Simple Trahana Soup with Spiced Red Pepper Puree, Greek Feta and Olive Oil
The best Mediterranean diet recipes are the oldest, most traditional and easiest ones, and this Greek recipe for trahana is a perfect example. What is trahana, for those of you who may not be familiar with the world’s oldest slow fast food? It’s a fermented grain product made by cooking wheat or flour with milk, […]
Quick Lemony Chickpeas & Spinach
This delicious Greek chickpea recipe with spinach epitomizes the simple way that healthy, plant-based Mediterranean ingredients come together in the Greek and Mediterranean diet. Chickpeas are one of the oldest cultivated legumes in the Eastern Mediterranean and Greeks have been enjoying them for eons. You can easily swap out the spinach for something more exotic, […]
HOT OR COLD YOGURT SOUP WITH SPICY GRILLED EGGPLANT, MINT AND POMEGRANATE MOLASSES
YOGURT KNOW-HOW: Warm and cold yogurt soups abound all over the Eastern Mediterranean. From the Syrian lamb-yogurt soup called shakrya to Turkish yogurt soups, the variety is impressive and spiciness is almost always part of the flavor palette, counterbalancing the cool, refreshing qualities of really good yogurt. Yogurt and Yogurt Substitutes: If you’re using real […]
Salad With Fennel, Hazelnuts, and Mastic Vinaigrette
WHAT IS MASTIHA AND HOW DO YOU GRIND IT:Greeks consider Mastiha their #1 superfood, a panacea that’s good for everything from gut health to gum health! But it’s also an incredibly versatile spice, pairing beautifully and adding an exotic mysterious undertone to everything from citrusy dishes to tomato-based dishes to savory and sweet white sauces […]
Couscous Salad With Tomatoes, Olives, and Bocconcini
HELPFUL TIP: How to make couscous fluffyYou can toss the uncooked couscous in a drizzle of olive oil before adding the liquid, which coats each grain in oil and helps them stay separate. Alternatively, add a drizzle of oil as you fluff up the grains. Use a fork to fluff the couscous—stirring it with a […]
Greek Salad Gazpacho With Kalamata Olive Croutons
FUN FACT: The Mediterranean diet is many things, but more than anything it’s a road map for how not to waste food! Turning stale, leftover bread into delicious recipes is an age-old tradition that spans the region’s many different cuisines. Crostini, bruschetta, Greek bread-based dips like skordalia and more are all ways in which poor […]
Red Lentil Soup with Tomato Paste, Herbs & Spices
Lentils figure prominently in the plant-rich Mediterranean diet. Indeed, lentil soup is one of the staples of almost every cuisine around the Mediterranean and for good reason. This humble pulse is a nutritional powerhouse. There are many varieties of lentils that are native or popular around the Mediterranean and many varieties, like these red lentils, […]
No-bake Vegan Cheesecake With Greek Flavors, Coconut Crust And Cinnamon
A PLACE FOR DESSERT: Why a Vegan Cheesecake? Why a dessert at all in a compilation of recipes that aim to be plant-based and life-enhancing? For one, at least in my experience on Ikaria, centenarians don’t avoid eating sweets. They just do so judiciously and make a special occasion out of it. Most traditional Greek […]
Creamy Orzo Casserole With Vegetables
FUN FACT: Onions are a really important ingredient in the Greek-Mediterranean diet and in the longevity foods of Ikarians and other denizens of the Blue Zones. They’re rich in plant compounds and antioxidants, and they make everything taste better, too! There are a few differences in taste and nutritional components among onions. Colorful varieties, such […]
Portsi
I don’t think I can say this enough: The Greek-Mediterranean diet is packed with excellent, hearty, main course vegetable fare prepared in every way, shape and form. Soup, of course, is one way we eat vegetables, and in winter that’s often part of a weekly Mediterranean meal plan! It’s also a great way to prepare […]
Sparkling Greek Mint & Earl Grey Citrus Iced Tea
HELPFUL TIP: Tea, especially herbal tea, is one of the seminal ingredients in the Ikarian longevity diet. Many herbal teas contain specific therapeutic benefits and are diuretic, which means they help combat hypertension. But black tea such as Earl Grey also has its benefits. Black tea can aid heart health and diabetes and is high […]
Spinach Tagliatelle with Creamy Walnut Sauce
The concept of using ground nuts, especially walnuts, to help thicken a sauce is rooted in some of the regional Lenten traditions of Greece. It was a brilliant way for cooks to mimic the texture of, say, ground meat, during periods of fasting, and to provide important nutrition. (read more on Notes below)