WHY IS SALAD GOOD FOR US? In the Mediterranean, especially in Greece, salad is a de rigueur part of every meal except breakfast! Sometimes – indeed, often – it is the meal. Why is it so good for us? Here are two good reasons: It’s filling and it’s full of fiber! A salad is mostly […]
BOMBA RICE Bomba rice is the de facto paella rice, a short-grained variety cultivated in Easter Spain that is said to have originated from an Indian variety brought to the Iberian peninsula. One important property of bomba is its ability to absorb two or three times its volume in water without bursting. As a result, […]
A HEALTHY RECIPE FOR CRISPY ONIONS Ingredients ½ pound onions, peeled 2 Tbsp extra virgin Greek olive oil Sea salt and black pepper Instructions Preheat the oven to 400 F. Slice the onions into 1/4 inch and add them into a bowl. Coat them with olive oil and season them with sea salt and pepper. […]
TIPS FOR BETTER COOKIES Preheat the oven for 10 to 15 minutes before baking. – Don’t overmix the dough, as this will result to harder cookies – Chill your cookie dough, at least for half an hour. That’s a guaranteed tip to stop your cookies from spreading. – For better -and even- cookies, make sure […]
A LITTLE CARDAMOM LORE Cardamom, native to India, was known to the ancient Greeks and used in making perfume, so highly esteemed was its aroma. That very same aroma informs so much cooking all over the world today – cardamom truly is one of the greatest spices on earth. In many parts of the world […]
PASTA AND BEANS In the Greek kitchen, we cook up a few very old recipes that marry pasta with beans or legumes. Lentils and small pasta are still enjoyed in the Dodecanese islands and in Cyprus, for example. But for sure, the Italians take the prize on so many great recipes for pasta e fagioli […]
SOY SAUCE AND THE MEDITERRANEAN DIET It might seem incongruous to include soy sauce in recipes that embrace the plant-based traditions of Ikaria and the wider Mediterranean. But the truth is there’s also a large “Mediterrasian” trend afoot and chefs, at least in Greece, have been incorporating this ancient condiment into recipes for years now. […]
A wish list of Mediterranean diet ingredients goes into this Greek recipe for garlicky shrimp pasta! Seafood is an important component of the Greek diet, and shrimp is always a favorite. Indeed, there are even a fewnative species of Greek shrimp. This dish would not be the same without both the herbs and the extra […]
ABOUT RED LENTILS Red lentils are typically bright orange in appearance, and are similar to other lentil varieties in terms of overall – great – nutritional benefits. They tend to break down a little more easily than brown, green or black lentils, and have a mushier texture as well. Additionally, they have a slightly sweeter […]
ROASTING PARSNIPS AND SOME NUTRITION! You can cut the roasting time in half by parboiling the parsnips for about 7 minutes before putting them in the oven. Parsnips definitely aren’t at the top of the winter root vegetable list for most Greek cooks. That place would be taken by the likes of beetroot, celery root […]