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What gives Mediterranean food its characteristic savor? Olives, anchovies, and capers, asserts Georgeanne Brennan, whose eponymous book explores these fundamental ingredients as "secret" dish enhancers. Add chopped green olives to dishes like Almond Couscous with Carrot and Cumin Chicken, for example, and the subtle sweetness of the dish is delightfully complemented; anchovies do similar wonders in a potato salad with tuna; and capers add depth and nuance to a lamb stew with tomatoes and sweet peppers. The book explores the unique power of these humble ingredients, providing over 50 simple recipes that utilize the title ingredients to add flavor, or that feature them in delightful ways. Cooks at all skill levels should find the book a welcome key to a much-beloved culinary repertoire.
Beginning with short essays that explore the characteristics of olives, anchovies, and capers, and also providing instructions for home-curing (you may never put up olives or anchovies, but it's fascinating to know how it's done), the book then offers recipes in chapters devoted to appetizers and salads; main dishes and spreads; sauces and breads. There are many treasures, including Penne Salad with Three Herbs, Capers, and Tuna; Omelet of Tomatoes and Black Olives with Gorgonzola; and Roast Chicken with Mustard Anchovy Crust. Small in size, but not in the wealth of its information or fine taste, and illustrated with color photos throughout, Olives, Anchovies, and Capers brings the flavors of the Mediterranean home in new and exciting ways. --Arthur Boehm
From Publishers Weekly
Winner of the Julia Child Award for Aperitif and the James Beard Award for The Food and Flavors of Haute Provence, Brennan focuses her fourth book for Chronicle on "this pungent pantry trio." She explains how the colors of olives vary with their picking time, how the anchovy is caught at night ("by lamplight") and how capers, "a heat-loving, drought tolerant shrub," should be rinsed of packing salts before using. But the bulk of the book, and of the many full-page color photos (carefully composed, if shot in trendy half-focus by Leigh Beisch), is given to more than 50 recipes highlighting this trio's complex tastes Terrine of Layered Goat Cheese and Olives with Fresh Thyme, Catalan-Style Anchovies and Swordfish with Capers and Fresh Tomatoes. Simple dishes like Roast Cod Larded with Anchovies (from Seen Lippert, formerly of Chez Panisse) can be a revelation with the right ingredients. The convention of setting the title ingredients in boldface every time they appear is annoying, and the introductory chapters have a slapped-together feel. Experienced cooks will be attracted to the book's specificity and focus, however, and it should also appeal to pasta-boilers who worry about controlling these briny basics. Agent, Susan Lescher. (July 15)Forecast: Brennan's previous titles will attract fans to this book.
Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
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