A host of Mediterranean flavors come together in this quick, delicious seafood pasta. Recipe below.

Since our recent Washington, DC visit and Mellen’s amazing seafood bourride, we’ve continued to think a lot about Mediterranean cuisine. So when we came across the sumptuous cookbook Olives and Oranges: Recipes and Flavor Secrets from Italy, Spain, Cyprus, and Beyond, we knew we’d be cooking more than a few things based on recipes we found here.

The authors of this beautiful cookbook know a thing or two about the region’s food. As the daughter of a foreign correspondent, Sara Jenkins had lived in Italy, France, Spain, Lebanon and Cyprus by the time she was a teen. She put her love of Mediterranean flavors to work as chef of New York City restaurants such as Il Buco, I Coppi, Mangia and Porchetta. Co-author Mindy Fox is editor of La Cucina Italiana and a former editor at Saveur. She has written for many magazines and collaborated on a number of cookbooks. Alan Richardson supplies the amazing photographs.

The book opens with what Jenkins calls “My Flavor Pantry,” a comprehensive description of oils, vinegars, olives, seasonings, herbs, spices, anchovies, cured meats, pastas, legumes and more, all crucial ingredients in the Mediterranean kitchen. Then she takes us from small plates and salads through pastas, risottos, fish and meats, right on up to sweets and cordials—more than 140 recipes in all, divided into quick-cook and slow-cook categories. Continue reading “Lingering in the Mediterranean: Spaghetti with Seafood, Almonds, Capers and Parsley” →