Product Description

Paula Wolfert is passionate about theMediterranean -- its landscape, its people, its culture, and above all, its rich culinary tradition. Her five earlier cookbooks celebrated the sensuous pleasures of the Mediterranean kitchen and introduced a previously uninitiated American audience to an exciting new way of cooking and eating.

In her eagerly awaited Mediterranean Grains andGreens, Wolfert continues that tradition, focusing on the delectable grains and greens-based dishes she discovered as she spent five years traversing theMediterranean region, from Spain in the west toIsrael, Lebanon, and Syria in the east, with stops inFrance, Italy, Turkey, and Greece.

Here are bountiful breads (Mirsini's Spiced BarleyBread); mouthwatering pastries (Spicy Beef, Olives, and Capers in Semolina Pastry Turnovers); nourishingcomfort soups (Garlic Soup with Leafy Greens); crisp salads of mixed greens, cooked green salads, and savory grain salads (Samira's Tabbouleh with Parsley, Bulgur, Cinnamon, and Cumin); unusual desserts (TunisianHomemade Couscous with Golden Raisins); and accompanying sauces, condiments, and seasonings.Though Mediterranean Grains and Greens is not a vegetarian cookbook, meat, fish, and poultry, whenthey appear, are used primarily as condiments and flavor enhancers rather than the main focus of a meal.

Throughout, Wolfert explains the historical andcultural significance of her dishes, sharing traditionalpreparation techniques as well as her adaptations forthe American home kitchen. Ever conscious of theavailability of ingredients in this country, she recommends readily available alternatives found in grocery stores and farmer's markets. Whether foraging for wild "apron greens" in the Turkish countryside, "listening" to risotto in Venice to tell if it's ready to eat, making homemade rustic pasta on the island of Crete, baking Sardinian flatbread the old-fashioned way, scrambling eggs with kofte along the Euphrates, or preparing the unusual "black paellas" of Valencia,Paula Wolfert shares her adventures in the engaging first-person stories that accompany each recipe. This comprehensive collection invites Paula Wolfert's loyal fans and followers to rediscover the joys of Mediterranean living, cooking, and eating right along with her. Like her earlier works, the enticing, wide-ranging Mediterranean Grains and Greens is destined to become a kitchen classic, a book that every serious cook, armchair traveler, and lover of good food will want to own.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #103868 in Books
• Published on: 1998-08-13
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 400 pages

From Amazon.com
Paula Wolfert's Mediterranean Grains and Greens shares her adventures as a cultural explorer. Her discoveries show the probing of a culinary scholar and the passion of a true amateur. The result is a rich tapestry of information, images, and alluring recipes. Even if you don't cook, you will be entranced as this culinary Scheherazade spins her tales of a thousand-and-one discoveries and delights, which, in this case, are all real.

Typically, Wolfert introduces her recipe for Wheatberries, Lentils, and Rice with Fresh Herbs by regaling you with information about many other pulse-and-grain dishes from Spain to the Middle East that you have probably never heard of. She then enchants you with the story of how a Cretan chef shared this particular recipe, and explains that on Crete, there are three names for this type of soup: one is rooted in ancient times, one is linked to a local festival, and the third uses a play on words.

Few recipes in this, Wolfert's fifth cookbook on the Mediterranean region, are familiar. Her goal is to open our eyes to ingredients like green wheat, farro, mallow, and Tuscan kale. Some of the work records recipes for earthy, traditional dishes that are fast disappearing from the table as women in Mediterranean countries no longer have the time to make them, and as prosperity pulls people away from this "cooking of the poor." This book should also inspire wider demand for wild greens such as tart purslane, spinach-like lamb's quarters, grains like farro, and other unfamiliar Mediterranean ingredients. Wolfert also suggests substitutes, since many of the greens are interchangeable with chard, arugula, watercress, or spinach.

For simple dishes, try Escarole Stuffed with Capers, Golden Raisins, and Pine Nuts; Egyptian koshery, a blend of rice, lentils, pasta, and browned onions; and Winter Squash Pilaf with Bulgur. Bread bakers will be intrigued by recipes that use barley, semolina, and chickpeas. --Dana Jacobi

From Publishers Weekly
In this return to the well of Mediterranean cooking, Wolfert (Cooking of the Eastern Mediterranean; Mediterranean Cooking) takes an agreeable, sensible approach. Rather than repeating early recipes, she directs readers to the books in which they appear, and instead of trying to adapt recipes for dishes that would be patently impossible to re-create here, she simply describes such delicacies as Cretan "Scarf" Pies, filled with an elaborate collection of wild greens, in appealing sidebars. Nevertheless, there are plenty of challenges and specialties, e.g., Honeycomb Tripe Stew with Celery, Parsley, and Sardo Cheese and Homemade Cretan Rustic Pasta with goat's milk and skinned wheat. Young Mustard Greens with Pomegranate Molasses is a simple dish?for readers who can get their hands on pomegranate molasses. Wolfert can always be counted on to deliver some real discoveries: The Monk's Pizza with Pan-Seared Cabbage, made with a yeastless dough; Black Sea-Style Chard Bundles Filled with Veal, Toasted Corn Kernels, and Fresh Mint; and Bran-Crusted Barbecued Whole Fish with Chard Stem Tahini Sauce. Wolfert's expertise lies in linking the various Mediterranean cuisines, as in the highly informative mini-essays on rough-hewn pastas such as fregula, couscous, miftool and mhamma, and on Spanish rice dishes that accompany recipes like Tunisian Fish Couscous with Pumpkin and Leafy Greens and Black Rice with Mussels and Shrimp.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
Wolfert, whose love affair with the Mediterranean began decades before it became the culinary darling of the food world, has written another impressive cookbook on its specialties, from the rice dishes of Spain to the couscous of Morocco. The more than 150 recipes include dishes from most of the countries in between, from Provencal France to Greece to Tunisia. As always, Wolfert's recipes are as authentic as possible, which means that in some cases they may be somewhat time-consuming or require harder-to-find ingredients (a good source guide is included), but this quest for authenticity is part of what makes her book so impressive. Although greens (she's particularly interested in wild Mediterranean greens) and grains are the focus, these are not necessarily vegetarian dishes, and Chicken Camargue-Style and Grilled Fish Stuffed with Seafood and Moroccan Charmoula, for example, are featured along with other delicious possibilities. Highly recommended.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.