5 Must-Have Cookbooks: How to Be Successful on the Mediterranean Diet

5 Must-Have Cookbooks #5

America’s Test Kitchen: The Complete Mediterranean Cookbook. 500 Vibrant, Kitchen-Tested Recipes for Living and Eating Well Every Day

America’s Test Kitchen started primarily as a television show, has a presence in several diverse modalities and has become an entire franchise. The tag line of the company is, “We help curious cooks become confident cooks.” America’s Test Kitchen has produced one of the largest compilations of Mediterranean Diet recipes in a giant, superbly done cookbook.

Also relying on the experts at Oldways, the America’s Test Kitchen begins with a lengthy and informative introduction that outlines the principles of putting the Mediterranean Diet Pyramid into Practice. There is a section, “Creating a Mediterranean Table” you will want to read before you start using the book. This section outlines the importance of what to eat every day (beans and whole grains), to eat fish more and to treat meat more as a flavoring, to enjoy fresh fruit and save desserts for special occasions. Several of the recipes included in this cookbook are better for special occasions. For a newbie to the Mediterranean Diet, this point may be missed just going by the recipes.

Mini-Cooking Lessons for Free

It is a beautiful book, with colorful pictures for almost every recipe. I used this cookbook for my first attempt to make stuffed grape leaves. I appreciate the photos showing how to assemble the leaves. Variations of recipes are plentiful. Each recipe begins with a paragraph, “Why this recipe works is…” which is like a mini-cooking lesson. The knowledge learned by cooking one recipe is applicable to many other cooking scenarios.

The recipes in this cookbook are often complex and include diverse ingredients. I use this book when I am making a special dish. If I have a special or unusual ingredient, this is the book use to get inspiration. It goes beyond a cookbook, with “notes from the kitchen” sharing buying methods, cooking times of various foods, and learning about Mediterranean food varieties.

A note of caution, some newbies share this cookbook seems overwhelming. Many people embracing the Mediterranean Diet are also learning to prepare fresh food, and are eating in more than out for the first time. If dinner had to be at the caliber of this cookbook every night, I too would feel overwhelmed. But this beautiful book, with absolutely amazing recipes has to be included in the 5 Must-Have Cookbooks. It is informative and inspiring. This cookbook is ideal for people who love to cook, or want to embrace cooking.