12 best random house mediterranean cookbooks

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The Mediterranean Way of Eating

There isn’t a single 'diet' that encompasses the entire Mediterranean region—spice-laden dishes of Morocco bear little resemblance to the lemon- and caper-laced cuisine of southern Italy. Rather, Mediterranean cooking is about what these cuisines have in common: a daily emphasis on vegetables and fruits, beans and lentils, whole grains, more seafood than meat and poultry, and heart-healthy olive oil. Fresh, high-quality ingredients and simple preparation techniques let the extraordinary flavors shine.

Pan-Roasted Swordfish with Chermoula

We took our fish to the next level by serving it with chermoula, a zesty Moroccan dressing.

Fava Bean and Radish Salad

These Italian-named earthy beans are favored throughout the Mediterranean and date back to ancient times.

Red Lentil Soup with North African Spices

The mild flavor of red lentils do not require a bit of embellishment, so we started by sauteing onion in olive oil and used the warm mixture to bloom some fragrant North African spices.

Marinated Green and Black Olives

We opted for olives with pits, which have better flavor than pitted ones, and found that tasters preferred brine-cured olives to salt-cured for their subtler flavors.

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Across the Mediterranean in an Instant

In Mediterranean Instant Pot, we abide by the central tenants of the Mediterranean diet and showcase the lighter, more vibrant side of Mediterranean cuisine. Inspired by the cuisines of Spain, Greece, Turkey, Egypt, Morocco, and more, this cookbook's 95 foolproof recipes not only take you from cutting board to plate in under an hour, but also prove eating better doesn't have to mean spending more time in the kitchen.

North African Cuisine

Chicken with Lentils and Butternut Squash

Rich, tender chicken with stewed lentils and butternut squash is classic North African fare. The brightness from the leafy green herbs and the subtle sharpness from the shallot tied the whole dish together and provided a nice contrast to the braised earthiness of the lentils.

Italian Cuisine

Sicilian Fish Stew

Many Sicilian dishes exhibit the strong influence of Arabic cooking through the use of dried fruits and nuts, including tomato-based fish stew, which, with its balance of sweet, sour, and salty notes, is common in the region.

Israeli Cuisine

Couscous with Chicken, Fennel, and Peppers

In this Israeli-inspired dish, we seasoned some ground chicken with slightly sweet fenugreek and floral cardamom and sauteed it in the Instant Pot, creating a fond in which we cooked fennel and toasted pear, or Israeli, couscous.

Greek Cuisine

Spiced Winter Squash with Halloumi and Shaved Brussels Sprouts

Golden-crusted salty halloumi and velvety, sweet squash are a marriage of opposing textures and flavors. Halloumi is a brined cheese originally from Cyprus, with a semifirm, springy texture, and its high melting point allows it to retain its shape when cooked.

Meze

Meze spreads are perfect for entertaining and offer a great assortment of small plates and dips!

• Hummus
• Baba Ghanoush
• Homemade Yogurt
• Marinated Artichokes
• Marinated Cauliflower and Chickpeas with Lemon and Smoked Paprika

Sauces

Sauces are endlessly customizable and help to brighten up completed dishes!

• Salsa Verde
• Chermoula
• Harissa
• Tzatziki
• Tahini Sauce
• Olive Tapenade

Finishing Elements

Finishing elements can give any dish the extra oomph it needs!

• Quick Pickled Onions
• Quick Preserved Lemon
• Dukkah
• Garlic Toasts
• Za'atar

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Fusilli with Calabrian-Style Pork Ragù

Stuffed Mussels

Neapolitan-Style Pizza Dough

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Become a Poultry Pro

Chicken is always there for you. You most likely have some kind of chicken in your refrigerator or freezer right now, waiting to fill almost any recipe need. If you’re wondering just what to do with it this time, you’ll find more than 500 answers in The Chicken Bible.

Easy Dinners

Chicken Breasts with Kale and Butternut Squash

For a hearty but not heavy autumnal dinner of roast chicken and vegetables, we departed from the standard starchy root vegetables by incorporating kale and butternut squash.

Salads

California Chicken Salad with Creamy Avocado Dressing

You can put avocado on just about any salad and call it “California.” We wanted our salad to earn the name with a healthy and hearty chicken salad that paid respect to the Golden State in every bite.

Soups

Hearty Chicken and Cabbage Soup

Assertive aromatics and herbs give cabbage an unexpected star quality in this satisfying chicken soup. It makes for a hearty meal thanks to the addition of creamy red potatoes, ground chicken, and bacon, which we crisped and reserved to use as a topping. Caraway seeds brought out the sweetness of the cabbage, and smoked paprika and fresh thyme added depth and complexity.

Roasted

Skillet-Roasted Chicken Leg Quarters and Potatoes

This recipe delivers a chicken and potatoes dinner in just one skillet in just over an hour. Chicken leg quarters, which are underused (and therefore often priced less than other cuts), are substantial enough for one serving and offer plenty of crispy skin.

Breaded and Fried

Korean Fried Chicken Wings

A thin, crispy exterior and a spicy sweet-salty sauce are the hallmarks of Korean fried chicken. The biggest challenge is preventing the sauce from destroying the crust. Wings offer a high exterior-to-interior ratio for maximum crunch and also cook quickly, so we went with those

Instant Pot, Air Fryer, and Sous Vide

Air-Fryer Tandoori Chicken Thighs

Tandoori chicken depends on intense, dry heat (traditionally supplied by a superhot clay oven) to lightly char chicken pieces that have been marinated in yogurt and spices. While our bake-then-broil approach produces terrific results, we were impressed at how the air fryer produced good tandoori with fewer steps, ideal for a simple dinner for two

Slow Cooker

Slow-Cooker Sweet and Tangy Pulled Chicken

A simple spice mixture and a quick homemade barbecue sauce made it easy to turn slow-cooked bone-in chicken breasts into tangy, silky, shredded chicken— perfect for piling onto buns.

Cooking for Two

French-Style White Bean Stew for Two

Cassoulet, the revered stew from France, is typically composed of garlicky white beans and various meats, including garlic sausage, duck confit, pork shoulder or loin, and sometimes game. For this recipe, we looked to cassoulet as our inspiration for a stew that was both quick to make and perfectly sized for two.

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Biquini Mallorquí

This sandwich was originally named for the Bikini concert hall in Barcelona’s Les Corts district. The hall opened in 1953 as a place for dancing and dining, and became known for its adaptation of the French croque-monsieur sandwich. You can still enjoy biquini sandwiches in tapas bars around Barcelona and throughout Catalonia. This version celebrates sobrassada, a cured sausage from the Spanish island of Mallorca with a soft, spreadable texture similar to Italy’s ’nduja. For a more traditional biquini, use a few thin slices of Serrano ham instead.

Recipe

Spread one side of one slice of bread with the mustard and top with the cheese. Spread the sobrassada on the other slice of bread. Sandwich the bread slices together and coat the exterior of the sandwich with butter.

Heat a medium cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Add the sandwich and cook until it is golden brown on the bottom, about 4 minutes, shaking the pan once or twice for more even browning.

Flip the sandwich and repeat on the other side, about 4 minutes more, reducing the heat to medium-low if the bread threatens to burn. Transfer the sandwich to a cutting board and cut it into 4 pieces. Serve warm with olives, if desired.