Healthy Mediterranean Cooking- A book review

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This post was written by: Pat Kennelly

Healthy Mediterranean Cooking

by Rena Salaman

If you judge a book by its cover you might have already picked up this beautiful color cookbook with a simple but enticing photograph of fresh fig slices and fresh marinated mozzarella on the cover. The photographs throughout the book by photographer Gus Filgate complement author Rena Salaman’s simple and healthy recipes. Each recipe not only gives you prep time and serving suggestion but also breaks down calories, total fat, saturated fat, carbohydrates, cholesterol, vitamins and minerals.

Published in 1996 by Frances Lincoln Limited, this cookbook, which was a gift, has become one of my favorites for the simple preparation of the recipes, the gorgeous photographs and the good information about the Mediterranean diet. The book starts with a listing of Mediterranean ingredients some familiar such as artichokes and garlic, some maybe not so familiar such as sumac or ras el hanout. The book is broken down into eight sections; Bread & Basics, Mezze & Soups, Pasta, Rice & Grains, Fish & Shellfish, Meat & Poultry, Vegetables & Pulses, Salads and Desserts. Asparagus risotto, couscous salad with peaches, rocket and pine nuts, and the caponata are just three of many recipes that I have made for countless dinner parties. Even the desserts are simple and healthy. Baked peaches with pistachio nuts is an elegant, healthy dessert for this time of year when the Colorado peaches are filling the farmers markets. If you are just being introduced to Mediterranean food this is a great start to learning and cooking with Mediterranean ingredients. At only 156 pages it is a quick, delicious read.