Description:
Healthful as well as delicious, it's easy to see why the little Mediterranean dishes called meze work perfectly for cocktail parties, as part of a buffet table, or for a relaxed weekend dinner with family or friends. Greece-based cooking teacher Rosemary Barron's Meze: Small Bites, Big Flavors from the Greek Table focuses solely on that country's contribution to this delectable repertoire, and does so with an eye to their simple virtues--versatility and preparation ease. Her 60-plus recipes, which range from cold plates and salads to hot dishes, savory pies, and grilled specialties, feature the direct, zesty flavors of the Greek Islands; the result is easy-to-enjoy food like Peppered Greek Oregano Pork, Piquant Almond Figs, and Eggplants in Spicy Tomato Sauce--dishes most cooks can readily accomplish. Part of the meze "plan" involves creating a simple Greek pantry from which the dishes can be quickly assembled. Following a section devoted to that setup, and a useful list of particularly quick and simple dish "sketches" (sprinkle drained canned tuna with sliced raw onion, olive oil, sea salt, and the tangy spice sumac and there's your meze), the book then presents other alluring recipes like Thyme-Scented Fish Souvlakia with Roasted Pepper Sauce, Savory Honey-Pear Pies, and Yogurt Chicken with Beets and Greens. An unusually detailed glossary includes not only ingredients but characteristic preparation methods like clay-pot cooking and equipment, such as sfongata skillets, a traditional iron pan for which readers can substitute more familiar equivalents. Illustrated with color photos throughout, Meze stands out among other similarly themed books for its concise thoroughness, clear instruction, and simple good taste. --Arthur Boehm
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