Originally published in 1981, this exuberant cookbook from Boxer (First Slice Your Cookbook), a former food editor at Vogue, expertly explores the Mediterranean region's rich and varied food with dozens of sumptuous recipes. "To write about the foods of... the Mediterranean could seem an impossibly ambitious task," the author suggests. But thanks to her wealth of knowledge--illustrated in a thorough primer to the region's geographical and culinary landscape--Boxer makes it seem like an effortless, even pleasurable, endeavor. Country of origin and snappy headnotes with bits of trivia precede each recipe (Morocco's harira chickpea soup and a French whipped salt cod spread, for instance, are both traditionally eaten on fasting days) and often include serving tips, such as garnishing an Italian minestrone with a "fresh olive floating on the surface." Time-consuming and ambitious dishes, such as Turkish stuffed mackerel, are typically offered with two versions--one that's more involved and another with shortcuts--while a simple aubergine omelet from France makes for an ideal light weeknight supper. Sweets get their due with such appetizing selections as a chocolate Artemis cake from Greece, and Tunisia's Zriga, comprising pastry rolls served with a rose-water custard sauce. This deserves a spot, right next to Elizabeth David's seminal Book of Mediterranean Food, on every home cook's bookshelf. (Sept.)