Aaahh Mediterranean food… delicious healthy nibbles flavoured with panache. Just about everywhere you go there will be some sort of Mediterranean food on offer. From falafel to baklava, we’ve all indulged in a Mediterranean feast at some point. Mediterranean food happens to be a special favourite of mine and so I want to share some insider secrets and tricks that I use to make perfect Mediterranean meals.
Get your garlic right
Garlic is a regular staple in Mediterranean dishes. My advice is to avoid using pre-crushed garlic. Often it is drenched in oil, and one rarely manages to use a full container before the garlic starts to go, and becomes pungent and overwhelming – ruining the flavour. I’d much rather use fresh garlic instead!
Chopping fresh garlic is super easy if you crush it with the flat side of a knife first. Take a clove of garlic and don’t worry about chopping off the hard end of the clove. Lay the clove flat on a chopping board. Then, using the flat side of your kitchen knife, press firmly down on the clove to crush it. You will notice that it breaks apart easily and an added bonus is that by crushing the garlic you are activating all the tasty garlicky flavours. Then you can hold the hard piece at the end and chop your clove up neatly and easily. If you ever wanted to learn more about garlic you can follow this link: All About Garlic.
Olive oil.
Learn it, love it! Olive oil has been a staple of Mediterranean cooking since the days of the ancient Greeks. It has heaps of health benefits, but these can be lost if you’re not careful
Every cooking fat has a smoke point: a temperature at which the fat starts to burn and produce smoke. As you’d expect, this creates an unpleasant and bitter taste. Olive oil has a low smoke point – ranging from 210 – 252°C (410 – 486°F for my non South African friends) The important thing to remember when cooking with olive oil is to stick to relatively low temperatures, anything over 200°C and you risk burning your oil and ruining your meal. Here’s a handy celsius to fahrenheit conversion tool.
Keep it simple!
So often people think that food has to be elaborate and fancy in order to be good. This is simply not true and Mediterranean is a testament to this. In fact, Mediterranean food used to be considered a “poor” cuisine, made with simple foods and cooking techniques.
The traditional eating habits of the Mediterranean peoples were based on the livestock, fishing and agriculture of their regions and so bovine meat and butter were never very popular. That’s why, nowadays, most Mediterranean foods are lower in cholesterol than most other diets. When fresh wholesome ingredients are combined with awesome flavour combos you can create meals that are easy to make and irresistible to eat.
Mixes best with company
My favourite thing about Mediterranean cooking, apart from the fact that it is healthy and simple, is that it is meant to be savoured and enjoyed with company. Sharing some leisurely tapas and wine with friends and family can only be good for you.
