Add elements of the heart-healthy Mediterranean diet to your travel menu.
By Janet Groene, F47166
May 2013
Olive oil. Fresh vegetables. Grains and cereals. Native honey. Seafood. If you’ve been meaning to adopt aspects of the Mediterranean diet into your lifestyle but need simpler recipes to mesh with your busy life on the go, let’s get started.
Greek Salad Dressing
Greek salad is more than just salad with feta cheese added. Make up your favorite mix of greens, crumbled feta cheese, chopped tomatoes, sweet onions, peppers, black olives, and cucumbers, then chill it. Just before serving, toss the salad with enough of this dressing to coat the greens.
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon dried dillweed
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 1/2 teaspoons dry mustard
1 1/2 cups olive oil
Mix everything but the olive oil and let the flavors blend for 15 minutes. Stir in the olive oil and serve.
Minted Yogurt
This refreshing drink makes a nice mid-afternoon snack on a hot day. If you carry an herb garden in your coach, mint is good to have on hand for Mediterranean recipes.
1 pint milk
1 pint Greek-style yogurt
1/4 cup honey
3 stalks of fresh mint, bruised
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Whisk the milk and yogurt with the honey. Add the bruised mint. Refrigerate the mixture for 4 to 5 hours. Remove the mint, stir in the vanilla extract, and serve. This recipe makes 4 cups.
Tabbouleh
Although flavored box mixes are sold in supermarkets, there is no substitute for plain couscous plus fresh ingredients to make a true tabbouleh.
3 cups boiling water
1 cup couscous
1 1/2 cups parsley, finely minced
1/2 cup fresh mint leaves, very finely chopped
1 medium sweet onion, finely chopped
1 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded, and finely chopped
4 plum tomatoes, diced and drained
Salt, pepper to taste
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup lemon juice
Pour the boiling water over the couscous; cover; and let stand according to package directions until the couscous is soft. Drain any excess water from the couscous and mix it with the parsley, mint, and vegetables. Add salt, pepper, and the olive oil. At this point, the dish can be refrigerated. Add lemon juice just before serving.
Tabbouleh is traditionally served with tender spears of romaine, which are torn and used to scoop up the mixture. Chunks of pita also make good scoops.
Franco-Greek-Style Green Beans
1 medium onion, finely diced
1 teaspoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 chicken bouillon cube
1/4 cup boiling water
1 16-ounce bag frozen French-cut green beans, thawed
1 teaspoon fresh mint, finely chopped
2 large plum tomatoes, diced and drained
2 teaspoons tomato paste
Fresh parsley, minced
Cook the onion and garlic in hot olive oil, taking care not to burn the garlic. Dissolve the bouillon in the boiling water. Stir the bouillon broth, green beans, mint, tomatoes, and tomato paste into the pan. Add enough water to keep the mixture from burning. Cover; reduce heat; and cook until the green beans are crisp-tender. Stir and serve. Garnish with parsley.
Red Lentil Soup
2 medium onions, finely diced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup red lentils, rinsed and picked over
2 1-quart cartons of chicken broth or vegetable broth
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon dried parsley
1 teaspoon dried, crumbled mint
1 bay leaf
2 tablespoons tomato paste
Freshly ground pepper to taste
Dried parsley (optional)
Fry the onions in hot olive oil until they are limp. Add the lentils, broth, herbs, and tomato paste. Cover and cook over low heat for 35 to 40 minutes or until the lentils are tender. Season to taste with pepper and parsley. This recipe makes six to eight servings. The soup freezes well.
Cook’s note: To make a more condensed version of this soup, use only 1 quart of broth. Divide the soup evenly; keep half to eat immediately or refrigerate, and freeze the other half. To reconstitute, add 2 cups broth to each half.
Sweet Tomato Soup
4 cups water
2 teaspoons chicken base or powdered bouillon
1/2 cup raw long-grain rice
1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes
1/4 cup honey
Yogurt (optional)
Bring the water and chicken base or bouillon to a boil and stir in the rice. Cover and cook over low heat for 15 minutes or until the rice is tender. Stir in the tomatoes and honey, and heat through. Season to taste. The bouillon and canned tomatoes already include salt, but you may want to pass the pepper grinder. Serve as is or with a small swirl of yogurt.
Spanish Garbanzo Stew
1/2 pound chorizo sausage
2 slices bacon
1 large onion, diced
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 large carrots, peeled and diced
1 large red sweet pepper, seeded and diced
1/2 cup water, dry red wine, or broth
3 15-ounce cans garbanzo beans (chickpeas)
1 10-ounce package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
3 hard-cooked eggs, chopped
Cut up the sausage and bacon and stir-fry both in a three-quart pot, gradually adding the onion and garlic. When the onion is limp, continue to stir-fry while adding the carrots and sweet pepper. Add the water, wine, or broth; cover; reduce to low heat; and cook until the carrots are tender. Add the garbanzo beans and liquid, the spinach, and more water or broth if needed to keep the stew from burning. When everything is heated through, fold in the eggs and serve. This recipe makes six portions.
Lamb And Chickpea Stew
Mediterranean diets are lean on red meat. When meat is used, it’s often paired with beans to make a little go a long way.
1 pound lean, boneless lamb, cut up as for stew
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
1 tablespoon ground turmeric
1 6-ounce can tomato paste
Water
2 15-ounce cans garbanzo beans
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons orzo or other very small pasta
1/2 cup minced fresh parsley
Fry the lamb in hot olive oil, gradually stirring in the onion, turmeric, and tomato paste. Add water to cover. Cover the pan; reduce heat; and simmer until the lamb is tender. Stir in the pasta and cook for another seven to 10 minutes until the pasta is tender. Just before serving, stir in the parsley. This recipe serves six to eight.
Shortcut Tuna Pies
When there isn’t enough time to use fresh tuna, Mediterranean style, whip up these flaky pastries in a jiffy.
1 can crescent roll dough
1 5- or 6-ounce can tuna
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon diced, dried onion
Unroll the crescent roll dough and separate it into four triangles. Press the seams to close them. Drain the tuna well; flake it with a fork; and mix it with the mayonnaise and dried onion. Divide the tuna mixture among the dough triangles; fold over the dough; and press around the edges with a fork to seal. Bake on a greased or lined baking sheet at 425 degrees until the pastries are golden brown. Serve with the mushroom sauce described below.
Shortcut Mushroom Sauce
1 can low-sodium condensed cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup milk
1 4-ounce can button mushrooms, drained
A few shakes of Worcestershire sauce
In a saucepan, whisk the soup and milk until smooth. Heat gently, stirring in the mushrooms and Worcestershire sauce until the mixture is heated through. Spoon the sauce over the tuna pies.
Additional Mediterranean Food Tips
- In a heavy saucepan, bring 4 cups of water to a boil. Stir in a teaspoon of sea salt, 1/2-cup steel cut oats, 1/2-cup quick barley or rinsed quinoa, and 1/2-cup raisins. Cover; turn off the heat; allow it to cool; and then refrigerate. When ready to eat, reheat in the microwave oven and serve as a hot cereal
- Stock up on dried peas and lentils. Unlike dried beans, dried peas and lentils cook faster and use less fuel.
- Serve grilled fish Mediterranean style. In a skillet, heat olive oil and fry chopped onion, green pepper, garlic, tomato, and perhaps some celery or sliced ripe olives. Spoon the mixture over the fish.
- Stock the pantry with tomatoes (diced, whole, etc.) preferably canned without salt or other seasonings. The finished dish will taste fresher if you add the peppers, onion, garlic, herbs, etc. when preparing it.
- Find chickpea flour in a health food store and experiment with it. It has a sweetness that goes well in many recipes. For example, try adding a little to pancake batter.
- Salade Nicoise is a Mediterranean classic that is composed on a plate to look festive and appealing. Empty a small can of tuna on each plate and surround with groups of steamed whole green beans, sliced tomato, sliced cooked potatoes, and quartered hard-cooked eggs. Drizzle with dressing.
Books For Cooks
Health On Your Plate: Shop And Cook With Yara ($36.99, Yara’s Way LLC) by former model Yara Shoemaker is a heavy volume to carry in the motorhome, but it’s the only cookbook you’ll need to follow a healthful Mediterranean diet. In the book, Yara tackles good food versus bad, natural versus additives, and New Age meal planning versus destructive old eating habits.
Inspired by her 95-year-old grandmother, Yara was educated in Mediterranean methods while cooking in kitchens of Damascus, Syria (her homeland), and in Sarasota, Florida. Most of her recipes are meatless. The fun parts of the book are her beauty tips and her Shot Glass Salads.
D’lish Deviled Eggs: A Collection Of Recipes From Creative To Classic ($14.99, Andrews McMeel Publishing) is devilish good reading for cooks who enjoy making fancy canapes and garnishes to dress up ordinary camping meals. The book’s pictures alone will inspire you to turn each egg into a photo op. You get a sturdy little hardback to carry compactly in the RV for years to come. For a special happy hour, try the Bloody Mary Deviled Eggs, made with a splash of vodka.
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