Mediterranean Fresh: A Compendium of One-Plate Salad Meals and Mix-and-Match Dressings

by Joyce Goldstein, Dan Barber (Foreword)

A treasure trove of salad meals and mix-and-match dressings within reach of everyday cooking.
In the Mediterranean, salad means anything from tabbouleh to white beans and prawns in a lemony dressing to small plates of mezze, antipasti, and tapas. Joyce Goldstein shows you how to make 140 of these delicious, healthful, easy-to-prepare dishes for a sensuous and satisfying meal.

With thirty versatile dressings, you'll expand your salad horizons. Just by changing the dressing and garnish, you can make a chopped salad Moroccan, Spanish, or Turkish. Roasted peppers can be Italian with anchovies and olives or spicy with a Tunisian harissa dressing. Beets and greens can move to France with walnut vinaigrette or to the Middle East with tahini dressing. Even a carrot can become exotic with a Moroccan citrus-cinnamon dressing.

Joyce shows you the art of dressing a salad and how to use dressings as marinades, spreads, dips, and finishing sauces. Along the way you'll learn how to taste, balance flavors, and develop your palate. 34 color photographs

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking, Food, Nonfiction

352 pages, Hardcover

First published May 27, 2008

Reviews

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fantastic cookbook! One-plate salad meals, with a few simple, fresh, easy-to-find ingredients, easy preparation, and ideas on different ways to personalize the dish. She's down-to-earth, read-able, and just in case all that wasn't enough, she includes Moroccan foods! Some I know and love, some that are new to me, but wonderful. This is one of the few books I've checked out over and over from the library, and finally decided I just have to buy. Yum! =)

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I own Joyce Goldstein's other Mediterranean cookbook, The Mediterranean Kitchen, and love it. So when I found this one at the library, I was eager to try it. This one is even better for my purpose of getting more fresh vegetables into our diet. There are two sections: one with salads, the other with vinaigrettes. Simple. The great part is that the salads are all based around a main ingredient (like greens, beets, carrots, fish, chickpeas, cauliflower, etc.), with lots of variations and suggestions, including one suggested dressing as a part of the recipe. But at the bottom of each salad recipe, there are 3-5 alternate dressings. In the back, recipes for 35 or or more dressings/vinaigrettes are offered, and each of those vinaigrettes are keyed to all the salad options that work well with that dressing. The idea is that you make up 3-4 dressings (like yogurt mint, anchovy, tapenade) and then use it on 2 or 3 different salads for each one. I've been cooking for about a month with this cookbook and feel like I haven't repeated anything -- and it's all been superb. I particularly like "harissa," a hot pepper cumin vinaigrette that is Tunisian. Deelish! This book is so great, I had to buy it.

[Liquidlasagna · Rating 2 out of 5]

i'm not fond of this one

i was underwhelmed with most of it,
but it's meant to be simple traditional stuff
yet i couldn't get excited by 85% of the book

much of the books seems like something, you'd be fascinated to try once with a friend making it, and you may or may not want to try it again, and definately not something you'd go out your way for in a restaurant

Still i would get the cookbook for the 7% of the book i definately think is neat!

for me, maybe the cover is actually the most exciting part

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recipes that did get my attention

Grilled eggplant with pomegranate dressing
eggplant - pine nut - mint
pomegranate juice - dried pomegranate seeds

Slow-roasted eggplant with pesto
eggplants - basil
pine nut - tomatoes

Artichoke and fennel salad with citrus dressing
lemon - artichoke
fennel - parmesan

Turkish-style artichokes and orange with hot pepper dressing
artichoke - dried red pepper flakes
orange juice - oranges

Sicilian artichokes braised in mixed citrus dressing
artichokes - oranges - lemons
capers - anchovies

Moroccan salad of raw grated carrots with citrus cinnamon dressing
carrot - orange - lemon - cinnamon

Green beans and fennel with hazelnut cream dressing (definately odd)
haricots verts - fennel - lettuce
hazelnuts - shallots
hazelnut oil - heavy cream

Orange, onion, and olive salad with hot pepper citrus dressing
oranges - red onions - black olives
dried red pepper flakes - lemons
[yes oranges and olives]

Peach and tomato salad [is this actually legal?]
tomatoes - peaches - red onion
mint - orange juice

Spanish orange and fennel salad with mixed citrus dressing
blood oranges - fennel - lemon
orange juice - sherry vinegar - spinach
mizuna - mint - watercress
almonds - ham

Tuscan bread salad
bread - tomatoes - cucumbers
red onions - basil - pine nuts

Chickpeas with squid and orzo
garbanzo beans - bay leaves - tomatoes
cumin - sherry vinegar - paprika
squid - chorizo sausage
red peppers - parsley
[is squid and sausage legal?]

Scallop carpaccio with Meyer lemon dressing
scallops - spring onions - Meyer lemon
avocado - mesclun

Marinated anchovies
anchovies - red onion
parsley - red wine vinegar

Smoked trout salad with lemon cream dressing [really really strange]
horseradish - lemon - heavy cream
radicchio - smoked trout
new potatoes beets
[feels like a trout milkshake with beets and potatoes]

Seafood, potatoes, and green beans with pesto vinaigrette
new potatoes - whole lobster
basil - pine nuts - olive oil
[potatoes and lobster is a crime, isn't it?]

Chicken livers, mushrooms, and greens with sherry vinaigrette
arugula - chicken livers - shallots
chanterelles - sherry vinegar
[this salad needs more liver, oh and more mushroom!]

Veal with tuna mayonnaise
veal - carrot - celery
tuna - anchovies - mayonnaise
[how about a veal and tuna sandwich]
[or a veal and tuna milkshake?]
[i think it's veal with anchovy mayonnaise, and the tuna is a hoax!]

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yeah that's the best i could extract out of this one
definately a few strange beasts

[Naomi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love these recipes! HOWEVER, this book fell apart the day I bought it and it is now tied together. Never have I had this happen and I have some very well lived books. I wish I could post a photo of this mess.

[Jeanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Billed as "A compendium of one-plate salad meals and mix-and-match dressings" this cookbook contains over 170 recipes, most of which sound great! I've been looking to increase my repertoire of salads and vegetables and I think this cookbook will do that. Can't wait to try Oregano-garlic vinaigrette and charmoula and harissa dressings. The book also has a great detailed listing of various salad greens.

[Dayna · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked this up from the library a while back, read through it from cover to cover, and do not recall any recipes grabbing my attention. I love the idea, "One-Plate Salad Meals and Mix-and-Match Dressings" but remember thinking that I should just make note of my own favorite flavor combinations to mix and match. It's okay, but not a cookbook that I will be going back to.

[Dennis · Rating 2 out of 5]

Beautiful photographs. Great idea. There are several dressings/sauces that can mixed matched with the salad and entrees to create a variety of different versions of the dishes. Nice salads.

[Lynda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Joyce Goldstein's cookbooks. This is really good.

[Janet · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did look at all the recipes, but actually enjoyed the narrative regarding types of salad greens and info concerning bases for dressings.

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I checked this one out because I needed a salad for a potluck. There's some good stuff in there.