The Art of Mediterranean Cooking: Olive Oil, Fire, and the Old World Table: a Practical Guide to Eating Well and Living Strong

THE ART OF MEDITERRANEAN COOKINGOlive Oil, Fire, and the Old World Table: A Practical Guide to Eating Well and Living StrongMediterranean cooking is not a passing trend. It is a long-surviving system for feeding households with intelligence, thrift, and pleasure. In The Art of Mediterranean Cooking, R. A. Calkins teaches that system plainly and practically: the priorities, the pantry, and the methods that let home cooks produce meals that are flavorful, balanced, and dependable. This is a handbook for thinking like a Mediterranean cook so you can build excellent food from the ingredients you have, without memorizing endless recipes.Start with the pillars: olive oil as the base layer, vegetables as the centerpiece, beans and lentils as honest protein, herbs as a language, and acid as the hidden engine that brightens and balances. Learn how these priorities shape every decision at the stove and the table and how modest ingredients become a satisfying whole when used in the right proportions and with the right techniques.Learn the Mediterranean pattern for constructing meals—grain or bread as a base, a plant-forward centerpiece, a supporting protein, and a simple finishing note such as a drizzle of olive oil, a squeeze of lemon, herbs, or nuts. Discover the three ancient heat methods—fire for grilling and charring, stone for baking and roasting, and the pot for simmering and stewing—so vegetables gain sweetness and smoke, stews gain depth, and proteins finish with the proper texture.Practical chapters show how to stock a Mediterranean pantry so a month’s worth of ingredients yields countless meals: oils and acids, aromatics, herbs and spices, grains and legumes, and small stores of preserved foods. Calkins explains time-saving techniques for weeknight cooking, sensible shopping lists that respect the family budget, and a recipe approach that favors flexible formulas over rigid measurements. You’ll find dishes built to be mixed and matched, scaled up or down, and adapted to seasonal produce.This book is written for everyday kitchens: for cooks who want more flavor without complicated technique, for families who need nourishing meals on a budget, and for anyone who wants to eat with restraint and joy. If you want to cook Mediterranean food for the rest of your life—confidently, efficiently, and deliciously—this guide gives you the mindset and the mechanics to make it happen.