me when I cook are dishes with a taste that is fully dimensional. What do I mean by Big Taste? I mean food that is deeply satisfying, and that appeals to all the senses." This revised edition of Mediterranean Cooking celebrates the sensuous pleasures and "Big Taste" of cooking in the various styles of the countries surrounding the world's largest inland sea. In more than 150 authentic recipes (75 of them brand new), Wolfert reveals the aromas, flavors, and textures of this bountiful area, which includes coastal France, Spain, Italy, Greece, Morocco, Tunisia, and other neighboring countries. Recipes are indexed by nationality and course for those who wish to serve a complete Mediterranean meal from a particular country or region. Each recipe states the equipment needed and gives approximate times for preparation and cooking. There is also a list of suppliers of ingredients that may not be locally available. Wolfert's culinary expertise, for which she has been hailed by Food & Wine magazine as the "Mistress of the Mediterranean,"is evident in the stylish and informative way she presents each delicious recipe. Among the dishes included in this sumptuous volume are Spinach and Cheese Dumplings with Gorgonzola Sauce, Roast Pork with Oranges, Couscous in the Style of Tangier, and Honey Walnut Cake. In addition to being fresh and delicious, the cuisine of this sunny region is lower in saturated fats and higher in fiber than most other cooking styles. The focus on fruits, vegetables, and grains rather than meat and the reliance on red wine and olive oil are believed to contribute to the long, healthy lives of the Mediterranean peoples. Paula Wolfert's reputation as one of the world's preeminent food writers and cookbook authors, combined with her acute knowledge of the Mediterranean region, makes this book a mandatory addition to the kitchen of anyone who cares about eating well.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0880014024
• ISBN13: 9780880014021
• Release Date: July 1999
• Publisher: Ecco
• Length: 336 Pages
• Weight: 1.76 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.5" x 1.3" x 7.5"

Customer Reviews

A classic cook book

I had this book since it came out in 1977. After 30 years it completely fell apart and this purchase was a replacement copy. Mediterranean Cooking by Paula Wolfert was the first cook book that centered on Mediterranean cooking with accurate recipes. It is a great reference for that something you need for Moroccan, Provence, Italian, Greek, Lebanese and Israeli cooking. During 1977 I bet most people in America had no idea of what tabbouleh, baba ghanoush and tahini was. This cook book is a classic and a good starting point for this cuisine. Since it is from the seventy's it does not have any pretty pictures but is packed with basic recipes. It is good starting point for the expert on Mediterranean cooking.

A very good survey of Mediterranean cooking themes

`Mediterranean Cooking' by the eminent cookbook author, Ms. Paula Wolfert may not be the best book on Mediterranean recipes, it may not even be the second best book on Mediterranean recipes, especially since Ms. Wolfert is competing against her excellent `The Cooking of the Eastern Mediterranean' plus flagship volumes from her hero, Elizabeth David and books from good friend, Nancy Harmon Jenkins and scholarly works from Clifford A. Wright and home friendly books from Joyce Goldstein and others. The list goes on and on. Mediterranean cooking has been addressed from about every angle you can think of, but part of that interest is due to Ms. Wolfert's own works, starting with her landmark `Couscous and Other Good Food from Morocco'. But, if this volume were the only one you had on `Mediterranean Cuisine', you should count yourself fortunate that you found this book. While this is not a scholarly book by most standards, like all of Ms. Wolfert's works, it is much more than a list of recipes. One major premise of the book is that a native of a region on the Mediterranean coast could walk the perimeter of this Sea and find familiar food all along the shores of the old Roman Empire. This forms the basis of Ms. Wolfert's organization of chapters which is based on the leading foodstuffs of the Mediterranean from the Maghreb (Northern Africa from Morocco to Tunisia) to the Levant (Lebanon, Israel, Jordan, and Syria). In fact, I have to suspect than friend Nancy Harmon Jenkins borrowed Ms. Wolfert's concept of how to present Mediterranean cuisine in Jenkins' 2003 book, `The Essential Mediterranean'. Ms. Wolfert's basis for choosing recipes she states in for simple reasons. First there are `...great and famous dishes for which I can find superb recipes'. Second are `...regional and unusual dishes'. Third are `...dishes which illustrate contrasting or similar uses for the same materials'. Fourth are `...delicious dishes that are not widely known'. All this means is that `This is a very personal book, a book of food that interests me'. And, almost all of the recipes come from home cooks acquired on Ms. Wolfert's many regular trips to the lands of the Mediterranean. One warning is necessary about the publisher's blurb that this second (1994) edition contains '75 new recipes'. In the introduction, Ms. Wolfert herself says that this has been more of a trade of 75 healthier, less fatty recipes for 60 older recipes. The book is not that much larger than the original edition, but I think all of this is of only minor concern, as the real value of the book lies in the insights Ms. Wolfert gives on the overall world of Mediterranean cookery. The flagship chapter tells the story of the combination of `Garlic and Oil' in Mediterranean cuisine. There are recipes combining these two items from one end of the Mediterranean to the other and Ms. Wolfert presents several samples from Spain, France, Italy, and Greece. The last of these recipes for `Sauce Rouille', a class

A good introduction to the cuisine of the region

I would have liked to see more recipes from Syria and Lebanon, although the ones that are included are very good. Sources for ingredients are included at the end of the book and the author has also included a recipe for home made yogurt which can really cut the cost of this essential ingredient. Preparation techniques are, for the most part, simple and accessible to American and European cooks requiring little special equipment.