Mediterranean Seafood

By Alan Davidson

Book Overview

This is the essential book about the cookery as well as zoology of the fish and shellfish that inhabit the Mediterranean (including the Black Sea). It has translated into more than a dozen languages. It combines natural history and cookery in a most enticing way, providing information for the fisherman and seafood enthusiast as well as for the cook. Its genesis was endearingly domestic - while the author, in his diplomatic career, was posted to the British Embassy in Tunis, his wife needed an overview of the local fish markets to plan her shopping. It turned out to be Davidson's first book, and once taken up with enthusiasm by Elizabeth David it became required reading. The book is split between a catalogue, with drawings and description close to 200 species, together with cookery notes and any information that might put it in context; and a section of 200 recipes which draws on the best methods of cooking these types of fish from the many countries best acquainted with them. There is a full index and bibliography. The writing is matchless: exact, yet humorous; learned, yet light. It is one of the most inspirational cookery books to have been written in the last 60 years. In an era where the Mediterranean is being over-fished and some 14 species are critically endangered, now is the time to know both what to avoid at the market, and what you can continue to enjoy (and how to cook them). The book was first published in 1972 by Penguin and reissued by Prospect in 2012.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1903018943
• ISBN13: 9781903018941
• Release Date: December 2012
• Publisher: Prospect Books (UK)
• Length: 432 Pages
• Weight: 2.15 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Great Reference, Great Read, Great Recipes. Buy it Now.

`Mediterranean Seafood' and `North Atlantic Seafood', both by noted culinary writer Alan Davidson, the author of `The Oxford Companion to Food' are reference books which a serious cook must have in their library where time is spent deciding on what to eat rather than time spend actually cooking. These books belong to a rare breed of books in English such as Elizabeth Schneider's `Vegetables from Amaranth to Zucchini' or `Bruce Cost's Asian Ingredients' which thoroughly cover a broad single subject or the `Larousse Gastronomique' which gives an overview of virtually every culinary subject, at least from the point of view of French cuisine. Both books are organized in the same way that gives primacy to information on the aquatic species and secondary coverage of recipes. Biological family, genus, and species organize the first part on the catalog of species in order that the biological similarity of the fishes is clearly shown. Each article gives the most common English name, the two part Latin scientific name, the scientist who assigned this name (most commonly the great inventor of biological Taxonomy, Linnaeus), the biological family name, and the common name of the fish in virtually every language of the major fishing nationality bordering the relevant body of water. The North Atlantic species, for example, are named in Portuguese, Spanish, French, Dutch, German, Polish, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, and others such as Gaelic (Irish). The Mediterranean species' names are given in French, Spanish, Greek, Italian, Tunisian, Turkish, and others such as Bulgarian, Romanian, and Russian if, for example, the species is most commonly found in the Black Sea, which is included in the coverage of the Mediterranean. These names in themselves are entertaining to the linguistically inclined, as it is interesting to see the similarities and differences from country to country. For example, even though the Turks came to Asia Minor from central Asia, most of their names for fishes are very similar to the Greek name, making a lot of sense, as a traveling people is likely to name things new to them based on the names given by the indigenous population. The articles on every species also have a highly detailed black and white drawing of each animal. The great value to these is that it makes comparing the appearance of different fishes very easy, as every species is depicted in a similar style. It is too bad they could not be depicted to scale, but this would have had the sturgeon filling two pages while the anchovies would be the size of a period. Instead, the remarks on each fish give the average market length and a description of the typical color and markings. The catalog entry also gives a paragraph or two on cuisine, which is a discussion of the culinary desirability of the species and typical ways in which the animal is prepared. For most fish, this includes methods by which the fish is butchered. The catalog entries also include a list of recipes and page

A must-have classic

Just before his untimely death, this year, Alan Davidson received the highly prestigious Erasmus Prize for European culture, for his publications on food. This book, along with his Companion and other publications, is a classic. It is crammed full of useful and necessary information. The fish section describes a species, its latin name, and the names in various other languages in the region. The recipe section deals in an intelligent way with regional knowns and unknowns, such as a sencible discussion on bouillabaisse. Any serious library of cookbooks has to have Davidson's books, including this one.

Wonderful cookbook and reference

All the commonly-eaten fish and shellfish of the Mediterranean are covered in this wonderful reference and cookbook. As in his Atlantic Seafood, each animal's entry includes an old engraving (better than a photo for identification -- except for color), its scientific and common names in various languages, a description of the animals habit's and culinary qualities, and a reference to recipes.Recipes are organized by country, and are well chosen and edited. The only criticism I might offer is that it is hard to find recipes by type. That is, it's very easy to find recipes for mackerel or recipes from Italy, but it's hard to find all the baked-fish recipes suitable for a dark-fleshed fish.A great book like this should never be out of print! It's one of my favorite gifts for friends in Greece and Italy....