Mediterranean Clay Pot Cooking: Traditional and Modern Recipes to Savor and Share (Hardcover)

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Amazon.com Review

A one-of-a-kind cookbook showcasing modern and authentic clay pot cooking from the premier expert on Mediterranean cuisines

Paula Wolfert is legendary for her expertise on and explorations of Mediterranean cooking. Now, Wolfert shares her inimitable passion for detail and insatiable curiosity about cultural traditions and innovations, with Mediterranean Clay Pot Cooking.

Here, the self-confessed clay pot "junkie"-having collected in her travels ceramic pots of all sorts: cazuelas, tagines, baking dishes, bean pots, Romertopf baking dishes, French diablos, ordinary casseroles, even Crockpots, which have a ceramic liner-shares recipes as vibrant as the Mediterranean itself along with the delightful stories behind the earthy pots, irresistible dishes, and outstanding cooks she has met along the way.

Wolfert demystifies the process of clay pot cooking by which fresh ingredients are transformed slowly, richly, lusciously into magnificent meals. She shares 150 recipes featuring soups, fish and shellfish, poultry, meats, pasta and grains, vegetables and beans, pies and breads, eggs and dairy, and desserts.

Mediterranean Clay Pot Cooking offers

• Expert techniques and tips from Paula Wolfert, one of the world's foremost authorities on Mediterranean cuisine and now on clay pots
• An introduction to this ancient and modern-and practically foolproof-way of cooking
• A thorough clay pot primer, familiarizing you with the numerous names for different types of clay pots and tips on "Other Pots You Can Use"
• A delicious range of dishes, including Pumpkin Soup with Roquefort Cream; Wine-Marinated Chicken Thighs with Almonds and Sweet Tomato Jam; Fideos with Clams, Shrimps and Mussels; Tian of Leeks and Pancetta; Corsican Cheesecake; and Roasted Peach Gratin

Paula Wolfert in Mediterranean Clay Pot Cooking will seduce you with the pleasures and benefits of cooking in clay.

Recipe Excerpts from Mediterranean Clay Pot Cooking

Poached Eggs with Yogurt and Hot Red Pepper Sizzle

Moroccan Fish Tagine with Tomatoes, Olives, and Preserved Lemons

Chicken with Red Wine Vinegar, Tomato, and Shallots

Review

Starred Review
Beginning with a simple premise—"Food tastes better cooked in clay"—this single-themed cookbook is an illuminating treatise on a technique that's used throughout the Mediterranean but is still relatively obscure in U.S. kitchens. James Beard Award–winner Wolfert (The Slow Mediterranean Kitchen; The Cooking of Southwest France), who has studied and written about the region's cuisine for decades, has become passionate about earthenware pots. Wolfert claims that all food cooked in unglazed vessels has an earthy sweetness, and that when the vessel is dedicated to a certain food, its porous surface gains a seasoning or “memory” that enhances the flavor. Because these same characteristics make clay pots tricky to care for, Wolfert provides tips for cleaning and safety as well as plenty of sources for more information. What these dishes have in common is that they can be prepared, baked and brought to the table in their respective dishes—be it in the Spanish cazeula (orange-glazed pork belly), the Moroccan tagine (fish tagine with tomatoes, olives and preserved lemon) or the Turkish guvec (summer lamb and vegetable guvec). Wolfert is a true cook's author, and as her use of obscure ingredients (dried eggplant, sweet and sour plums, argan oil) and colorful anecdotes/additional ideas (say, grilling over a flowerpot) illustrate, this book is not for the casual home cook. But for those willing to tackle them, Wolfert's clay pot dishes do indeed merit the hype. Photos. (Oct.) Starred Review (Publishers Weekly, September 7, 2009)

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Wiley (October 5, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 076457633X
• ISBN-13: 978-0764576331
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 8 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,100 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastically Ambitious, November 9, 2009

By	J. Al-hashimi - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I read a lot but I usually don't review books that aren't uber-special and this is no exception. Actually, with a cook-author like Paula Wolfert you don't have to wonder whether this book will be exceptional. I think I have all of her cookbooks. She is perfectly interested in this kind of Mediterranean cooking and exactly the right author. After reading for an hour I pulled out my ceramic covered pot and put a chicken with garlic cloves and onions in the oven. It is perfect for hands-off cooking and light-years better than anything you can usually purchase cooked. I like her finish on a chicken dish like this. Move to stovetop once the oven-phase is over, add fresh tomato, red vinegar, cream, and herbs, thereby giving it a fresh multi-layered flavor prior to serving. Exactly. It needs that for a more sophisticated finish and it is easy. I like Paula Wolfert's books because they remind me of stuff and every once in a while I run into something I never heard of. I've done a lot of home-cooking but I constantly read cookbooks because it is easy to fall into a rut, especially for family cooking. Everyone comes at you... "I like this." "Can you make that?" which is fine but when I feel a rut coming on (which usually manifests by me totally losing interest in cooking and shortly thereafter in restaurant food)I just have to sprout wings and surprise the lot of them with a meal they never thought of or experienced. There's a lot to like about Paula Wolfert's writing about food. She seems like a friend with identical interests but one who has traveled and experienced a lot more than I ever will. This book is no exception. If you like reading about cooking and the Mediterranean you will not be dissappointed. If you don't mind springing up from your armchair, ripping through your fridge and pantry and popping something fantastic into the oven, meanwhile rediscovering your passion for cooking, this book is perfect.