Mediterranean food is one of the most popular cuisines in the world, and as a regular diet it is proven to be the healthiest way of eating. In her new book “Mediterranean Harvest, Vegetarian Recipes from the World’s Healthiest Cuisine,” noted cookbook author Martha Rose Shulman brings us more than 500 delicious dishes from Spain, France, Italy, the Balkans, Greece, Turkey, the Middle East, and North Africa. This book is the culmination of years of meticulous research, as Shulman sought out and savored the best recipes from each of these areas.
As Clifford A. Wright, winner of the James Beard/KitchenAid Cookbook of the Year and James Beard Award for the Best Writing on Food in 2000, has written about the book, “It takes true talent to write a cookbook that will appeal to both neophytes and experts, vegetarians and meat-lovers. For the tenderfoot in the kitchen, this personal introduction to Mediterranean food delivers memorable preparations you’ll make over and over. For the expert, it’s hard to believe that finally someone has put all our favorite recipes in one place. For the vegetarian, these are delicious all-vegetable recipes. For the omnivore, such as myself, it was two days after reading the book that I realized there were no meat recipes. That’s the marriage of a great cuisine with a great cookbook writer.”
From aperitifs to desserts, each chapter takes the reader on an eating adventure with Shulman as an expert guide. Her vivid descriptions of each recipe—where she found it, what it tastes like, how to make it—keep the mouth watering, and her charming personal stories and bits of culinary history draw you into each dish as well. The freshest seasonal produce is used everywhere, in sauces and condiments, meze platters and pastas, soups and salads. Intriguing herbs and spices flavor nearly every dish, whether it’s a Middle Eastern Chick Pea and Bulgur Salad, a Croatian Tomato and Zucchini Risotto, Spanakopita from Greece, a Provençal Winter Squash Soup, or Anise Butter Cookies from Italy. Interspersed throughout the chapters are useful how-to sidebars and cooking tips, and the book also features a glossary of Mediterranean pantry staples.