Invitation To Mediterranean Cooking [Hardcover]

Claudia Roden (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 15, 1997

As more and more people adopt a healthy lifestyle and diet, they are discovering the refreshingly simple cuisine of the Mediterranean. Claudia Roden is one of the culinary world's greatest experts on the genuine food and flavors of the region, and in this beautifully illustrated book she extends an Invitation to Mediterranean Cooking with over 150 recipes that capture the essential qualities of this vibrant cuisine.

The high-fiber, low-fat Mediterranean diet emphasizes the use of a wide range of vegetables and grains, fresh fish and seafood. Here, Claudia Roden has selected a range of main courses, desserts, and side dishes from her extensive travels not only in Europe, but in Mediterranean Africa and the Middle East as well. The recipes include established dishes from Italy, Spain, and France, such as Linguine with Spinach and Pine Nuts, Gazpacho, and Provençal Mushroom Tart, as well as more unusual dishes such as Tunisian Eggplant Omelette and Spicy Walnut Paste from Turkey. In her engaging style, Roden thoroughly explains techniques and ingredients to enable home cooks of every skill-level to prepare these intriguing dishes.

Beautifully complemented by Gus Filgate's evocative photographs, these recipes extend an irresistible welcome to the warming flavors and life-affirming principles of the bright, fresh Mediterranean.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Roden is the author of a number of other books on Mediterranean cooking, as well as the impressive The Book of Jewish Food (LJ 12/96). Her latest collection offers light, fresh, easy dishes not just from Italy and France's Provence but also from the somewhat less explored cuisines of the Mediterranean region, particularly those of the Middle Eastern and North African countries. Seafood and vegetable dishes have always been at the heart of Mediterranean cooking, so it seems logical to focus on them: Moroccan Carrot Salad, Sauteed Artichoke Hearts and Potatoes, Baby Squid with Garlic and Chilies, Fish Soup with Saffron and Cream. Recommended for most collections.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"Claudia Roden is a cookbook writer who does not write cookbooks. Rather, she follows the tendrils of memory that bind people and families. Hers is an impassioned quest to stitch together the fabric of a culture."--Molly O'Neill, The New York Times Magazine

"Roden has done extensive footwork, traveling the area and visiting the private kitchens in Greece, Italy, France, Spain, North Africa, and the Middle East.... With Roden we get the region's most flavorful fare."--Bon Appetit

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Rizzoli (October 15, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0847820203
• ISBN-13: 978-0847820207
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 7.6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,406,836 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Claudia Roden was born in Cairo, educated in Paris and London, where she has lived for many years. Widely admired as both a great cook and a fine writer, she has written classic works on Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cookery and, most recently, her award-winning The Book of Jewish Food.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Super cookbook, August 6, 2002

By 

Karen Chung (Taipei, Taiwan) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Invitation To Mediterranean Cooking (Hardcover)

This is my third cookbook by this author. _The Food of Italy_ is very good, and I have several time-worn favorites in _A New Book of Middle Eastern Food_. But since getting these two, my daughter and I stopped eating meat, and we were looking for a bit of culinary inspiration. Well, we have it in _Invitation_. My daughter was especially thrilled since the book is geared to exactly what we eat: veggies and seafood. The recipes are elegant, creative, uncommon, but completely doable. (If only we could get zucchini here in Taiwan!) They tend toward the light side - we avoid stodgy food when we can - using fresh ingredients artistically. This book had me daydreaming of home entertaining again, the kind with style and flair. Some of the recipes that grabbed my attention: Lentil and Spinach Salad, Spicy Walnut Paste, Brown Lentils and Rice with Caramelized Onions, Couscous with Roast Vegetables, Eggplant Omelet, Salsa Verde, Fish Soup with Saffron and Cream. We try to avoid sweets, but there is a seductive photo of Sauteed Fruit with Almond Custard that sends out a siren call every time I open to that page (201, if you want to stop there first). The book includes expertly composed photographs, has generous margins and comfortable type, and is overall a high-quality volume as regards design, paper, printing, and binding. If any of this strikes a chord with you, this book should be a winner for you, too.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Recipes, appetizing photos, reader friendly, April 9, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Invitation To Mediterranean Cooking (Hardcover)

This is one of the best vegetarian (mainly) books I have looked at lately. I haven't been cooking verymuch and this made we want to give a dinner party. In cookbooks, photographs are very important tome and the ones in this book are wonderful. I would give it an A+/

14 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Very good but not completely Mediterranean, October 7, 1999

By 

Mehmet Haluk Sevel ([e-mail]) (Izmir, Turkey) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Invitation To Mediterranean Cooking (Hardcover)

The book written by Ms. Roden is a very good book containing interesting recipes, but I do not consider it as Mediterranean. It is more North African. Olive oil, garlic and fish are the three thingns that symbolyse the region. They lack in the book. I hope that they will appear in the next printings. If needed; I am ready to assist with recipes.