Customer Reviews

Mediterranean Cooking Revised Edition

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`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 classic condiment for Bouillabaisse leads to Ms. Wolfert's riff on why bouillabaisse purists say that this dish cannot be made beyond 100 kilometers of Marseilles. All of this is done with a rather large sense of tongue in cheek. To make restitution, Ms. Wolfert offers us two recipes for the much less legendary `Soupe de Poisson', a simple Provencal fish soup with but one white fleshed saltwater fish.

The olive oil and garlic chapter is followed by a chapter on olives themselves. Ms. Wolfert piques our intellect by observing that if you divide the Mediterranean with an imaginary line down the sole of the Italian boot, along the eastern shore of Sicily, and down the boundary between Tunisia and Libya, you will have divided the cuisines into those who eat olives marinated and cured (the east of this line) and those who eat olives cooked with their dishes (Spain, France, Italy, the Maghreb). Ms. Wolfert has no good idea why this should be and the only thought I can offer is that this is roughly the boundary between the Eastern and Western Roman Empires when the split was made between Rome and Constantinople.

The most famous of all cooked olive dishes is probably the Neapolitan `Spaghetti alla Puttanesca'. Ms. Wolfert gives us a new explanation for the origin of this easy dish and befitting its fame, offers three different recipes. The most traditional includes a tomato sauce. Ms. Wolfert's two alternatives include no tomatoes, but are heavy on basil or peppers and raisins. All three are as fast or faster than any other recipes I have seen.

The remaining chapters are on:

Eggplant, Tomatoes, Peppers, and Other Mediterranean Vegetables
Chick-Peas, Lentils, and Beans
Pasta, Couscous, and Other Mediterranean Farinaceous Foods
Herbs, Spices, and Aromatics
Yogurt
Cheese
Nuts
Lemons, Oranges, Figs, Dates, and other Mediterranean Fruits

As familiar as all of these subjects are, Ms. Wolfert has something new to say on most of them. On cheese, for example, while the most famous of Mediterranean young cheeses are mozzarella and feta, Ms. Wolfert gives equal time to Sardinian and Egyptian varieties. The highest praise is reserved, of course for Parmesano Reggiano.

Since this edition was published in 1994, before the full flourishing of the Internet, all sources are mail order only, but most of these sources are familiar to all us foodies, so tracking down their Internet sites should be pretty easy. The Bibliography is modest with almost all entries being books available in English such as titles from Elizabeth David, Alan Davidson, Waverley Root, Claudia Roden, and other English and American writers.

Just like her hero, Elizabeth David, Ms. Wolfert has written many excellent books, but if you could have but one from each author, I would take this volume and Ms. David's first `A Book of Mediterranean Food'.

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.

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.

If you're new to Mediterranean cooking, start here, this is the classic American tome. All your basic classic recipes are here... pesto, tabbouleh, babaganoush etc., plus many less well-known recipes which will surprise and delight you. I bought the original version 30 years ago and it led to a life-long attachment to this cuisine. Also, vegetarians take note: there are many excellent meatless meals to be found in these pages, although Martha Shulman's vegetarian book is good if you prefer not to pay for meat recipes: Mediterranean Harvest: Vegetarian Recipes from the World's Healthiest Cuisine

My one complaint has always been the organization of this book, by main ingredient, i.e. all recipes featuring olives together, all featuring yogurt together, rather than organized by course (hors d'oeuvres, salad, entrées, dessert, etc.) Sorry, Paula, this is just inconvenient. Also, like so many other cookbooks, the index is annoying. There are recipes for gazpacho, but if you look under "Soups" it's only shown as "cold vegetable". Same with Pasta Puttanesca no mention of it in the index at all, only "spaghetti with olive sauce."

But don't let this discourage you, if you only want a single Mediterranean cookbook, get this one. Later you can move on to Claudia Roden's books: The New Book of Middle Eastern Food, and Paula Wolfert's other excellent Mediterranean books, a few of which are:The Cooking of the Eastern Mediterranean: 215 Healthy, Vibrant, and Inspired RecipesCouscous and Other Good Food from MoroccoMediterranean Grains and Greens: A Book of Savory, Sun-Drenched Recipes.

Have fun discovering this wonderful cuisine!