The Essential Mediterranean Cookbook [Hardcover]

Wendy Stephen (Editor)

Book Description

Series: Essential Cookbooks (Thunder Bay Press) | Publication Date: May 2003

Greece, Turkey, Italy, France, Spain, North Africa, and the Middle East all share the shores of the sparkling Mediterranean -- conjuring up images of olive groves and lemon trees, the aroma of wild oregano, and warm evenings spent sipping drinks and nibbling on delicious meze, tapas, or antipasto platters. Many of the spices, herbs, vegetables, and other ingredients are common throughout these beautiful places; however, the rich history and interesting origins of each country has led to differences in how the ingredients are used. With over 600 full-color photographs, The Essential Mediterranean Cookbook provides a comprehensive pictorial guide to the area and its celebrated cuisine.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Thunder Bay Press (CA) (May 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1571459774
• ISBN-13: 978-1571459770
• Product Dimensions: 11.3 x 8.7 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #866,875 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

55 of 55 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great for new ideas, March 1, 2004

By 

Christopher J. Webster (Boulder, CO USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Essential Mediterranean Cookbook (Hardcover)

I'm not a major chef, so things like Joy of Cooking and James Beard glaze my eyes over unless I know exactly what I'm looking for. This book has pictures of all/most of the dishes so it's fun to page through and find things to cook when you are looking for new and different. I've cooked about 8 things out of here so far and all have been outstanding.

The conversions from metric to english leave something to be desired. For canolli shells she says to roll to 5mm or 1/4 inch thick, an 1/8 would be more appropriate. Some things are in weight instead of measure, 300g of flour instead of 2 cups, so be prepared with scale or something.

23 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars good but could be alot better, February 5, 2005

By 

Mojopox (Ohio) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Essential Mediterranean Cookbook (Hardcover)

First off to be fair. I don't know a whole lot about mediterranean cooking. I find southern food and mexican food to be my favorites however i am looking to expand my knowledge of food. I purchased this book knowing from another review that it included alot of pictures. I was hoping to be able to learn something about mediterranean cooking that i didn't know.

As i started to leaf through this book i was impressed by the clarity of all the color photo's of gorgeous food throughout the book. Every few pages, in the margin of the page there is a picture and an explination or a little comment on an ingrediant used. I think this is great however the flaws show up when the picture doesn't match the item that is listed. For instance when giving a little history on "aioli" (garlic mayo) there is a picture of some asparagus. When talking about "Salad Nicoise" (named Nicoise because of the olive's) there is a picture of bell peppers. "Tuna" you get a picture of lemons. "Anchovies" you get a picture of garlic. It's a little irritating at most.

The other problem i have with this book is that alot of the recipe's also show up in "The Essential Seafood Cookbook" so now i have duplicates of certain recipe's.

Now don't let my complaining scare you away from this book. It's still a good book despite it's flaws. the pictures really are awesome. (you can see the little eyes clearly on the picture of fried baitfish). As for the authenticity of the food presented here? From what i know any book that includes a recipe for Miala Tiganita (fried lamb brains) has probably got to be pretty authentic even if i know nothing about the cuisine of Greece.

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One FABULOUS Cookbook !, June 25, 2005

By 

Susan "Writer/Photographer" (Georgia) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Essential Mediterranean Cookbook (Hardcover)

The wonderful trend of "coffee-table cookbooks" was probably inspired by people like me who sometimes cook vicariously...who enjoy seeing a photo with every recipe, for all the times when we're just looking. Yes, almost every recipe has a top-quality color photo!

Getting to the point.....I'm almost drooling over the photos and recipes in this beautiful book that's divided into chapters of different Mediterranean countries...Greece, Turkey, Italy, France, Spain, North Africa, and the Middle East. Also included are chapters of "special features"...meze, antipasto, making pasta, making pizza, olive oil, dressings and sauces, tapas, and preparing olives.

This book is well planned and well executed. The food stylists and photographers did an outstanding job, and the assortment of recipes is organized, balanced and appealing. The instructions are carefully written and are suited to any level of cooking ability.

The "Honey and Pine Nut Tart" looks like a Mediterranean version of Southern Pecan Pie. I see a beautiful pistachio biscotti..... artichokes in aromatic vinaigrette..... Tunisian brik..... gnocchi Romana (from scratch!)..... kalamaria yemista (stuffed squid)..... flatbread with za'atar (huh?)..... pollo a la chilindron..... caponata with tuna.....orange and date salad.....oh, my!