Meze translates literally as “middle,” explains Diane Kochilas, author of “Meze: Small Plates to Savor and Share From the Mediterranean Table” (MorrowCookbooks, $24.95). As in “the middle of the day.” A snack.
And so Kochilas’ first task in this tightly focused compilation of recipes is to distinguish the playful and surprising meze of the eastern Mediterranean from the more customary small bites of the western Mediterranean, such as Spanish tapas, French hors d’ouevres and Italian merende. As Kochilas emphasizes, mezethes (the plural of meze) should not sate the appetite but tease it.
“The whole point of snacking this way, is to make the experience at table last as long as possible,” she says.
Kochilas, a transplanted New Yorker, is the restaurant reviewer and food editor of Ta Nea, a daily newspaper in Athens. She is also the award-winning author of “The Glorious Foods of Greece,” “The Greek Vegetarian” and “The Food and Wine of Greece,” an occasional contributor to various food magazines and the proprietor of a cooking school and restaurant.
In her straightforward and charming style, Kochilas sets forth a cuisine, a country and a way of life that lacks pretension but not enthusiasm.
In the introduction to the book, she writes:
“A meze spread is not meant to be a meal, but a nosh, a communal, convivial landscape of small and varied dishes perfect for grazing. Some offerings on the table might be store-bought, such as olives, cheeses, cured fish or thin slices of spicy pastourma, the cured beef so well loved in the eastern Mediterranean. Pita bread or any of the Middle Eastern flat breads now available in the United States, as well as good-quality country-style bread, should also be on the table.
“There is no hard-and-fast rule regarding what dishes work best together for a meze spread, but variety — in textures, flavors, colors, temperatures and types of food — is crucial. There has to be a little of everything, from creamy dips to golden, crisp phyllo pastries, to refreshing salads to juicy meatballs or vegetable fritters, to one or two fish or seafood dishes, and richer dishes in small portions gushing with cheese and sauce. When comprising menus based upon mezethes, a sense of variety and balance is the most important thing to keep in mind.”
Tempered somewhat for a non-Greek audience, the recipes in the book are, at times, borderline traditional at best.
Some dishes draw upon Turkish and Lebanese origins, some incorporate an Asian flair and a few seem to have been conjured on a whim. While hummus and tzaki do not number among the recipes, marinated octopus, feta and watermelon salad and other intriguing, doable recipes are handily categorized by type of food, whether dip or spread, meatball and kebab or finger food and fried treats.
For those unfamiliar with the meze pantry, a glossary breaks down basic Greek ingredients — including various cheeses and olives — and a handy source list provides mail-order options.
Anyone intrigued not so much by the traditional recipes for Greek meze but the underlying approach that accompanies it would enjoy this book.
Marinated pan-fried shrimp in the shell
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Marinating time: 6 hours
Cooking time: 4 minutes per batch
Yield: 4 servings
From “Meze”: “Along every coast in Greece there are seafood houses where one can go for a full meal of small plates or for something grander, like whole fish grilled on the bone, soups and pastas. Regardless of whether the meal is a medley of mezethes or a full-course affair, most fish and seafood feasts start with an array of simply prepared shellfish. For Greeks, that means grilled or boiled crawfish and spiny lobster, raw or steamed clams and shrimp prepared in the shell, in any number of ways. Cooking them in the shell preserves their flavor and juiciness, although it makes for less-than glamorous eating habits.” Ouzo, an anise-flavored liqueur, is sold at liquor stores.
1 ound large shrimp, unshelled
Juice of 2 large lemons
1/2 up ouzo
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Dash of Tabasco
Flour for dredging
Salt
Olive oil for frying
1 lemon, quartered
1. Rinse the shrimp under cold water and set aside. In a stainless steel mixing bowl, combine the lemon juice, ouzo, cayenne and Tabasco. Toss the shrimp in the marinade, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 6 hours.
2. On a large platter, combine the flour and salt. Remove the shrimp from the marinade and turn once in the flour to dredge on both sides. Shake in the palm of your hand to remove excess flour. Place on a separate plate.
3. While dredging the shrimp, heat about 1/4 inch of oil in a large, heavy skillet. Do not let the oil smoke. Place as many pieces of shrimp as will fit in one layer in the skillet and fry over very high heat. They will need 3 to 4 minutes of total frying time; turn once so that they cook on both sides. The flour coating the shrimp will be a light golden color and the shells bright red. Remove, drain on paper towel, and repeat with the remaining shrimp, replenishing the oil if necessary. Serve hot, garnished with lemon wedges.
Nutrition information per serving:
153 calories, 57% of calories from fat, 10 g fat, 1 g saturated fat, 112 mg cholesterol, 4 g carbohydrates, 12 g protein, 420 mg sodium, 0.1 g fiber
Spicy whipped feta
Preparation time: 5 minutes
Chilling time: 1 hour
Yield: 4-6 servings
“This is one of the never-absent standard-bearers of the Greek meze table, a classic dish found from one corner of the country to the other, on almost every taverna and meze menu,” writes Diane Kochilas in “Meze.”
1 pound soft Greek feta
1/2 cup thick Greek or Mediterranean-style yogurt
1/2 to 2/3 cup extra-virgin Greek olive oil as needed
1 teaspoon finely ground black pepper, or more or less to taste
2 to 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice to taste
Crumble the feta. Place it in the bowl of a food processor and pulse together with the yogurt until smooth. Add the oil and pepper and continue working the mixture until it becomes very soft and spreadable. Remove and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Just before serving, spike the flavor to taste with lemon juice.
Nutrition information per serving (based on 6 servings):
374 calories, 82% of calories from fat, 34 g fat, 14 g saturated fat, 69 mg cholesterol, 5 g carbohydrates, 12 g protein, 858 mg sodium, 0.1 g fiber
