Mediterranean Meals

Recipes and Videos
At Mediterranean Meals we pride ourselves in teaching you how to cook delicious and healthy Mediterranean recipes right from your own kitchen. Here are some simple recipes and videos for you to enjoy. Here's to Delicious Food and Good Health!
	For Healthy Mediterranean Meals Cooking Videos go to http://www.youtube.com/user/medimeals

Fresh fish is an important part of Mediterranean cuisine. It's a lean protein that has many health benefits. This dish will make you love fish and keep you coming back for more! All you need are some staple Mediterranean ingredients and magic happens. This meal can be accompanied with a refreshing glass of chilled white wine and a side of rice.

Easy Bake Fish Fillets; Mediterranean Style (serves 4)

4 tsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
4 tbs. white wine (one you would drink)
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
8 Kalamata olives, pitted and chopped
½ tsp. capers
¼ tsp. dried oregano
¼ tsp. freshly grated lemon zest and ¼ tsp. of fresh lemon juice
½ tsp. salt, divided
½ tsp. freshly ground pepper, divided
16 oz. (about 1 lb.) thick cut, firm fleshed fish fillets, such as halibut or cod

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. or heat up the grill.
Heat oil in a medium non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until lightly browned (stirring frequently). Add wine, lemon juice and garlic and simmer for 30 seconds. Stir in olives, oregano, capers, and lemon zest. Season with ¼ tsp. of salt and ¼ tsp. of pepper.
Season fish with the remaining salt and pepper. Arrange the fish in a single layer in a baking dish or on a large sheet of aluminum foil with the sides folded up to make a border so the juices won't run off. Place foil in a baking dish for easy transport to the grill.
Spoon the olive-caper mixture over the fish. Bake in the oven uncovered until the fish is just cooked through 10-20 minutes. If grilling, place foil on grill making a loosely sealed pouch and grill 15-20 minutes until fish is cooked through. Serve with sauce.

Whenever you want to take yourself back to the shores of Portofino in the Italian Riviera, just whip up some of this pesto and add your favorite pasta!

Pasta with Pesto (serves 4)

1-2 bunches of fresh basil, washed and dried with a paper towel
¼ cup roasted pine nuts
3-4 garlic cloves (crushed)
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
¼ cup grated Romano cheese
Salt (preferably sea salt) and pepper to taste
1 lb. spaghetti (or your favorite pasta)

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil.
While water is boiling put basil and garlic in a food processor and pulse until leaves have been chopped up. Put the processor on and while the processor is running, add the pine nuts and slowly begin drizzling the olive oil in. When the basil has become a paste, put the cheese in and pulse a few times to mix the paste. Taste and add salt and pepper to your liking. When water is ready, add the pasta and cook until soft on the outside and firm on the inside (al dente).
Once pasta is cooked, drain and put back into pot. Scoop out basil pesto from the processor and add to pasta. Mix well and add more cheese if desired. Serve in a beautiful serving platter.

* You could freeze this pesto and enjoy it any time of the year. Just omit the garlic and cheese.

This is a perfect light meal for a warm afternoon lunch or an informal get-together with friends. Serve with a salad and a nice glass of wine.

Grilled Vegetable Frittata (serves 4-6)

For grilled Vegetables:

1 zucchini cut into long thin slices
1 eggplant cut into thin slices
4 asparagus stalks
2 medium tomatoes sliced in half
5 tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
3 tbs. balsamic vinegar
1 tsp dried oregano
Salt (sea salt if available) and pepper to taste

Heat the grill. Put all vegetables in a large bowl and add oil, vinegar and oregano together. Mix well, but gently (careful not to break the tomatoes). Place vegetables on grill and baste with leftover oil, vinegar and spices from bottom of bowl. Put grilled vegetables on a side dish and let cool.

Frittata:

6 eggs
½ cup milk
Pinch of salt and pepper
4 tbs. grated Romano cheese
½ tbs. extra-virgin olive oil

Set oven to Broil. Cut all vegetables into bite-size pieces. Mix eggs, milk, cheese, salt and pepper together in a large bowl. Heat olive oil in a large non-stick skillet and add egg and cheese mixture. Do not mix. Add vegetables gently, careful not to splatter. Once you lift a side of the frittata up and see that the bottom has browned, place skillet into broiler and keep a close eye; making sure it doesn't burn. Once the top of the frittata has browned, take the skillet out of the oven and let cool. Once cool just slide it onto a serving plate. Can be served at room temperature. Enjoy!

This dish is spectacular in the summer months when the tomatoes are at their peak and the smell of fresh basil will perfume your whole kitchen!

Spaghetti in a No-Cook Tomato Sauce (serves 4)

4-5 large red tomatoes cut into ¼ inch cubes
3 fresh garlic cloves
6 leaves of fresh basil
6 tbs or more. extra-virgin olive oil
1 lb. of spaghetti
Salt and pepper to taste
Romano cheese to sprinkle on top according to person's taste

While the salted water for your spaghetti is boiling, put cubed tomatoes in a large serving bowl. Cut basil pieces into slivers and add to bowl. Crush garlic cloves into bowl and add olive oil. Then add salt to taste. Let the mixture sit and macerate so that all of the flavors can come together. Once the water is boiling add the spaghetti and cook until 'al dente' or cooked on the outside and firm on the inside (to the tooth). You don't want the spaghetti to taste like glue. Once you've drained the spaghetti add it directly to the bowl where the tomatoes are; and mix. Serve and sprinkle some Romano cheese over the plate of spaghetti and enjoy!

These two salads are quintessential summer dishes that add flavor and color to any lunch or light dinner party.

ORANGE and ARUGULA SALAD (serves 4)

3 large oranges, peeled and sectioned into thin pieces (not too thin)
1 ½ cups of washed arugula leaves
½ small red onion or ¼ medium red onion sliced very thinly
5 tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
3 tbs. balsamic vinegar
Salt (preferably sea salt) and pepper to taste

Place the orange segments on a large flat serving platter and sprinkle the onion slices and arugula on top. The serving platter needs to have a slight edge so that the olive oil and vinegar don't spill off.
Drizzle the olive oil and vinegar and sprinkle the salt and pepper to your liking.

SALAD CAPRESE (serves 4)

4 medium vine-ripe tomatoes cut into ¼ inch slices
2 large balls of fresh mozzarella, cut into ¼ inch slices
1 cup of fresh basil leaves, washed and dried on a paper towel
3 tbs. extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Place one slice of tomato on a flat serving platter and then lay a slice of mozzarella cheese on top. Keep alternating like that in a circular pattern until you've made a full circle and maybe have some left to fill in the middle of the plate. Put basil leaves in a mini-chopper and put it on. While the leaves are being chopped, drizzle the olive oil in until you get a smooth sauce. Add more olive oil if needed.
Add salt and pepper and mix. Taste and adjust according to taste.
Drizzle the basil mixture over tomatoes and mozzarella. Serve.

This is where the sea meets the earth. The mixture of the sweet onions and the savory tomato sauce balance out the firm texture of the tuna steaks. A robust red wine with this and some sauteed greens on the side will make for a perfect meal!

Fresh Tuna Steaks with Sweet Caramelized Onions and Tomato Sauce (serves 4)

4 4oz. tuna steaks
4 medium yellow onions (thinly sliced)
1 28 oz can of tomato sauce
splash of white wine
salt and pepper to taste
4 tbs. of extra virgin olive oil

Start by heating up the 2 tbs of olive oil in a deep pan(not sauce pan, but a deep frying pan). Add the onions and saute until soft and medium golden brown. Make sure not to brown them too much because the onions will become bitter. Then add a splash of white wine to de-glaze the pan and mix. Now add the tomato sauce and salt and pepper to your liking. Mix well. Cook on medium-low heat for about 15-20 minutes or until sauce has thickened slightly. Take off the heat and put to the side.

Now heat up the other 2 tbs. of olive oil in another frying pan and add the tuna steaks(which have been seasoned with salt on both sides). Let cook on each side for about 4-5 minutes. Then take the cooked tuna steaks and add to the frying pan with the onions. Heat the mixture a little and serve immediately.

This recipe can be a light lunch accompanied by a salad or as an appetizer; both ways will work! The creaminess of the cannellini beans become the background to the slight tanginess of the reduced balsamic glaze. It's like a surprise glitch of goodness in your mouth!

Cannellini Bean Bruschetta and Reduced Balsamic Glaze

1 loaf of french bread or good country bread cut into slices and grilled in the oven, or even better on the grill(but when you're grilling make sure to brush the slices with a little olive oil).
1 clove of garlic

For Bean mixture:

2 15 oz. cans of cannellini beans
4 cloves of garlic
2 tbs. of lemon juice
about a 1/4 of a cup extra virgin olive oil (to drizzle into processor)
salt and pepper to taste

For balsamic Glaze:

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

Start off by pouring the balsamic vinegar into a sauce pan and keeping it on low heat. Cook until the balsamic vinegar thickens and looks like a syrup. Take off the heat.

While the balsamic vinegar is reducing, put the beans in a food processor and crush(use a garlic crusher) the garlic into the beans. Add the lemon juice and the salt and pepper. Put the processor on and as it's turning drizzle in the olive oil, little by little keeping your eye on the consistency of the beans. Keep tasting for more lemon juice, or salt and pepper. If the mixture is not creamy enough keep drizzling more olive oil until you've reached a creamy texture(not too thin and not too thick).

When you've reached the right consistency, take the slices of grilled bread and rub the clove of garlic on each slice then spread the bean mixture onto the bread. Place them all on a serving platter and then take a spoon and put a dot of the balsamic reduction in the center of the bruschetta. Drizzle some more extra-virgin olive oil onto the bruschettas; serve and enjoy!!