Mediterranean Cooking (Paperback)

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this revision of her 1977 volume of the same name, Wolfert (The Cooking of the Eastern Mediterranean) has replaced many of the richer dishes of that book with 75 new recipes that represent "some of the best of what the Mediterranean has to offer in terms of health as well as taste." The 150 recipes here are also less demanding, epitomizing a culinary simplicity that highlights the flavor of fresh ingredients. Organized around main ingredients rather than courses or geographical borders, the chapters sport such titles as "Garlic and Oil" and "Chick Peas, Lentils and Beans." Wolfert pays particular attention to the cooking traditions and specialties of the Italian region of Apulia, of Spain's Andalusia, of Provence, Turkey and, in particular, Tunisia. The latter, in which hot red peppers feature more emphatically than in dishes from neighboring areas, includes recipes for the characteristic spice mixture called tabil, and Gamber Sghir, grilled shrimp accompanied by a spicy tomato-based sauce. More specialized than Joyce Goldstein's Mediterranean: The Beautiful Cookbook, just out from Collins Publishers San Francisco (PW, August 29), Wolfert's revised collection will appeal to adventurous home cooks already familiar with the region's fare.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Wolfert (The Cooking of the Eastern Mediterranean, LJ 5/15/94) was considered an authority on the cuisines of the Mediterranean long before they became the latest hot food topic. Mediterranean Cooking was originally published in 1977, and this edition has been extensively revised. More than half the recipes are new, partly in response to the revived interest in simple regional and country cooking; 60 recipes were dropped, mostly because they were either fat-laden or excessively demanding or, in the case of Northern Italian dishes, had become all too familiar. Much of the text has been rewritten, reflecting the author's years of ongoing research. In short, this is almost a new book-and an essential purchase.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow Cookbooks; Revised edition (September 17, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060974648
• ISBN-13: 978-0060974640
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #357,882 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A very good survey of Mediterranean cooking themes, March 28, 2005

By	B. Marold "Bruce W. Marold" (Bethlehem, PA United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

`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'.

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good introduction to the cuisine of the region, April 13, 2001

By	tree hugger, vegetarian "Save the planet" (Norman, OK USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mediterranean Cooking Revised Edition (Hardcover)

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.