Italian bucatini goes Greek when tossed with a tomato sauce imbued with the warmth of paprika, cumin, nutmeg and cloves.

Nestled with a tender chicken thigh simmered in the same sauce, it’s a hearty dish that transports you to the sunny Mediterranean from the get-go.

“Chicken Stew over Pasta (Pastitsada) is from the cookbook, “Yassou” (Artisan, 2024), of which I received a review copy.

It was written by Shaily Lipa, a best-selling cookbook writer in Israel, who is of Greek and Turkish heritages.

In Greek, “yassou” is a customary way to wish one good health. With the Mediterranean diet long touted for its healthful ingredients, the recipes in this book make it ever so easy to include more such dishes in our everyday eating.

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