Mediterranean Fresh Cookbook Review
The revival of the cookbook club and our first gathering to cook from Mediterranean Fresh by Joyce Goldstein was a huge success. The group gathered around my table consisted of 4 people from our original group and 3 new faces. The consensus was that so many recipes looked good it was difficult to choose which ones to make. And the proof was in the pudding as they say. Between 7 people, over 30 recipes were made. Everyone out did themselves. Most people came with 2-3 dishes and since each dish requires 2 recipes (one for the dish and one for the dressing) I can honestly say that the group went to town in the kitchen – and on the grill! We picked up as if we’d never stopped. It was a fine reunion.
Mediterranean Fresh is one of those cookbooks that become a kitchen staple. The 351 pages between the covers are chock full of recipes, pairings, tips, and anecdotes that we all felt that Joyce was with us in the kitchen while we were cooking. Her voice is so natural, tips so forthcoming that her years of experience in the kitchen and writing cookbooks shine right through and make the book extremely readable and interesting.
Headnotes were all relevant to the recipe, most contained tips, suggestions, and stories. We ended up reading several out loud when discussing a respective recipe. One guest even chose the Beets and Greens with Yogurt Dressing p.124 because of the headnote – “This dish is a visual bombshell because the beets tint the yogurt an electric pink” – how often do we get to make and serve something that’s electric pink?!
After meeting some of us went back and re-read much of the text for a second time – referencing recipes we didn’t make and clueing into things that we hadn’t the first time. As far as making the recipes, the general consensus was that they were all pretty easy – on a 1-10 scale, most were ranked in the 2-4 range. And while they were not terribly difficult to make, some were time consuming and some have several ingredients which could be intimidating.
We all loved that each recipe had a primary dressing then alternate dressings as well as ingredients that could be added to offer options and variety. We also liked the dressing section in the back and appreciated the lists of recipes that the dressing worked with. A couple people thought that the dressing section should have been in the beginning of the book.
We tried really hard to come up with our list of the top 3 recipes but found it impossible. The top dressing was the Moroccan Charmoula p.326 – it was served with Moroccan Lamb Sausage p.255. 
We coined it “secret sauce” and decided that it went well on the Cheese-Stuffed Eggplant Rolls p.89, mixed into the Greek Country Salad, p.77, and drizzled atop the Couscous Salad p.176. One guest was on a mission to try it with just about everything on the table! In the end, we all made a note in the margin to double the recipe and have it on hand as a kitchen staple.
Other recipe winners included Moroccan Salad of Raw Carrots with Citrus Cinnamon Dressing p.115, Cheese-Stuffed Eggplant Rolls p.89 (better warm than cold), Scallop Carpaccio with Meyer Lemon Dressing p.209, Seafood, Potatoes, and Green Beans with Pesto Vinaigrette p.230, and the Middle Eastern Hamburger or Kefta p.256.
And cheers to Tom. This book doesn’t have desserts so Tom, the overachiever and baking man that he is, referenced one of Joyce’s other books, Cucina Ebraica and made Caramelized Figs with Crème Fraîche for us for dessert. Yum!
We reluctantly left the table, packed up the leftovers, and went home with full bellies and big smiles.
Check back soon for some of the recipes!
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