In “Mediterranean Clay Pot Cooking” the doyenne of Mediterranean cuisine lasers in on the particular art of meals made in Moroccan tagines, Spanish cazuelas, Chinese sandpots and Romertopf clay bakers. Her mantra “Food tastes better cooked in clay” provides the foundation for 150 hearty stews and soups, unusual vegetable dishes and even a few breads.

 Of course, the catch is that you need clay pots to make them. Though Wolfert narrows the essentials to a half-dozen vessels, the cookbook still represents a serious investment of time and devotion if not money. It’s the kind of book you buy when you decide to learn a new skill, like making pasta from scratch or canning and preserving.

 Once made, the investment will let you experience meals from Provence through north Africa and the Levant, meals like Grape Leaves Stuffed with Rice, Rose Petals, Currants and Mint; Fish Tagine with Tomatoes, Olives and Preserved Lemons; and Chicken Stuffed with Serrano Ham and Olives.

 Maybe you won’t cook all of these. Or any of them. But reading about them can take you to those places where cumin and cardamom waft on jasmine-scented breezes and the sea is always within sight.

Published by the Northwestern October 13, 2009.