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Recipes and Flavor Secrets from Italy, Spain, Cyprus, and Beyond
Houghton Mifflin Company
September 2008
On Sale: September 8, 2008
384 pages
ISBN: 061867764X
EAN: 9780618677641
Hardcover
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By the time she was a teenager, Sara Jenkins had lived all
over the Mediterranean, from Italy and France to Spain,
Lebanon, and Cyprus, in cosmopolitan cities and in rural
hamlets. The family eventually put down roots in a
ramshackle farmhouse in a small Tuscan village, where she
learned how to make ragù and handmade pasta at the elbow of
her Italian "grandmother" on the nearby farm. Meals came
from the garden and the surrounding pastures, not the
supermarket, and Jenkins grew up schooled in the tradition
of cooking from what was on hand. In Olives & Oranges, Jenkins shares the simple, striking
dishes she learned at the source. Many, like Peppery
Braised Short Ribs and Classic Tuscan Eggplant Parmesan,
are favorites from childhood. Others, like Short Pasta with
Mushrooms and Mint and Spicy Lemon–Chocolate Ganache Tart,
have a contemporary sensibility. Jenkins shows how
understanding the Mediterranean "language of flavor" can
help you follow your instincts and make your own great
meals based on what you have, too. You'll see how salt and
lemon juice bring out the natural sugar in Carrot Salad
with Lemon, Sea Salt, Parsley, and Olive Oil, and how to
use the same technique with lime, salt, and a Moroccan
condiment called harissa for a completely different effect
in Tunisian Raw Turnip Salad. The opening chapter introduces "small plates"— easy,
versatile dishes that can preface a dinner or be grouped
together for a small feast, from Roasted Red Peppers with
Garlic and Celery Leaves to Chicken Liver Crostini. Soups
are spontaneous and flexible, whether they are cooling
purées like White Almond Gazpacho or sturdy full bowls like
Rich Chicken Soup with Greens. The incomparable pastas
encompass fast every-night selections (Spaghettini with
Burst Cherry Tomatoes) to complex celebration affairs like
Braised Rabbit Ragù and Homemade Lasagna. Fish, poultry, and meat chapters feature rustic
preparations: roasted scallops capped with a pale green
butter seasoned with parsley and garlic; an impressively
big-flavored chicken smeared with a mixture of bacon and
herbs and baked in a salt crust; and a spectacular staple
of Roman trattorias, veal cutlets wrapped in prosciutto and
sage and crisp-fried. Desserts range from fresh
Strawberries with Prosecco to a sumptuous Coffee Cardamom
Crème Caramel to the rich but light Lemon Olive Oil Cake. Each of the recipes in the book is identified as "Quick-
Cook" or "Slow-Cook" so you can choose which fit best into
your schedule. "Flavor Tips" throughout the book suggest
ways to modify the dishes so you can use what's freshest
and most available. The daughter of the noted food authority Nancy Harmon
Jenkins, SARA JENKINS has earned raves at all the New York
restaurants where she has been the chef, including 50
Carmine, Il Buco, I Coppi, and Patio. Her newest venture,
Porchetta, is located in New York City's East Village. This
is her first book.
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