Eat Your Veggies!

As part of our National Mediterranean Diet Month celebration, we asked our fabulous team of Mediterranean Foods Alliance culinary advisors to share one of their special vegetable recipes. Enjoy!

Aglaia Kremezi
A writer, photographer, and food columnist, Aglaia was born in Athens and for six years lived on Kea, an island of the Cyclades. With a group of friends she has created Kea Artisanal, a Culture and Food holiday program. Aglaia has been a long-time friend of Oldways. She helped organize three different International Symposiums in Greece (Thessaloniki, Crete, Chios/Lesbos) and has contributed as a speaker at many Oldways Mediterranean Diet Conferences in the US. She is the author of The Foods of Greece; The Foods of the Greek Islands; and Mediterranean Hot & Spicy: Fast and Healthy Cooking from Southern Italy, Greece and the Middle East.
Learn more about Aglaia.

TOMATO AND PURSLANE RELISH
As tasty as it is beautiful, here is a delicious accompaniment to grilled fish, poultry or meat.
Purslane has crunchy, succulent leaves. Look for it at farmers markets or grow your own from seed.

Serves 4-6

Ingredients
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
½ - 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, or to taste
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Salt to taste
1 pound cherry tomatoes, red and yellow, halved (reserve the juices)
1 bunch purslane, coarsely chopped
5-6 sprigs fresh thyme, snipped with scissors
Freshly ground pepper

Preparation
In a bowl whisk together the mustard, lemon juice, and olive oil, with salt to taste. Add the tomatoes and juices, the purslane and thyme, and toss to coat with the sauce. Let stand for about 20 minutes at room temperature, then sprinkle with freshly ground pepper and serve.

Recipe courtesy of Aglaia Kremezi

Steven Petusevsky
A celebrated food journalist and globe trotting culinarian, Chef Steve is a widely recognized pioneer in the pairing of health and exceptional flavor. He has been the National Director of Creative Food Development for Whole Foods Market, Roundy’s, and other grocery chains, and even owned his own specialty food store. Also a journalist and cookbook author, Steve has spoken and cooked at Oldways Symposiums and Conferences in the US and the Mediterranean. He is currently developing recipes with a Mediterranean flavor for top tier retailers.
Learn more about Steve Petusevsky.

PASTA WITH WHITE BEANS, GREENS, AND LEMON
Make this easy dish on weeknights or serve it at a casual dinner with friends.

Serves 6

Ingredients
1 pound uncooked orecchiette
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Cooking spray
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
3/4 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes, packed without oil
1 (15-ounce) can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
3 cups trimmed arugula or baby spinach
1 cup fresh basil leaves, coarsely chopped (1-ounce package)
1 tablespoon grated lemon rind
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon kosher salt
5 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted
1/4 cup (1 ounce) grated Parmesan cheese

Preparation
Cook the pasta according to the package directions, omitting any salt and fat. Drain. Place the pasta in a large bowl and drizzle with the olive oil, tossing to coat. Heat a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Coat the pan with cooking spray. Add the garlic and sauté for 1 minute or until the garlic begins to brown. Add the pasta mixture, tomatoes, pepper, and beans. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Stir in the arugula, basil, lemon rind, lemon juice, and salt. Cook for 1 minute or until the arugula wilts. Spoon 1½ cups of the pasta mixture into each of 6 shallow bowls. Top each serving with 2 ½ teaspoons of pine nuts and 2 teaspoons cheese. Serve immediately.

Recipe courtesy of Steven Petusevsky. photo Randy Mayor; styling Jan Gautro

Jesse Ziff Cool
Dedicated to supporting sustainable local agriculture and cuisine, Jesse has been the creative force behind five unique restaurants, including Flea Street Café in Menlo Park and The Cool Café at Stanford University’s Cantor Art Center. One of the original Overseers of the Chefs Collaborative, an organization founded by Oldways in 1993, Jesse has been a speaker, journalist, and chef at a number of Oldways events around the world (China, the US and in several Mediterranean countries). She’s also the author of seven cookbooks, including The True and Real One Pot Cookbook and Simply Organic.
Learn more about Jesse Ziff Cool

SPINACH, FARRO, STRAWBERRY, AND FETA SALAD
Make this salad as a first course or serve it as a side dish for roast or grilled chicken or lamb.

Serves 4-6

Ingredients
1 cup farro or whole wheat berries
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
2 finely chopped green onions
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh oregano                1 smallish basket organic strawberries
Salt and pepper to taste
Sugar, if needed
8-10 ounces baby spinach leaves
3-4 ounces feta cheese, crumbled slightly

Preparation
Put 3 cups of water in a pot and bring to a boil. Salt the water slightly. Add the farro, cover the pot and cook on low for about 30 minutes. Test for desired doneness. For a salad, a bit al dente is recommended, but you can cook it longer if you choose. Drain off any excess water. Cool.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the olive oil, both vinegars, half the green onions and the oregano. Using a fork, mash 4 strawberries and add to the vinaigrette. Season with salt and pepper, and if needed, a little sugar. Thickly slice the remaining strawberries. In a large bowl, combine the spinach, cooked farro, and remaining sliced strawberries. Toss with enough vinaigrette to lightly moisten. Add the feta , and season again with salt and pepper to taste.

Recipe courtesy of Jesse Ziff Cool.

Ana Sortun
Ana was born in Seattle, earned a degree from La Varenne Ecole de Cuisine in Paris, and worked at several Boston area restaurants. When she opened her Cambridge restaurant, Oleana, in 2001, she quickly earned a devout following among savvy foodies who appreciate her creative combination of farm-fresh flavors and eastern Mediterranean spice blends. The recipient of numerous awards, she is the author of SPICE: Flavors of the Eastern Mediterranean. Ana and Oldways have collaborated on three previous culinary tours, and together we are planning the next Oldways Culinaria in Istanbul and Gaziantep, Turkey in March 2012.
Learn more about Ana Sortun.

ISTANBUL-STYLE ARTICHOKES
Ferda Erdinc, who owns Istanbul’s Zencefil restaurant and who met her through an Oldways Symposium in Crete, taught Ana how to make this traditional Turkish specialty. Serve it with fish or as one of many mezze before a meal.

Serves 6-12

Ingredients
6 whole artichokes
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons flour
¼ cup honey
¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup dry white wine
12 cloves garlic, peeled and cut in half
4 scallions, root ends trimmed and finely chopped
¼ cup chopped fresh dill

Preparation
Preheat the oven to 375°F. Trim the stem end halfway off each artichoke with a serrated knife, and then cut the top third of each artichoke off. Pull off the dark green outer leaves with your fingers, stopping when you can see the tender yellow leaves.

With a paring knife, clean and shape the base of the artichoke by trimming it down and removing most of the dark green color. You’ll want to keep the shape of the artichoke but pare it down uniformly. Split each artichoke in half lengthwise and remove the fuzzy insides by scraping them out with a small teaspoon.
Season both sides of each artichoke with salt and pepper and then place the artichokes cut-side down in a heavy roasting pan or Pyrex dish. In a small mixing bowl, whisk the flour with the honey, lemon juice, and olive oil and pour this mixture over the artichokes.

Add the wine and garlic to the pan and cover it tightly twice with foil. Bake the artichokes for 30 to 40 minutes, until they are cooked through. Some of the liquid will evaporate and slightly glaze each artichoke. Sprinkle the artichokes with scallions and dill and serve them warm or at room temperature with any extra braising liquid for dipping, along with extra salt and pepper.

Recipe from the book Spice – Flavors of the Eastern Mediterranean, by Ana Sortun, published by Regan Books/Harper Collins. Photo courtesy of Aglaia Kremezi.

Steve Jenkins
Steve Jenkins wrote the book about cheese (Cheese Primer) in 1996 and, as America’s first French-certified “maitre-fromager” he has put New York City’s Fairway Market at the center of cheese selling in the U.S. He has been a pioneer in importing traditional foods from more than 100 European companies, and promoting public awareness of food artisans. An early supporter of Oldways, Steve has participated in a number of Oldways Symposiums in the US and the Mediterranean.

VEGETABLE COUSCOUS
This hearty dish gets special flavor from vegetables that are grilled and chopped. If you can’t
grill them, preheat the oven to 425°F, toss them lightly with olive oil, roast for about 15 minutes, cool, and chop. Serve with lentils.

Ingredients
1 cup couscous
2 pinches cumin
1 whole dried chile pepper
1 cinnamon stick
2 cups water
1 small zucchini, sliced in quarters lengthwise
1 plum tomato
1 carrot
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 sprigs fresh mint, coarsely chopped
Sea salt and Tellicherry pepper to taste

Preparation
Combine the couscous, half the cumin, the chile pepper, and the cinnamon stick in a large pot and toast for a few seconds over high heat, until the spices are fragrant. Discard the cinnamon stick and chile pepper. Add the water, bring to a rapid boil, and stir. Remove the pot from the heat and allow to “steam,” covered for 7-10 minutes or so.

Meanwhile, grill the vegetables until lightly browned, cool, and dice. Fluff the “steamed” couscous with a fork. Add all the diced vegetables, olive oil, and remaining cumin to the couscous and mix. Season with fresh mint, salt and pepper to taste, if needed. Stir to combine well and serve warm.

Recipe courtesy of Steve Jenkins, Fairway Markets

David Shalleck
Chef David Shalleck has worked for more than two decades as a fine dining chef and television culinary producer. He has cooked in noted restaurants and for special events in the US, in Provence, and throughout Italy, and he created Mediterranean menus for Windstar Cruises. This May, he is launching new Mediterranean menu items in two of five Patxi’s restaurants, based in San Francisco. He is also the author of Mediterranean Summer and helped Oldways with cooking demonstrations at our last Mediterranean Diet Conference.
Learn more about David Shalleck.

ROASTED ASPARAGUS AND CITRUS INSALATA
with Arugula, Grated Parmigiano Cheese, and Dijon Vinaigrette

Makes 4 first course servings

This wonderful composed salad is a great welcome to spring that is easy to prepare. The colors are very attractive as are the variety of textures and harmony of flavors. Since asparagus season begins at the tail end of winter citrus, try unique varieties of oranges like Blood or Cara Cara generally available at most grocery stores. Make the dressing just before making the salad.

Ingredients
12 stalks (about 1 pound) jumbo or extra large asparagus
1 ½ teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
2 medium (about 1 pound) Blood, Cara Cara, or Navel oranges
4 cups lightly packed baby or wild arugula
2 tablespoons thinly sliced red onion
½ cup Dijon Mustard vinaigrette (recipe follows)
2 ounces Parmigiano Reggiano cheese

Preparation
Preheat oven to 400°F. Cut the tough bottoms from the asparagus leaving a length of about 7 inches. Lightly peel 2 to 3 inches of the outer green layer from the bottom of each stalk. Coat the asparagus with the olive oil and salt on a small cookie sheet or baking dish and align in a single layer. Roast until tender, 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer to a dish in a single layer to cool.

Trim the peel and pith from the oranges. Cut each crosswise into six equal slices. Arrange three slices equally apart in three sections of the serving dishes. Place three pieces of asparagus over the oranges and each other while leaving a space in the center of the dishes. The tips should be facing the rim of the dish.

Dress the arugula and the onion with 1 tablespoon of the vinaigrette. Place a cluster in the center of each salad. Drizzle the remaining vinaigrette over the orange slices and asparagus. Finely grate the Parmigiano over the arugula and a little on the rest of the salad. Serve immediately.

Salad recipe courtesy of David Shalleck

DIJON MUSTARD VINAIGRETTE

Makes about 1/2 cup

1 tablespoon minced shallot or red onion
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 ½ tablespoons Dijon mustard
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon pure olive oil

Blend the shallot, vinegar, salt, pepper, and mustard in a 1 to 2-quart mixing bowl. Let rest for 5 or 10 minutes to soften the shallots. While whisking, add the olive oil in a slow, steady stream to start and keep the emulsion. Add 1 teaspoon lukewarm water in the same manner to thin the consistency. Set aside for up to an hour so the flavors open up and evolve—or, as chefs like to say, “bloom.” Stir from time to time.

Cynthia Daddona
Author of Diary of A Modern Day Goddess®, a guide to creating a life that nurtures your body, mind and soul, Cynthia is an award-winning on-camera personality, author, lifestyle journalist, and host of RomancingTheTable.com® which celebrates life, love, food, and travel. She also hosted and co-produced the About.com Culinary-Travel DVD – A Greek Islands Destination Cooking Class, filmed on the beautiful island of Santorini. She is currently working on a second book about her Mediterranean culinary travels. An ardent advocate of all things Mediterranean, she recently taught a Mediterranean cooking and lifestyle tips class at Whole Foods Inc. in Santa Barbara – as shown in the photo here – where she made this Greek salad, which is very similar to one she shared on her first date with her husband, James. (She reports that it was truly love at first Mediterranean bite!) Watch for her blog about having Romantic Mediterranean Date Night Meals during Med Month.
Learn more about Cynthia Daddona.

A GREEK GODDESS SALAD
Use the freshest vegetables you can find for the best flavor when making this traditional salad. You can substitute cherry tomatoes, halved, for the heirlooms. Cut all the vegetables into bite-sized pieces.

Ingredients
3-4 heirloom tomatoes, quartered and chopped
1 medium cucumber, peeled, sliced and chopped
1 sliced onion (optional)
2 medium red peppers, cored, seeded and chopped
½ -1 cup pitted Kalamata olives
3-4 tablespoons extra- virgin olive oil
Sprinkle of dried, ground oregano,
½ lemon, squeezed
Garlic salt to taste
6 ounces feta cheese, cut into small cubes

Preparation
Combine the vegetables in a large salad bowl. Toss with the olive oil, oregano, lemon juice and garlic salt. Add the feta cheese on top and serve.

Recipe and photos courtesy of Cynthia Daddona, RomancingTheTable.com

Mary Ann Esposito
As the creator and host of the nationally televised PBS series and longest running cooking show in television history, Ciao Italia with Mary Ann Esposito ™, Mary Ann has long been a spokesperson for the Mediterranean Diet. She first learned about it from her two Italian grandmothers, and has spent her career helping others discover its charms, including talks at Oldways Symposiums in Italy and the US. She is the author of several Ciao Italia cookbooks including: Five Ingredient Favorites and Slow and Easy. Her latest book, Family Classics, will be published in October 2011.
Learn more about Mary Ann Esposito.

BARLEY SALAD (INSALATA D'ORZO)
Barley is possibly the oldest grain in the world. Adaptable and strong, it grows on both frigid mountaintops and in blistering desert heat. Here it brings character to an easy-to-make Mediterranean salad. Note that orzo pasta is not barley – the tiny pasta is just called orzo because of its resemblance to a grain of barley.

Serves 4-6

Ingredients
2 cups water
1/2 cup uncooked hulled whole or pearled barley
1/4 cup minced fresh parsley
1/2 cup grated carrot
1/2 cup diced cucumber
1/2 cup diced provolone cheese
1 1/4 teaspoons dried oregano
1/2 cup shredded radicchio
4 tablespoons extra- virgin olive oil
Juice of one large lemon
Salt to taste
4 to 6 large beefsteak tomatoes

Preparation
Bring 2 cups of water to a boil in a large saucepan. Add the barley, cover, reduce the heat, and simmer until tender about 20 to 40 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water. Transfer to a large bowl. Stir in the parsley, carrot, cucumber, cheese, oregano, radicchio, olive oil, lemon juice and salt. Mix to combine and set aside.

Cut the tops off the tomatoes and reserve. Hollow out the pulp, cube it and mix it into the barley mixture. Stuff the tomato cavities with the mixture and replace the tops. Serve or refrigerate until needed. Bring to room temperature before serving.

Recipe and photos courtesy of Mary Ann Esposito.

Nancy Harmon Jenkins
Nancy has a passionate interest in Mediterranean food and cultures, and she has played an important and ongoing role at Oldways since the very beginning. In 1987, she helped founder Dun Gifford organize an extensive culinary trip to northern Italy. Nancy, who is fluent in Italian (and Spanish and another language or two), had just finished a long stint as a food writer for The New York Times and proved to be an invaluable guide to local foods and a source of great inspiration. The result of the culinary trip was Oldways, and Nancy was integrally involved in its founding, also serving as one of the original members of the Oldways’ Board of Directors.

The author of half a dozen highly acclaimed cookbooks, including The New Mediterranean Diet Cookbook, she divides her time between her farmhouse outside of Cortona, Italy and the coast of Maine.
Learn more about Nancy Harmon Jenkins.

SAUTEED GREENS WITH GARLIC AND OIL

Here’s an easy and delicious recipe that works well for all manner of greens available in farmers’ markets and supermarket produce sections, as well as wintertime kale, turnip greens, collards, and mustard greens.

Serves 6

Ingredients
3 pounds fresh greens
3 garlic cloves, chopped
¼ to ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 dried chili pepper
Sea salt
1 or 2 tablespoons aged wine vinegar or fresh lemon juice

Preparation
Remove the tough stems, chop the greens if you wish, rise carefully (very carefully in the case of spinach, with tends to be sandy), and boil in the water clinging to the leaves, adding a little more water if the greens start to stick, until they are tender. (Fresh young spinach will take just a few minutes; collards as much as 30 minutes.) Once the greens are tender, drain and chop.

In a saucepan large enough to hold all the greens, sauté the garlic very gently in the oil over medium-low or low heat until the garlic is very soft but not taking color. Add the dried chili pepper, broken in bits (for less heat, discard the seeds and white membrane before adding to the pan), and stir it in. Add the chopped greens and stir and turn them in the aromatic oil until they have completely absorbed it. As soon as the greens start to sizzle in the heat of the pan, remove from the heat, stir in the salt and vinegar or lemon juice to taste, and serve immediately, on their own or poured over lightly toasted slices of country-style bread that have been rubbed lightly with a cut clove of garlic and dribbled with a small amount of olive oil.

Recipe from The New Mediterranean Diet Cookbook by Nancy Harmon Jenkins, Bantam Books.

Liz Weiss, MS, RD & Janice Newell Bissex, MS, RD
Known as the Meal Makeover Moms, these two nutrition-savvy mothers are on a mission to inspire parents to help even the pickiest young eaters enjoy healthy meals prepared in home kitchens. They write a family recipe blog, “Meal Makeover Moms’ Kitchen,” and are the authors of The Mom’s Guide to Meal Makeovers and No Whine with Dinner. Janice and Liz are long-time friends of Oldways. Liz was a panelist and covered several of the original Oldways conferences for CNN in the early 1990s, and Janice has been a speaker and chef at a number of Oldways conferences.

To help us celebrate Med Month, the Moms sat down with Oldways’ president Sara Baer-Sinnott to talk about all things Mediterranean for their weekly radio podcast, Cooking with the Moms. Sara explained all that we have going on this month, from Med in America, our latest Mediterranean Foods Alliance activities and our goal to share 1 million Med Pyramids. And the best part is that everyone enjoyed a meal-makeover-inspired Mediterranean pizza recipe created by Oldways.
Learn more about the Makeover Moms.

ROASTED CAULIFLOWER
WITH CRISPY LEEK RINGS

Vegetables don’t have to be brightly colored to be nutritious. Cauliflower counts and kids tend to like it if it’s roasted to bring out its natural sweetness. And the sliced leeks end up looking like mini onion rings.

Serves 4 to 5

Ingredients
1 large leek, white part only
1 head cauliflower (about 2 ¼ pounds), trimmed and cut into 1-inch florets
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
½ teaspoon kosher or sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Preparation
Preheat the oven to 425°F. Wash the leek well to remove any dirt trapped between the layers. Slice into ½-inch-thick rounds and break them apart into little rings. Place the leeks, cauliflower, olive oil, salt, and a few cranks of pepper in a large bowl and toss to coat with the oil. Transfer to a 9x13-inch glass baking dish. Bake until the cauliflower turns golden and the leek “rings” become crispy. Stir well every 10 minutes so the leeks don’t burn. Season with additional salt and pepper to taste.

Recipe from No Whine with Dinner, by Liz Weiss, MS, RD & Janice Newell Bissex, MS, RD (M3 Press).