E-Book Overview
Healthy food doesn't have to be boring and bland. Look to the Mediterranean for innovative, fresh, and nutritious ideas. In Against the Grain, award-winning cookbook author Diane Kochilas offers up a collection of satisfying, good-for-you recipes inspired by the exotic dishes of the Mediterranean. Whether you're trying to lose weight or simply improve you're eating habits, sticking to a good carb diet is a great idea. The Mediterranean diet isn't all breads, grains, and pasta -- it includes plenty of fish, chicken, lamb, vegetables, and fruits. Against the Grain includes recipes for everything from light bites, such as tapas, soups, and salads, to hearty entrees and sides. The ingredient lists are supermarket-friendly and prep time is minimal, so busy home cooks can whip up healthy meals in minutes, every night of the week. In addition to classics like Fresh Tomato Soup with Moroccan Spices, Chicken Cacciatore, and Pan-Seared Shrimp with Romesco Sauce, there are innovative, exotic new dishes like Grilled Skewered Lamb with Mint and Garlic Pesto, Pork Medallions Marinated with Olives and Orange, and Roasted Red Pepper and Feta Souffl?. One of the basic principles of the Mediterranean lifestyle is that everything should be enjoyed in moderation. In Against the Grain, no foods are forbidden or totally off limits. Instead, you'll find formerly "sinful" ingredients like rich cheeses, potatoes, rice, fragrant nuts and oils, and wine incorporated into savory meals. Yes, the recipes are healthy and nutritious, but, more important, the dishes in Against the Grain are hearty, satisfying, and flavorful.
E-Book Content
against the
grain
150 Good Carb Mediterranean Recipes
DIANE KOCHILAS
For Yiorgos, Kyveli, and the big V, with love
Contents
s Acknowledgments v Introduction 1 Eggs for Breakfast, Brunch, and Dinner 17 Small Plates of the Mediterranean 43 The Mediterranean Garden in a Bowl 59 Side Dish and Main Course Vegetables 91 The Mediterranean Soup Kitchen 113 Fruits of the Wine-Dark Sea 145 Chicken and a Few Duck Dishes 185 The Sacrificial Lamb 227 The Ubiquitous Pig and a Few Beef Dishes 247 Index
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About the Author Other Books by Diane Kochilas Cover Copyright About the Publisher
Acknowledgments
s this book came about after an atkins diet stint and during a conversation with my agent, Doe Coover, who first broached the idea to me. Thanks, Doe, for encouraging me. I owe thanks to Harriet Bell, my editor at William Morrow, who is both unsparing and caring, exactly the two traits every writer needs in an editor, and I have enjoyed working with her over the years. I owe great thanks, too, to my organized, earnest friend Brigitte Bernhard Fatsio, who came as a godsend into my kitchen almost a decade ago and helped me test and retest the recipes in these pages. I want to thank Teo, too, for being a good sport and trying everything. Patty Santelli aided tremendously with the nutritional counts, running and returning the recipes, making suggestions on where to cut back on fat and carbs, and doing so from a distance of many miles with cheerfulness. Thanks. I owe a million thanks to Christos Valtsoglou, Achilles Perry,
and Michael Parlamis, owners of Pylos restaurant in New York City, for which I am a kind of chef by proxy, arriving on their doorstep a few times a year to do special events and new menus. More than a few of the dishes in these pages derive from those long hours in their East Village kitchen. Since this book was worked out mostly in my own kitchen in Athens, Greece, as a recipe-driven project, I want to thank a few friends who have been generous with their products. Mainly I want to thank Aris Kefalogiannis and Dimitris Paraskevopoulos, owners of Gaea Foods, for the olives and tapenades, but above all for the endless river of their ex