A Book of Mediterranean Food (New York Review Books Classics)

Rating:
Summary: Not the best format for a cookbook
Review: The charming little format that makes the NYRB Classics series work so well for novels and memoirs actually works against this classic cookbook. The pages are so small and tightly bound that it's practically impossible to open this little paperback book open and cook from it: moreover, the publishers seemed to use a slightly different typeface for every single different preface David wrote for different editions of this book (all collected here) as well as for Wright's new foreword, which creates something of a headache.

The book in and of itself is something of a marvel, though. Elizabeth David was one of the first British or American writers to popularize Mediterranean cooking at mid-century, and this, the first of her cookbooks, is a true classic: superbly written, it will leave you hungry to sample the dishes she describes and recommends.

Rating:
Summary: Literate Fountainhead of Much Culinary Writing
Review: This volume is one of the very few culinary titles published over fifty years ago, which is not only still in print, but still influencing how people think about food. To understand the importance of the book, it is more than usually important to place it in context, in the England of 1950 which was just coming out of six years of World War II followed by four years of rationing austerity, when a pound of butter was difficult to find and olive oil was sold by the pint in apothecaries 'for external use only'.

Complimentary blurbs from Alice Waters can be found on many books nowadays, but this one I know is more heartfelt than usual. Based on Jeremiah Tower's recent memoir, I know David influenced both Waters and Tower. She was also a major influence on later writers on Mediterranean cuisine such as Claudia Roden and Paula Wolfert.

David's notion of Mediterranean cuisine is somewhat limited to the western and central European coasts of Spain, France, Italy, and Greece, even though David did live and work in Egypt during World War II. Even here, she seems to color outside the lines a bit, reaching as far north and west as Lyon and Bordeaux. There is little here from North Africa. There is not even a mention of couscous in the index. To remedy this deficiency, David refers us to Claudia Roden's excellent book on Near Eastern food.

I can imagine that the recipes, foodstuffs, and stories of the Mediterranean shores had much the same influence on post-war Londoners as Provence had on the painting of Cezanne. David's word pictures brought the bright light and blue seas into the London parlors and stirred an interest, which had been dormant for over 10 years. The evidence of this was that, against all expectations, the book sold very well in 1950 and it has been reissued with new introductions in 1958, 1065, 1988, and 2002, the last time with the Foreword by Clarissa Dickson Wright of 'Two Fat Ladies' fame.

David's recipe writing is very much tied to her times and her English public school and university education. There is no hint of food processor or blender, let alone microwave. All purees are done with mortar and pestle. For those who are not familiar with this venerable tool, let me assure you that with little effort, if will often give equal or better results than the electric gizmos of today, especially with classics such as aioli and pesto. Just check out the pleasure Jamie Oliver shows in using it. The style of recipe writing may also be unfamiliar. David is assuming that the reader is a knowledgeable cook. She takes for granted, for example, that you know how to peel tomatoes and cook potatoes for salads or puree. Most directions are spare. Ms. Wright testifies that she often uses them as reminders of how to write a concise recipe.

The names of things may also be unfamiliar. Eggplants are called aubergines and porcini mushrooms are called cepes. These were not hard, but the reference to marrows (courgettes) sent be scurrying to the Larousse Gastronomique. They are zucchini. Many dish names are given in their untranslated French, Italian, Spanish, or Greek. Some other familiar dishes are given unfamiliar names. What I know as the Roman specialty saltimbocca is named 'Norman's Recipe'.

The text is a joy to read. It is sprinkled with culinary quotes from a great many literary sources. In Alice Waters words 'Her words reach all my senses. The life around the table, the setting, the conversation - not just the food - are all part of her inimitable aesthetic.'

This book can be read on at many different levels.

First, it can be taken as simply a book of recipes, but if that were all there was, the book would not have survived as long as it has.

Second, it can be read as a culinary travelogue to spark one's imagination. The section on Spanish rice dishes is a good example of just enough to get you interested, without being so thin as to gloss over important issues. (One of my few complaints with the book is that for Italian rice dishes, the book simply specifies 'Italian' rice. As we all know after hundreds of hours of risottos on the Food Network, the Italian arborio rice is good, but the Italian rice carnaroli is better.)

Third, it can be a source of forgotten facts about some common dishes. I was surprised, for example, to find the recipe for aioli to include bread crumbs. Who knew!

Lastly, the book can be read as a historical document, the first book by someone who will come to influence a generation of culinary writers. I suspect David's later books on French and Italian cuisines had more material to inspire professional chefs like Alice Waters, but it all started here.