Cooking the Mediterranean, One Country at a Time

A rice dish originating from the Middle East, Mujaddara makes for a delicious, hardy and healthy supper.

Ingredients

1 lb./453g instant brown rice

2 tbsp olive oil

2 tsp ground cinnamon

2 tsp ground cumin

1 19 oz/538g can lentil soup

1 large yellow onion, diced

4-5 garlic cloves, finely minced

Instructions

Dice the onions and garlic and sautee in a large deep saucepan with the olive oil for about 5 minutes, or until slightly browned.

Considered by many to be the national dish of Egypt, kushari is a tasty blend of rice, pasta, beans and spices. But most kushari recipes are long and involved and would eat up all your money if you're in college. So here's a lower cost version that will taste good, but won't set you back financially!

INGREDIENTS

1 box prepared rice mix (like Rice-a-Roni or Uncle Ben and preferably a Spanish rice mix)

1 28 oz./793 g. can diced or fire-roasted tomatoes

1 can lentil soup

1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS

A traditional Arabian sweet, Khaliat Nahal is a savory bread stuffed with sweet cheese (and sometimes with dried fruit as well) that is cooked in the shape of a honeycomb and drizzled with a honey syrup after baking. Although I’ve not yet posted a traditional recipe for honeycomb bread on this blog, this is my attempt at replicating the recipe for a college audience

INGREDIENTS

1 or 2 tubes Pillsbury crescent roll or pizza dough

1 package cream cheese (preferably fat free), cut into small cubes

1/4 cup/40 g. raisins (optional)

1 tbsp. honey

INSTRUCTIONS

A while back I posted a recipe for Shakshouka, a delicious North Africa and Israeli egg dish, on this blog. But lately I’ve been asking myself, “How can I make the same recipe with less ingredients, the same amount of flavor and cheap enough for somebody living off of a college budget?”

So here it is!

INGREDIENTS

1 can fire-roasted diced tomatoes or crushed/regular diced tomatoes if you don’t like spicy food

4 to 6 eggs

Warmed pita, for dipping  (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS

Bring tomatoes to a boil, then using a spoon, make evenly spaced deep indentations into the sauce for the eggs. Pour an egg into each well and cover, reducing heat slightly. The idea is to cook the eggs using the heat from the sauce as well as the steam. You’ll want to do this until the eggs are well set and resemble a poached egg.

Want a nutritious and tasty meal for cheap? Then cook this delicious Grecian version of baked beans!

INGREDIENTS

1 28. oz./793 g. can Italian-style stewed tomatoes

1 or 2 cans butter beans (You can find these for ridiculously cheap at a Kroger supermarket in the U.S.)

Feta cheese (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS

You're in luck! Starting next month, I'll be posting some simple Mediterranean recipes designed specifically for college students on a limited budget that are big on taste, but require few ingredients and should hopefully help you make better eating choices while away at school.

So join me this August as I share with you some tasty, but (hopefully) cheap and relatively simple recipes designed with college in mind. Of course, my usual recipes will also show up as well, but I really have felt lately that I need to do my part for my college age readers out there and try to lend them a helping hand as best as I can.

Caponata is a traditional Sicilian... sauce? Stew? Relish? Side dish? Whatever it is, it's good. Think of it as a sweet and sour tomato sauce with olives, eggplant and lots of other vegetables that tastes good hot or cold. You can use it for just about anything: pizza sauce, pasta sauce, hotdog relish, sandwich spread, vegetable stew. It works well for anything, tastes good on probably everything and once you taste it, you'll fall in love instantly.

INGREDIENTS

1 28 oz./793 g. can diced tomatoes

2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

1 large eggplant/aubergine, chopped and diced into large cubes

2 stalks celery, with stalks diced and greens finely chopped

1 yellow pepper, seeded and finely chopped

1 Vidalia onion, finely diced

2 cloves garlic, sliced thinly

2 tbsp. capers

1/2 cup/64 g. pitted green olives (check for pits anyway), whole or sliced (I prefer whole)

1 1/2 tbsp. raisins (please, check for stems! Machines can be so careless...)

1 tbsp. white vinegar

1/2 tsp. honey

1 tsp. tomato paste

INSTRUCTIONS

In a large frying pan, pour the olive oil and spread it around, then heat it on medium high. Fry the eggplant, the vegetables and garlic for about 7 to 8 minutes. Once the vegetables start to soften a bit and turn golden, you're right on the money.

In a large pot, pour in the diced tomatoes and add the raisins, honey, vinegar, tomato paste, capers and olives and then dump the vegetables into the stew. Now, turn the heat on under the pot at medium high, stir the stuff around and simmer the sauce for about ten minutes, stirring occasionally.

I never usually reblog posts on this blog, but this one was too good to pass up. I made these a couple weeks ago and they were absolutely delicious.

One day, I came up with an idea for a Tuscan-style chicken to throw on the grill, only to discover to my horror while my chicken was marinating that I was woefully ignorant of how real Tuscan chicken is prepared. Still, my final product was tasty, even though it wasn't what would technically qualify as Tuscan-style chicken. So, until I make a proper Tuscan-style chicken, enjoy this delicious, way too elaborate than it should have been, grilled Italian chicken!

INGREDIENTS

FOR THE CHICKEN

1 1/2 lb/680 gm. boneless, skinless chicken breasts or boneless, skinless chicken thighs

2 tbsp. olive oil

1 tsp. dried oregano

1 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 tsp. garlic salt

1 tsp. paprika

1/4 tsp. black pepper

1 tsp. ground sage

1 tsp. dried parsley

1 tsp. dried rosemary

FOR THE MUSHROOM SAUCE

2 tbsp. olive oil

1 tbsp. red wine

1 can 4 oz./113 gm. mushrooms, drained

1/2 onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, diced

1 tbsp. flour

INSTRUCTIONS

Place the chicken in a closeable plastic bag or casserole dish and cover with olive oil and seasonings. Mix well and allow the chicken to marinate in your refrigerator for at least two hours.

In the meantime, get a small pie pan and pour 2 tablespoons of olive oil and 1 tablespoon of red wine into it and spread the juice around the pan. Now add the mushrooms, onion, garlic and the flour, mix well, cover and place in the refrigerator until you're ready to grill.

Get your grill ready (for this recipe I used a traditional charcoal grill) and once it is, place the chicken and the mushrooms on the grill. Grill the chicken for about 3 minutes on one side before turning it over to grill the other side. Keep doing this until the chicken is golden-brown and slightly charred. Once the chicken is done, remove it from the grill and let it rest for 5 minutes.

Sick of the same boring tuna salad sandwich? Try this Italian variant! The inclusion of fruit may seem unusual, but the Romans were known for pairing dates with fish. This is my nod to them.

INGREDIENTS

1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

1 whole wheat/whole grain tortilla

1 slice provolone

1 package Mediterranean style Tuna (like Sunkist)

3 black olives, sliced

1 tbsp. raisins or dates, (chopped if using dates)

Shredded lettuce (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS

Pour olive oil into a pan and spread out, preheating the pan on medium high heat on the stovetop. Evenly spread out the cheese, lettuce, tuna, olives and fruit into the tortilla and fold in half. Toast lightly on both sides until slightly browned and cheese is melted.

ALTERNATIVE INSTRUCTIONS

Doogh (Pronounced with a silent h) is a dairy based drink that is very popular in Armenia, Iran and parts of the Middle East and Central Asia. For the Western mind, the best way to describe it is as what would happen if you poured a milkshake into a glass of soda. Sounds crazy, but it's actually very tasty. By the time you're done drinking it, you'll be saying (at least I hope you'll be saying) "Dude, where's my doogh?"

INGREDIENTS

6 oz./177 ml. sparkling water or diet soft drink, preferably a lemon/lime flavor (Diet Sprite, 7Up, Sierra Mist or Mountain Dew work the best)

1/2 cup/118 ml. plain strained yogurt

1/4 cucumber, diced and seeded

1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Pinch of salt

INSTRUCTIONS

Oh no, you probably thought to yourself when you read the name of this recipe. Not fruitcake! I hate fruitcake! It's so gross with all that weird colored fruit in it and it's dry and chalky and tastes like sawdust! 

While it's true that there are some bad fruitcakes out there, this isn't one of them. This fruitcake doesn't contain those neon candied fruits and isn't dry and tasteless. Instead, it's a delectable, fruity confection that practically melts in your mouth and after you eat a piece of it, you'll want to eat the whole thing.

One last thing: This recipe makes one small loaf of fruitcake. I haven't yet tried making a large one at this point as this recipe was a test to improve upon a failed version I made several weeks ago (I might post the story on here if I feel like it).

INGREDIENTS 

1/2 cup/125 ml. whole wheat flour

1/2 cup/125 ml. cooked plain couscous

1/4 cup/59 ml. chopped walnuts

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. ground cinnamon or nutmeg

1/4 tsp. ground cloves

1/4 tsp. allspice

1 egg white

2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

1 tbsp. cold water

1/4 cup/59 ml. half and half or milk

1/2 cup/125 ml. brown sugar

1 tsp. honey

3 dried figs, dates or prunes, finely chopped or 1/4 cup raisins

3 dried apricots, finely chopped

1/2 tsp. chocolate chips (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat your oven to 375°F/190°C and sift together the flour, walnuts, spices and baking powder in a mixing bowl. Place an uncooked 1/3 cup/78 ml. of uncooked couscous in a separate bowl and in a pot, boil 1/2 cup/125 ml. of water with 1 tsp. of either olive or canola oil. Once boiling, pour the water into the bowl and stir before covering with a paper towel. Let the couscous absorb the liquid for about ten minutes. After the first five minutes, uncover and use a fork to stir the couscous around a bit. By the time it's all done, your couscous should be nice and fluffy and not soggy.

While the couscous is absorbing the water, chop your fruit and mix it in with the flour, along with the chocolate chips if desired. Now, take the brown sugar, egg, oil, half and half, water and honey and stir it together in a measuring cup. Once that's done, take the couscous and mix it into the flour and then pour the wet ingredients in as well and mix until the mixture is the consistency of cake batter. Pour the batter into a greased cake pan or small deep pie pan and bake for 30 to 35 minutes. When it's done, you should be able to stick a toothpick in it and it should come out with a few crumbs stuck to it.

Are you tired of the boring poached eggs your mom used to make for you? Are you craving a meal that will make your tastebuds cry out in joy? Well, look no further than shakshouka!

A beloved meal in North Africa and Israel, shakshouka is a flavorful dish consisting of whole eggs poached in a spiced tomato sauce. The sauce also makes a good spaghetti or couscous sauce if you have any left over.

INGREDIENTS

2 tbsp. olive oil

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 red bell pepper, diced finely

1 tsp. crushed red pepper

1 tsp. ground cumin

1 tsp. ground coriander (optional)

1 tsp. fennel fronds

1/2. tbsp. dried parsley

1 can tomato sauce or crushed tomatoes

Salt and black pepper, to taste

4 or 6 eggs

Pita and/or lemon juice, for garnish

INSTRUCTIONS

Pour the olive oil into a large, deep frying pan. Add your red pepper and fry for five minutes. Next, add the garlic and spices, (excluding the parsley), frying until the garlic begins to turn brown around the edges. 

Now, turn off the heat and wait two to three minutes before adding the tomatoes. Once it's time to add the tomatoes, pour them in and turn the heat back on and add the parsley along salt and black pepper, if desired. Simmer for about five minutes, stirring occasionally.

Things can get a bit complicated now, so be very attentive. Now, take a large spoon and using the back of it, make 4 to 6 well spaced apart indentations for the eggs to nest in. Don't worry if one of the eggs runs off into the sauce, everyone makes mistakes and there's no sense crying over split eggs.

Break the eggs and place the yolks and whites into the indentations you've made and drop the heat to medium-low. Cover the pan and cook for about seven to ten minutes, or until the whites and yolks are no longer runny and are set.

  This delicious pasta dish was the result of me coming home one day in a bit of a rush. I wanted a quick lunch, so I grabbed a container of leftover pasta from my refrigerator and mixed it into a hot oiled pot with a little bit of leftover hummus I had made the day before. Impressed with my handiwork, I later made a larger version for some friends of mine a few days later. They all loved it and continue to express their affection for it whenever the conversation comes up. My hope is that you too will feel this same love for this dish, a lovely marriage of Italian and Middle Eastern cooking at its finest, replete with freshly made hummus and vegetables.

One final note. The addition of ricotta cheese to the hummus may seem a tad unorthodox, but it adds a creaminess to the hummus that I find to be very nice. 

INGREDIENTS

FOR THE HUMMUS 

1/2 cup/118 ml Garbanzo beans, drained of liquid

6 baby carrots or 1/2 large carrot, chopped once and then into fours

1/4 or 1/2 red bell pepper or red chili pepper, cut into diagonal strips

1 clove garlic, sliced

1/3 cup/79 ml extra virgin olive oil 

1 tbsp. ricotta cheese

1 tsp. dried oregano

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1/4 or 1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/4 tsp. black pepper

1/4 tsp. lemon juice

FOR THE PASTA

12 oz. farfalle/340 gm (bow-ties) or cellentani

1/2 zucchini, sliced and then chopped into fours

1/2 yellow squash, sliced and then chopped into fours

1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

INSTRUCTIONS

Pulse hummus ingredients in a food processor until well combined and creamy (if you so desire). Refrigerate for three to five hours if you plan on making it ahead of time.

Prepare a salted pot of boiling water for your pasta. As the pasta is cooking, add the zucchini and yellow squash to a large, deep oiled frying pan. Fry these on high heat, stirring often until lightly browned. Remove them from the pan. Also, ladle in a small amount of water from the pasta pot and stir into the hummus in order to thin it down a bit.

Now comes the time to prepare for the final step. Once the pasta is finished cooking, drain and rinse it in cool water. Now, add some olive oil to your frying pan and raise the heat on medium high. Add the pasta, the hummus and the squashes and fry for 3 to 5  minutes, stirring about once every minute or so. Your goal is to get the hummus and the pasta to stick together and become a glorious union of east and west. As an aside, your kitchen will have a most delicious aroma as this is all cooking.

Once this step is completed, ladle the pasta onto a dish or many dishes, as this is a meal that is not meant to be eaten alone, even though it can. Garnish with grated Parmesan and/or feta cheese and additional black pepper and parsley and/or lemon juice.

                                                 Ah, Fasolada. A hearty and satisfying bean and vegetable soup loved so much by the Greeks that it is sometimes called the national food of Greece. One taste and it is not hard to see how it has earned this title. Indeed, if the eagle who tormented Prometheus had tasted this delicious dish, he would have lost his taste for liver immediately. 

While traditionally Fasolada consists of a tomato based broth, I have decided to strike a balance between tomato based Fasolada and white Fasolada recipes by using a broth made of chicken broth, water and tomato paste rather than the standard tomato juice broth. By preparing the soup in this manner, it gains a mild rustic color rather than being too red or white.

Also, since Fasolada is often served with Loukaniko, a kind of Greek sausage that has a similar taste to Italian sausage, I have included an optional (I say optional if you wish for this to be a vegetarian meal) and simple recipe to replicate Loukaniko using ground Italian sausage, since it is very hard to find Loukaniko at a standard market.

INGREDIENTS

FOR THE SOUP

2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

14 ounces/396 grams chicken broth

2 cups/473 ml water

1 tbsp. tomato paste

10 baby carrots or 3 large carrots, chopped

2 large stalks celery, with leaves put aside for the soup

1/2 zucchini, sliced and then sliced into fours

1/2 yellow squash, sliced and then sliced into fours

1/2 large red onion or 2 green onions, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely chopped

1 can Cannellini beans

1 can Great Northern Beans

1 tsp. dried or 1 tbsp. fresh oregano

Salt and black pepper

1 bay leaf

1 tsp. garlic powder

1/8 tsp. ground cinnamon

Dried parsley or fresh parsley

1/2 tsp. dried rosemary

1/4 tsp. dried basil (optional)

FOR THE SAUSAGE

1/2 package ground Italian sausage

1 egg white

1/4 cup Italian style breadcrumbs

1 tsp. orange juice or 1/2 tbsp. orange zest

INSTRUCTIONS

Pour 2 tablespoons of olive oil into a deep pot and fry vegetables on high heat for 3 to 5 minutes while stirring vigorously about every minute, in order to accelerate the cooking process. Once this process has been completed, lower heat and add chicken broth, water, spices, and the beans. Stir in tomato paste and simmer for about 30 to 45 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Remember to stir soup every 5 to 10 minutes.

Meanwhile as your soup is simmering, preheat your oven to 400ºF/205ºC and prepare a mixing bowl and combine the sausage, egg, breadcrumbs and juice or zest. Mix until all ingredients have been incorporated well. Now, break off small pieces of your sausage mixture and roll them into small meatballs. Once this is done, place the meatballs on a wide cooking sheet covered in aluminum foil and place in the oven. Cook the sausages until they are lightly browned, or until they are well done. 

Once the soup is done, allow it to stand for at least 30 minutes. At this time, it is strongly recommended that you remove the bay leaf from the soup, lest a guest of yours choke on said leaf and you face the possibility of litigation. Once this is done, ladle the soup into bowls and place sausages on a serving dish, so you and your guests may add them to the soup at their own leisure. Garnish with grated Parmesan cheese, feta cheese, pita, olive oil or lemon juice if you so desire.