Mediterranean Recipes
262 recipes found
Salad With Cauliflower And Olives
Mushroom Caponata
Frittata With Kasha, Leeks and Spinach
I like adding cooked grains to a frittata, but you have to choose just the right one; it should be soft, not too chewy. Rice works, and so does bulgur. But if you want to add a grain that will contribute a lot of flavor to a frittata, kasha is your grain. It is wonderfully nutty, and a cup of cooked kasha contributes just the right amount of bulk to make this frittata substantial but not at all heavy. Leeks, cooked down until sweet and tender, a small amount of baby spinach, which always partners well with kasha whether raw or cooked, lots of fresh dill and a little bit of feta are the other components. Serve this for dinner and take leftovers to work for lunch.
Eggplant Salad With Peppers, Mint and Caper-Feta Vinaigrette
Grapefruit Vinaigrette With Greens or Broccoli
I came across a grapefruit vinaigrette, served with stuffed beet greens, in Anya von Bremzen’s "The New Spanish Table" and have adapted it. I loved the idea of this vinaigrette as an accompaniment to greens, such as chard or beet greens, but my favorite is broccoli.
Kasha With Squash and Pomegranate
This salad works equally well with kasha or freekeh, both of which have a nutty-earthy flavor that serves as a great backdrop for sweet roasted butternut squash and sweet-tart, crunchy pomegranate seeds. Lately I have gotten into the habit of roasting diced butternut squash to keep on hand in the refrigerator for a few days; I usually don’t know in advance what I am going to use it for; then one night it finds its way into a salad like this one, the next night into a risotto, and so on until it is time to roast up another one. Four cups diced squash looks like a lot, but it reduces down to about 1 1/2 cups when you roast it, so you will use it up quickly (I use all of it, for example, in this salad).
Mediterranean Fish Chowder With Potatoes and Kale
This brothy fish stew gets extra body and heft from the kale and potatoes, and a hint of the Mediterranean from thyme, parsley and bay leaf. The method is straightforward. First make a mirepoix of onion, celery and carrot. Add garlic, anchovies and parsley, followed by the tomatoes and paste, and finally the potatoes and bouquet garni. Simmer for 30 minutes while the kale is cooked separately, then add the fish. Take care not to overcook the fish — it’s done as soon as it flakes easily when you nudge it with a fork.
Fennel, Beet and Orange Salad With Cumin Vinaigrette
One of the things I love best about this refreshing salad is that it doesn’t wilt, making it a a great choice for a potluck or a buffet. There’s a nice contrast of textures going on, with the crunchy fennel, soft beets and juicy oranges. The dish has Moroccan overtones, with the combination of oranges and beets, and the cumin in the dressing.
Beet, Orange and Arugula Salad
The oranges in this sweet and pungent salad will look like blood oranges after they sit for a little while with the beets. This makes a pretty Christmas salad. Try to find the wispy wild arugula, which is more pungent than regular arugula.
Easy Fish Stew With Mediterranean Flavors
This is a typical fisherman’s stew. No need to make a fish stock; water, aromatics and anchovies will suffice. Use anchovies even if you don’t like them, as they add great depth of flavor, not to mention omega-3 fats. And don’t worry: the dish won’t taste like anchovies.
Summer Pasta with Tomatoes and Chick Peas
My penchant for summer pasta dishes with uncooked tomato sauces continues here, with this simple, high-protein combination. You can also make this with fresh tomato sauce if you want a cooked sauce.
Mackerel With Lemon Olive Oil and Tomatoes
Mackerel is a sustainable, velvety, sweet-tasting fish that deserves more attention than it usually gets. Here, the pale fillets are roasted on a bed of fragrant basil leaves with a lemon zest-infused olive oil, chopped olives and juicy cherry tomatoes. If you have a bottle of cold-pressed lemon olive oil on hand, you can use it here in place of making your own. If infusing your own oil, feel free to use either a regular lemon or a Meyer lemon. Leftover lemon oil is great on salads, tossed with vegetables, or drizzled over avocado toast.
Mixed Grains Risotto With Kale, Walnuts and Black Quinoa
You may be surprised by the quantity of slivered kale that goes into this risotto. It will cook down as you stir and simmer the rice. Get into the habit of cooking and freezing grains ahead so you can make multigrain risottos like this without having to take the extra step of cooking the quinoa — though it only takes 15 to 20 minutes to cook this grain. Note that you might not use all of the stock; I just don’t like coming up short. Freeze what you don’t use.
Frittata Template
There is a technique to making a frittata that is always the same, no matter what the filling. The eggs are beaten with salt, pepper, and sometimes a little bit of milk, the filling stirred in, and the omelet cooked in a wide skillet. You can use cooked vegetables, chopped herbs, leftover vegetable stews like ratatouille, fresh tomato sauce, even leftover risotto to fill a frittata. Frittatas and omelets are a great way to stretch a small amount of leftovers into a meal. Templates will be useful to you, because you may have a different vegetable or filling on hand from the one called for in a given frittata recipe. Using the template, you’ll be able to make the frittate, substituting what you have.
Provençal Haroseth for Passover
This is a 13th-century haroseth recipe from Provence, using the Mediterranean fruits and nuts that are still available in the region. Back then, Jewish families would have saved chestnuts from the fall harvest and roasted or boiled them for this springtime Passover recipe — and then laboriously peeled them by hand — but now you can buy cooked, pre-peeled chestnuts any time.
Leeks With Caraway Seeds
Hot Cheese Olives
This is classic 1950s cocktail fare that, unlike the savory gelées and boiled ham canapés that are best forgotten, we still want to eat today. Just wrap cocktail olives in a simple Cheddar dough and bake until golden. Martini optional.
Spicy Meatballs With Chickpeas
Meatballs are the ultimate comfort food, and these are especially nice, perfumed with cumin, coriander and cinnamon. (Feel free to use ground beef, pork or turkey if ground lamb isn’t available.) They may be prepared several hours or up to 2 days in advance — they reheat beautifully. Make the tomato gravy as piquant as you like, adding a good pinch of cayenne if you wish. The optional saffron adds a floral note. If you have the time, cook your chickpeas from scratch (it’s best to soak them for at least a few hours or overnight). They’ll cook in less than an hour. One pound dried chickpeas will yield about 6 cups cooked.
Mushroom Ragoût
I like to use this as a gravy at Thanksgiving, instead of actual gravy, but that is far from its only use. I serve it on its own, as a side dish, as the base for a risotto and a filling for a pie, taco and quesadilla, as a sauce for pasta and an omelet filling. You can make it with all wild mushrooms for a splurge, with some wild mushrooms, or with a mix of cultivated oyster mushrooms (much less expensive than wild mushrooms like chanterelles) and button or creminis. Make this big batch and use it for lots of other dishes throughout the week.
Burnt Oranges With Rosemary
The charred, sugary rosemary is both rough and refined, making these oranges a gratifying end to a grilled meal.
Lentil and Tomato Stew
Even people who swear they don’t abide beans find pleasure in the distinctive, profound flavor of lentils. They cook quickly, so for stews and soups, 40 to 45 minutes will suffice. Lentils never need to be soaked and for those of you who are sensitive to beans, you will be happy to hear that they don’t contain sulfur, the gas-creating compound present in most beans.
Roasted Carrot and Red Lentil Ragout
Somehow, over the centuries, the word ragout (which in 17th-century France meant anything that stimulated appetite) has come to signify a dish of sturdy consolation. Nearly any simmered food, be it meat, vegetable, fish or fowl, can be called a ragout, although in France, it is generally assumed that the main ingredients will be of a uniform chunk cut into slightly smaller than bite-size pieces. This spicy carrot and lentil ragout can be served first as a main course and later extended with coconut milk or chicken broth to make a soup. Serve it over rice to temper the heat.
Spiced Chickpea Stew With Coconut and Turmeric
Spiced chickpeas are crisped in olive oil, then simmered in a garlicky coconut milk for an insanely creamy, basically-good-for-you stew that evokes stews found in South India and parts of the Caribbean. While the chickpeas alone would be good as a side dish, they are further simmered with stock, bolstered with dark, leafy greens of your choosing and finished with a handful of fresh mint. When shopping, be sure to avoid low-fat coconut milk, coconut milk meant for drinking or cream of coconut: All are very different and would not be suitable here.
Grilled Lamb Kebabs With Smoky Peaches
Taking a cue from the hot-weather regions of the world, John Willoughby and Chris Schlesinger go heavy with the seasoning here, but the key is when that happens. Instead of a marinade, or a spice rub, they grill the lamb and season it after with garlic, basil, vinegar and Tabasco sauce. It’s a great way to add big flavor without spending all day in the kitchen.