I COOKING I Mediterranean Mind Mips GLORIA KAUFER GREENE Special to The Jewish News Shirley Stern. Sinai J1 A nice hot bowl of chicken soup can often make you feel better. But sometimes you need more. Sometimes you need expert medical advice. Then it's time to turn to the medical experts at Sinai Hospital. We have specialists who can help with everything that's got you krechtzing, from the minor "oy vat's" to the serious "gevalt!"s. The doctors on our staff have offices convenient to your home or business, whose office hours fit into your busy schedule. If you need a good cup of soup, try our recipe. If you need medical care, try our doctors. For a referral to a doctor on staff at Sinai, call Shirley Stern, our physician referral maven, at 1-800-248-DOCS (248-3627). THIS IS SINAI Michigan's Only Jewish Hospital END YOUR ROOFING PROBLEMS THROUGH CRAFTSMANSHIP Woolf Roofing & Maintenance Inc.. A Third Generation Roofing Family in Detroit Commercial - Industrial — High Rises Single-Ply and Built-Up Systems Fully Insured 5-20 Year Warranties 18161 W. 13 Mile Rd. Member National Roofing Contractors Association 28 FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 1988 in Free Inspections Southfield 646-2452 "Mediterranean Cooking" by Claudia Roden includes all the countries that touch on the Mediterranean Sea, while "A Taste of Morocco: A Cul- inary Journey with Recipes" by Robert Carrier specializes in just one. While Roden hap- pens to be Jewish and men- tions her Sephardic-Egypt- ian-Syrian Jewish heritage a few times in her book, both books contain several non- kosher recipes, particularly for the seafood so prevalent in the area. However, there are many recipes that would be de- lightful and unusual for the kosher kitchen (or could be easily adapted), and they would provide a delicious and stimulating background for a Mediterranean day at home. Especially nice for this time of year, many dishes call for fresh vegetables and fruits, and Roden's book includes a chapter on grilled meats. Both books are a pleasure to peruse. The beginning of Roden's book features an ex- cellent chapter on "in- gredients" which includes individual photographs and descriptions of fruits, vege- tables, fish, dairy products, beans, grains, oils, olives, pasta, preserves, and an amazing array of seasonings and flavorings, making it easy to identify strange pro- ducts from abroad. Also, help- ful is the text preceding recipes that provides inter- esting information such as the origin of the dish or how it should be served. In her fascinating preface and introduction, Roden points out that her book fea- tures an assortment of ap- pealing, representative dishes served by families, not res- taurants. Interestingly, Car- rier says almost the same thing about his provocative Moroccan recipes. Through- out the Mediterranean (in- cluding, of course, Israel), it is the custom to freely open one's home to all guests, always providing — at the very least — tasty food and drink. And it is this family fare that is arguably the best in these countries. Because both books were or- iginally published in Great Britain, there may be some slight confusion for the Amer- ican cook. For instance, words such as flavor are spelled "flavour" and certain ingre- dients and directions use British, rather than Ameri- can, culinary terminology. In Carrier's book, the American term is frequently in paren- thesis following the British one, but in Roden's book, you must often interpret this yourself. Also, both books give some amounts in metric followed by comparable British measurements (in- cluding certain solid ingre- dients by weight), though Carrier's book sometimes pro- vides more familiar American measures. Following are some recipes from "Mediterranean Cook- ing" and "A Taste of Moroc- co." I have tried to choose those that would be ap- propriate for summer dining. SLAT AVOCADO V'PRI HADA (Israeli Avocado and Citrus Salad) This recipe is from "Mediterranean Cooking." Says the author, "The bland- ness of the avocado and sharp- ness of the citrus fruits com- bine very refreshingly in this recipe." Juice of 1 lemon 4 tablespoons olive oil Salt and pepper 2 ripe but firm avocado pears 1 orange 1 grapefruit Garnish: Mint leaves Beat the lemon, oil, salt and pepper in a salad bowl. Peel the avocados, cut them in half and remove the stones, then slice them and turn them in the dressing. Peel the orange and grapefruit, removing all the pith, and cut the flesh in- to pieces. lbss the fruits in the dressing. Garnish with mint leaves. Serves 4-6. DJAJ MESHWI (Grilled Spring Chicken) This interesting recipe is from "Mediterranean Cook- ing." The author explains that poussins are "spring chickens," what we might call Rock Cornish broiler chickens or small broiler-fryers, I assume. 2 poussins (small chickens) 4 tablespoons olive oil Juice of 1 lemon 1-4 garlic cloves, crushed Pepper 2 tablespoons margarine (optional) Salt Bunch of parsley, finely chopped Lay the chickens breast down and split them open all along the backbone. Crack the breastbone and open the birds out. Cut the wing and Continued on Page 30