I'm looking for one, just one, very simple recipe of a true Mediterranean Entree.

My doctor said I needed to eat Mediterranean to fix my health issues. We have tried it but it just isn't working. I think the problem may have something to do with the way you cook something. Using all the correct ingredients does not equate to the real thing, and that's hard to figure out.

If you have a very, very simple recipe that is true to the style and tastes good as if you went to a Mediterranean restaurant for that same dish, if that's possible to make at home, what is it and how would you actually do it the same way they make it?

Sounds like your doctor was referring to the so-called "Mediterranean Diet". I've heard of it but don't know much about it specifically.

So while I'm not sure if this qualifies under that specific diet, here's my favorite Mediterranean dish, shakshouka.

It's a quick and easy dish popular in North Africa and Israel, consisting of eggs poached in spiced tomato sauce with onion and bell pepper.

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 28-ounce can whole peeled San Marzano tomatoes
6 large eggs
Salt and Pepper, to taste
Fresh chopped cilantro
Fresh chopped parsley
Crumbled feta cheese
Flatbread

(Note that when it's just me, I usually halve the tomatoes and eggs in the recipe and use a small onion and small bell pepper. But I still use the normal amount of spices, even when making a half recipe.)

1) Heat olive oil in a large sauté pan on medium heat. Add the chopped bell pepper and onion and cook for 5 minutes or until the onion becomes translucent.

2) Add garlic and spices and cook an additional minute.

3) Pour the can of tomatoes and juice into the pan and break down the tomatoes using a large spoon. Season with salt and pepper and bring the sauce to a simmer.

4) Use your large spoon to make small wells in the sauce and crack the eggs into each well.

5) Cover the pan and cook for 5-8 minutes, or until the eggs are done to your liking.

6) Garnish with chopped cilantro and parsley. Top with crumbled feta. Serve with flatbread (traditionally pita, though I often use naan).

WRT a Mediterranean diet, I think the key is that you consume olive oil every day, maybe with actual olives as well. It is pretty much the common factor in those cuisines that border the Med. Depending on your tastes, the Olive Oil might be extra virgin one of Spanish, Greek, or Italian (in my personal order of preference) origin although there are other countries that produce it. If you think you don't like EVOO, I'd suggest trying a few different vintages, there is quite a difference among them. Many health advocates suggest sipping a shot of EVOO neat every day.

Looks like the "Mediterranean Diet" focuses on eating a lot of olive oil, brown rice, oats, beans, nuts, and fresh fruits and veggies, a moderate amount of fish, chicken, eggs, cheese, and wine, and little to no pork, red meat, highly processed grains (like breads/pastas), beer, and sweets or other sugary foods.

So my shakshouka recipe would appear to qualify, if you leave off the last bit about serving it with flatbread.

I really don’t consider it as a diet, but more as another style of meal such as Italian, Chinese, etc. It just happens that Mediterranean food dishes are very healthy. Many are also just a one dish recipe which is nice, but I also usually make a side of brown rice which is also healthy. I probably have 3-4 recipes, but I will dig them out tomorrow and post the links to them. Many dishes involve a lot of the same ingredients such as tomatoes, olives, lemons, onions, olive oil, etc. I also like to add artichoke hearts to some. I also have a good recipe for a Mediterranean salad that has Garbanzo beans, which have a lot of protein and are what hummus is made of. Here are some pictures of dishes, but tomorrow I will post links to recipes.

Here is a fish dish. There is a cod fillet hidden under all the vegetables and this is a picture before cooking.




Lentils are another good side and very healthy.



Here is a nice chicken thigh dish with pretty much all the same vegetables as the fish dish above.



Another nice chicken thigh dish. This one has Orzo cooked in the same pan so your side is cooked with the meal.



Here is a salad and I ended up adding some grilled chicken breast and feta cheese to it.




You can also do something like this such as just a piece of fish such as salmon, a vegetable, and in this case lentils for the side.

quote:

Originally posted by StorminNormin:
I really don’t consider it as a diet, but more as another style of meal such as Italian, Chinese, etc.

Normally I'd agree with you. For the average person that might make a Mediterranean dish one night, a Chinese dish the next, have Italian the following day, etc., it's just an international cuisine subtype.

But when his doctor tells him to "eat Mediterranean to fix his health issues", he likely doesn't just mean "grab some shawarma if you feel like it".

He's much more likely recommending that he adhere to the formal heart health focused Mediterranean Diet eating plan. See https://www.mayoclinic.org/hea...an-diet/art-20047801 or https://my.clevelandclinic.org...7-mediterranean-diet or etc.

Call it a diet, or a lifestyle change, or a healthy eating plan, or whatever. But we're not talking about a casual regional cuisine preference, rather more an overhaul of the types of foods being ingested daily.

Because you can still find Mediterranean-area cuisine dishes that are heavy on sugar, red meat, processed flour, etc., but eating a bunch of those won't address weight/heart health issues like the formal Mediterranean Diet is supposed to.

Likewise you can make dishes from any number of other cuisine subtypes that follow the eating plan and are high in olive oil, veggies, and fish/poultry but low in red meat and sugar, without having to only eat strictly Greek/Italian/Levantine/North African recipes every single day. Thus you could also find American/Mexican/Japanese/Chinese/etc. dishes to make that follow along these same food guidelines of the "Mediterranean Diet".

Sure looks good in your excellent photo Rogue!

Yeah, you made me hungry and it's a long time till breakfast.


Bob

quote:

Originally posted by StorminNormin:
Another nice chicken thigh dish. This one has Orzo cooked in the same pan so your side is cooked with the meal.

That looks delicious. Would you share the recipe?

quote:

Originally posted by vthoky:

quote:

Originally posted by StorminNormin:
Another nice chicken thigh dish. This one has Orzo cooked in the same pan so your side is cooked with the meal.

That looks delicious. Would you share the recipe?

This recipe is Skillet Chicken with Orzo and Tomatoes


Here is a recipe for Mediterranean Chicken


Here is a recipe for Lentil Ragout

I thought I had the salad recipe but couldn’t find it plus one or two more. I really like the ones I posted. The salad recipe is basically something like This

I found the salad recipe and THIS is it.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: StorminNormin,

It doesn't get simpler than Insalata Caprese. You can have it plain, on crostini, or add stuff. I like it with a few kalamata olives, and it probably would be fine with Italian peppers.

Wine-poached sole (or flounder) with some aromatic herbs in the pan is pretty fast and easy. I guess it's suitable for other fish, although I haven't tried. Great with a little lemon juice atop.

Thank you, Normin!

I do a great Greek Marinaide. Leaves of 5-6 sprigs of rosemary chopped, a teaspoon of thyme, teaspoon of oregano, black pepper and salt to taste, lemon zest and juice from 1 large or 2 small lemons, an entire large bulb of garlic grated of pressed, and enough olive oil to make enough marinaide to cover what you need to marinate.....

Pork chops I marinate a day, chicken 1-2 days, fish a few hours...... but it's ultra healthy if you don't go overboard with the salt.

Good looking, healthy meals!

Not a Mediterranean diet.

“Susannah Mushatt Jones, who was recognized as the world's oldest person at 116 years old, famously credited her long life in part to eating a daily breakfast of bacon.

Details of the Story
The Person: Susannah Mushatt Jones was born in Alabama in 1899 and lived in Brooklyn, New York.

The Habit: She ate four strips of crispy bacon every morning alongside eggs and grits…”

Don’t know if she had protection…

Wonderful whole food dishes above with simple ingredients, yum. I've always considered the Med diet a compromise for those who would otherwise attract the wrath of dieticians by recommending a lower carb meat based affair. Obviously, pasta plays an important roll in the Med diet, more France, Italy, and to a lesser extent, Greece or Algeria (Mediterranean is pretty big). Also, the wheat in Europe is significantly different than Occidental varieties and so, sure, the Mediterranean Diet is better than the Standard American Diet, but it would be best to live in Southern France or Italy to take advantage of that cuisine. not to mention the lifestyle a la the fictional town of Altomonte where Robert McCall "recovered" in Equalizer 3.