Meze: Delicious Little Dishes from Greece and Lebanon [Hardcover]

Rena Salaman (Author), Peter Cassidy (Photographer)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 2006

The Greek and Lebanese meze is a snack served alone or before a meal, or as part of a whole meal. It can be simiple - little plates of olives or feta cheese with olive oil and oregano - or more substantial, such as a delicious plate of shrimp. Recipes include dips such as cooling yogurt and cucumber Tzatziki, and Tarator with tahini and garlic. Try pint-size salads such as Tabbouleh. Meze made with beans include a superb version of Falafel. Dolmathes (stuffed vine leaves) and Zucchini Fritters are among the vegetables. Fish and meat dishes include Mussels in Saffron Lemon Sauce and Keftethes (fried meatballs). Greek food writer Rena Salaman shares her enthusiasm for meze and shows how to cook these simple dishes and serve them for every occasion. With vibrant photography by Peter Cassidy, Meze sings of sunny days spent sitting outside in the shade looking out over a blue sea.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Rena Salaman is a Greek-born food writer living in London. She is the author of a number of books on Greek and Mediterranean food and has written for the Guardian, House & Garden, the Financial Times, and BBC Good Food. She has also broadcast for television and radio.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 64 pages
• Publisher: Ryland Peters & Small (March 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1845971361
• ISBN-13: 978-1845971366
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 7.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,452,612 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Delicious and beautiful recipes, September 5, 2010

By 

KW (California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Meze: Delicious Little Dishes from Greece and Lebanon (Hardcover)

Made dinner last night based exclusively off of recipes in this book and was so impressed by the deliciousness of each item, I searched out the book on Amazon to give it a rating. I'll describe the meal, then the cookbook:

It was hard to whittle down the recipes to a manageable set. Here's what I made:
Cucumber Yogurt Dip (Tzatziki)
Lebanese Parsley Salad (Tabouleh)
Traditional Cheese Pie (Tyropitta Alonnisou
Spicy Chicken Kabobs (Dajaj Meshwi)
Pomegranate seeds

Everyone around the table agreed, it was a super meal but there were two highlights: the Yogurt dip because I've not had one so delicious even in restaurants. The second highlight and surprise was the Traditional Cheese Pie. It was simple to make (I say this because you may hesitate seeing "flour, sift, roll" as part of the recipe...but it was easy. I assembled both pies in a few minutes (I am not a baker/whiz in the kitchen) and it was so delicious, we all wondered why we had never heard of this dish and eaten it throughout our lives as they do in Greece. It's tastey, satisfies and is a new comfort food of mine. If not for the description of this dish, I wouldn't have tried it. I'm so thankful the description was there to tilt my decision. I noticed in other recipes within the book, the use of pomegranate syrup or seeds in dishes, so I bought seeds at farmer's market and we used as an embellishment. This added a bright, gentle zing where we sprinkled them and I recommend trying.

As a cookbook, I like pictures and this book has lots of color photos. The recipes are simple and easy to follow. There's a nice variety of dishes to choose from. I think some cookbooks give you instructions for how to make something - maybe it's 'how to make it quickly' or 'how to make it for less money' or 'how to make what you saw on TV'. This cookbook is about taste: how to make a dish that just tastes awesome; sharing some magical proportion of ingredients that sing when they're put together. There is no special skill or effort or talent needed, just bring these ingredients together and wow yourself!