Member Reviews
1000 MEDITERRANEAN MEALS by Valentina Harris is a cook book I would definitely recommend, especially as it contains "Every Recipe You Need for the Healthiest Way to Eat." Harris and the editors at Chartwell Books have compiled a sumptuous set of recipes. They are certainly a feast for the eyes as every recipe (ranging from appetizers, through soups, salads, breads, and several kinds of main entrees, to desserts and fruits) is accompanied by a gorgeous photo. I won't list all of the recipes I plan to try, but some include Sun-dried Tomato and Olive Sticks, Calzones, Marinara Pizza, and Polenta Pan Pizza with Roasted Vegetables. One of the nicest features of this book is that most recipes have a boxed section on each page which suggestions easy variations (e.g., using potatoes instead of mushrooms, changing the protein, or adapting the spices) which offer a great bonus in versatility and variety. The recipes themselves have a very clean, uncluttered presentation with generally 3 or 4 main steps and often a dozen ingredients or less. All that's missing is the nutritional information, but there is much here to enjoy (Crab Cakes, Grilled Swordfish ... OK, I said I wouldn't list all the ones I want to try).
4.5 Stars
A marvellous and comprehensive book of recipes, this is an invaluable addition to the kitchen bookshelf. We often hear of the benefits of the Mediterranean diet, and this contains the whole gamut of recipes from this area/culture/lifestyle, from Italy to Lebanon, Egypt, and more. Beautifully illustrated, and has both US and metric measures. In addition, there are tips for substituting ingredients too. I have made several recipes already, and have many more bookmarked.
Thanks to the publisher for a review copy.
If you are interested in Mediterranean cuisines, this is the cookbook to have. It contains classic well-known recipes, along with ones I'd never heard of (e.g., Egyptian Sweet Couscous). All regions of the Mediterranean are included, as are all categories of foods. Most recipes are accompanied by an appetizing photo. Directions are easy to follow and suggestions for alternatives are provided. I'd definitely consider purchasing this cookbook, despite the easy availability of recipes online. A true classic!
Recipes from Spain, Italy, Greece, Portugal, Egypt, Turkey, France, Morocco, and Lebanon. The pictures make the food look so appetizing. Begins with information about a the Mediterranean diet and the health benefits. The information and history in each section was interesting. The author gives you a list of tools you would need and alternatives for the dishes like adding garlic or mint. Foods that I thought would be super hard to make were way easier to make, like calzones. I cannot to try some of these recipes.
1000 Mediterranean Meals is a well written attractive cookbook with recipes developed and curated by Valentina Harris. Due out 15th Dec 2020 from Quarto on their Chartwell Books imprint, it's 256 pages and will be available in hardcover format.
I liked the writing style and presentation of this book. The format is logical and easy to follow. I can imagine that the author is a gifted teacher in her cooking classes.
Although covering a large number of cuisines from several Mediterranean areas, the recipes are arranged by category: antipasti meze & tapas, soups & salads, breads & pizzas, vegetables & vegetarian, pasta & rice, meat & poultry, fish & seafood, and desserts & fruit.
Ingredient measurements are supplied in American standard measurements with some metric measures included (yay!). The nutritional information is not included. Each recipe includes a header with a short description of the recipe and approximate servings. Extra tips or recipe alternatives are listed in text boxes in the recipes. The recipes themselves are fairly straightforward and are made for the most part with easily sourced ingredients. Many are very simple, none of them are overly complex. The photography is abundant and clear; most of the recipes are illustrated simply and clearly. Pictures accompany the recipes set into a sidebar.
This is a large collection of recipes and even allowing for the fact that some of them are very similar to others in the same category, this will keep Mediterranean cooking fans going for ages. There are many simple "everyday" recipes which are anything but boring alongside fancier "special" dinner recipes. We tried several dishes and all of them were tasty and well written. (We didn't try any of the bread or dessert recipes, but I found no glaring errors with a quick read-through).
We're definitely going to try more of these recipes. Well written book, tasty recipes.
Five stars. This is a massive recipe book which will be used. It would make a superlative housewarming gift to a friend or family member living on their own - college student, new graduate, newlyweds, kids flying the nest, etc or a friend trying to eat more health consciously with better quality ingredients as well as a nice acquisition for the home library.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
I love to review cookbooks focused on the Mediterranean diet - there is so much research to support the health benefits of this diet for longevity and disease prevention. I loved that this book included a variety of recipes from from the Middle East, North Africa and the Iberian Peninsula (in addition to Italy and Greece).
The recipes are beautiful, the photography is stunning. Although the recipes are unique the ingredients are readily available. I especially look forward to preparing Salt Cod-stuffed Peppers, Provencal Soup, Baked Feta and Walnut Salad, Classic Spanish Tortilla, and Basque-style Roast Fish.
Thank you, NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group, for a digital ARC!
Even if you frequent Greek restaurants, you will still find many dishes that are new like the Semolina Gnocchi.
Circassian Chicken, Shrimp Fritters., Egyptian Sweet Couscous, Marinated Manchego,Lebanese Fatoush salad, Panzanelle.
Dont want to take a chance or love your favorites, then try the twists provided with the basic recipes of the evergreen Greek dishes.
Engaging pictures of dishes.
This is a comprehensive book on Mediterranean meals. I love that they seem easy enough for anyone and that the book makes this healthy type of cooking less intimidating. I'm thrilled by the recipes (can't wait to try the stuffed fried olives). Most of the recipes had photos. And many recipes offer other alternatives, i.e. adding Italian sausage or different veggies, with a detailed guideline for each. I plan to add this to my recipe collection. Highly recommended.
This cookbook gets right down to business, offering a very cursory overview of the Mediterranean diet before getting into the recipes. Which is fine, because there are so many recipes. At least for me, when I think of a Mediterranean diet, I think of tomatoes and olives and not much else, so it was very inspirational to see the wide range of ingredients and foods included. There were even sections for pasta and bread, which surprised me, but I’m not complaining.
The other nice thing about this cookbook was that many of the recipes included suggestions for changing them up by using different ingredients. This was fun and opens up space for you to start making the recipes on your own.
Oh and bonus points for including some gluten-free recipes as well!
I absolutely love cookbooks!! I find it a very enjoyable hobby to pick up a cookbook and try out a new recipe or two! Needless to say, my family loves it too!! Even better, I now get to share my “keepers” with all of you!!
I found several things about 1000 Mediterranean Meals that I liked! I thought it was really smart to have an introduction to the Mediterranean way of eating for people that are new to it or thinking about trying it. I do not follow a Mediterranean lifestyle, but I do try to incorporate healthy meals into my weekly menu and there are plenty to choose from in this book! Another plus for me was that each recipe included alternative ingredients to try in the recipe so that the recipes never becomes boring. The photos of the food were beautiful and instructions easy to understand.
Here’s the best part…..I tried three recipes to share my thoughts with you!
First up was the Chickpea Tagine with Current Couscous. I'm a big fan of couscous. if you haven’t tried it, give it a try!! It's so easy to make but looks so fancy! Family or guests will be impressed! I used the alternative ingredient of adding squash to this dish and it went very well. Other options were zucchini, kale or eggplant.
Second, the Linguine with Pesto! Yum!! This was so good and will be a staple in my menu prep. It's made from basil, which I grow in my garden, so that's awesome and the additional ingredients I chose to use was walnuts and fresh string beans! I never though string beans would be a good add, but it was delish!
Last, I had to try a desert!! I went for the Classic Coffee & Chocolate Tiramisu! I’ve only had this desert when dining out and it’s on the menu. I don’t drink or use alcohol in my recipes, so I was very happy that one of the alternative ingredients was to use apple juice instead of rum to soak the ladyfingers. It seems like such a fancy desert in a restaurant, so I wasn’t sure if I could replicate that at home. It turned out amazing and to my delight, was very easy to make! Another score in the “impressed” department!
I recommend this cookbook to anybody that wants to add healthy meals to their menu!
This is a fantastic cookbook that offers recipes for a variety of food choices, that could be considered as both traditional and non-traditional.
I liked the layout and loved that they included pictures of the food as I think that they act as a fantastic visual cue. The introduction was a nice added touch and I enjoyed the fact that we were provided with a background on the diet and the benefits it can offer. I also LOVED the inclusion of sections in each recipe that offered alternative add-ins. This is such a great idea as it reaches out to different palettes, whilst also encouraging people to try mixing things up a bit. Finally, the recipes/instructions were super clear and easy to follow.
If you're looking for a recipe book that offers fantastic variety and is also easy to follow, then I'd highly recommend this! I cannot wait to try out the arancini recipe!!
Many thanks to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for sending me a copy of this book in return for an honest review.
Recipes are so yummy! Love all of the pictures that accompany the meals as well! Perfect for anyone looking to eat healthy!
This recipe covers a wide range of dishes from across the Mediterranean. I also liked that often it provides variations on the recipe in effect giving you even a larger variety of options to choose from .
Very enticing and mouth-watering images beside easy to follow recipes. Loved making many of the recipes in this book and have continued to work through this to explore many different aspect of Mediterranean cuisine..
I think this book had a good selection of recipes including a good mix of meat and vegetarian dishes. The recipes are clear and easy to understand. There is a good selection of easy and harder recipes
#1000MediterraneanMeals #NetGalley
Special thanks to NetGalley and Quatro publishing group for providing me with ARC.
This book is fantastic, specially the recipes that from Egypt, it reminded me of my country that i miss so much.
This is a fantastic cookbook! The recipes are delicious and flavorful, but fairly simple at the same time. I am excited to try more of them as a quarantine activity. The book is aesthetically pleasing and includes so many wonderful recipes. I would highly recommend to anyone who loves Mediterranean food of any kind or anyone who loves food in general!
A gorgeous collection of meals centered around the Mediterranean. The photography is stellar and the recipes are clearly written. Healthful recipes are carefully created so the home cook can broaden their culinary style.
Hi everyone!
I am very excited to review this book. I’m Italian, but I don’t know many mediterranean recipes, so '1000 mediterranean meals' seemed a great book to try some traditional meals during these #covid days, where I try to stay safe at home as much as I can.
The recipes are very clear and easy to follow. I love the format, the pictures, the vibrant colours and variety of the recipes (it features spanish, italian, french, lebanese, egyptian, greek and many other countries’ recipes).
As all mediterranean meals, most of the recipes are balanced and healthy and if you're vegetarian there are a lot of options, in fact it even has a whole chapter dedicated to 'vegetables and vegetarian stuff.
The only two small things I didn't like are:
- there aren't many info on the origin of the recipe (it's not at all necessary but I think it's cool to know the story)
- as for the Italian meals, some are really not traditional. I know in the intro it says traditional and innovative recipes and I'm sure they are very good, but I would have preferred mostly traditional meals and not American-style ones like creamy linguine with shrimp
In conclusion this book is amazing and I can't wait to try some of the meals and impress friends and family!
Lots of good mediterranean recipes with great illustrations. I have bookmarked a few recipes to try out over the next few days, first will be the Almond Cake which looks amazing.
Although the content of the book is very good I disliked the font used for the recipe titles. I'm not sure if this is because I read a digital copy but I found the font to be annoying as I constantly had to zoom in to make out what the titles were.
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an advance copy of this title in exchange for an unbiased review.