Mediterranean Vegetables

by Clifford A. Wright

Wright presents an original and comprehensive A-to-Z culinary reference.

Genres: Cookbooks, Food, Nonfiction

Hardcover

First published August 17, 2001

About the author

Clifford A. Wright is a cook, cookbook author, and independent culinary historian who won the James Beard Cookbook of the Year award and the Beard award for the Best Writing on Food for A Mediterranean Feast in 2000.

Reviews

[Liquidlasagna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Finally a definitive book on the way the world is eating today.... Savory, vibrant, and healthy, and destined to be an instant classic.
Bobby Flay

There are so many interesting flavors and combinations here. Having had the honor of eating some of these dishes cooked by Cliff’s own hand, I know how good they really are. I can’t wait to cook them myself.
Deborah Madison

Mediterranean Vegetables is a great reference book that will be invaluable to any chef’s library. I am especially glad to have it in mine.
Jean-Georges Vongerichten

This well-researched book on vegetables is full of wonderful recipes from the cuisines of the world and is a great reference book.
Jacques Pepin

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not a huge fan of Wright's books
2 or 3 classics and the rest just seem to be crank out huge volumes of popular themes that appeal to people for a gift

some books are both excellent for some, and disappointing for others, you might not like how his stew book has mostly similar recipes and strange cuts of meat for a home cook, but not so strange for a chef, or how it might be biased to American Cookery vs European dishes

One of his soup books are underwhelming

but you get Vilas and Pepin and many others praising some of his books

but I like 20% of his books maybe a quarter of them
who's thunk his vegetable books would be some of the most highly praised?

[Mike]

Not actually a recipe book, but a book with recipes in it, among a lot of other information. It tries to be too many things: a comprehensive(ish) alphabetic list of vegetables used in the Mediterranean, including ones only foraged locally which the American target audience will never see in their lives; a history of vegetable cultivation and origins; a collection of recipes.

I say that the target audience is American because all the measurements and temperatures are in US traditional units, with no translation to SI, and when it comes to potatoes the author talks exclusively about the varieties available in the US.

A lot of the recipes involve deep frying, which I avoid. Some of the hyperlinks don't lead to the right place. Browsing around, I didn't find anything I definitely want to make. And it's poorly edited, with a lot of sentences not starting with a capital or, in some cases, finishing with a period/full stop.

Not recommended.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

More of a reference book than a cookbook, though there are recipes as well, this is an alphabetical tour of vegetable from around the Mediterranean. Many of these vegetables will be unfamiliar to those outside of major cities so this is an interesting look at what’s available out there & how to use them.

[Dray · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite a nice well informed book.

[Jesse Kelly-Landes · Rating 5 out of 5]

From here on out the only Eggplant Parmesan I'll ever eat.