MBY's quick and easy Med-style recipes for on-board cooks
In our July issue we report on ground-breaking research which reveals new benefits to the Med diet.
With our readership’s long-term good health in mind, here are some typical Med-style recipes, especially designed for on-board cooks who have little space and equipment.
Each recipe can be done with two pans and a hob.
Have fun and happy cooking!
Mediterranean Chicken Casserole
Ingredients:
One big organic chicken, jointed; a bunch of mixed herbs; three cloves of garlic, peeled and left whole; salt and pepper; a little flour; eight shallots peeled and left whole; eight rashers of unsmoked bacon, cut into short lengths; twelve black olives; olive oil for cooking; six big ripe tomatoes, roughly chopped; one red and one green pepper, sliced into strips; two courgettes cut into chunks; two glasses red wine and two glasses of chicken stock or water.
Method
Dip the chicken pieces in seasoned flour and fry them in olive oil in a large pan.
When they are nice and brown add all the other ingredients except the olives.
Stir everything together and season well.
Cover the pot and cook gently for 45-60 minutes, or until the chicken pieces are cooked and the vegetables soft.
Remove any stalks from the herbs and add the olives.
Serve with pasta, potatoes or hunks of good bread. Serves four.
Frittata
In a large frying pan, cook a selection of chopped vegetables in olive oil – onions, shallots, courgettes, peppers, mushrooms, peas, celery and tomatoes are all good in any combination.
Beat six eggs together lightly with salt and pepper and some chopped herbs.
Pour the eggs into the pan with the frying vegetables and cook gently. It will take about five minutes for the bottom to be cooked and the top to remain runny, and at this stage you need a big plate to slide the whole omelette out onto, hopefully intact.
Add a tiny bit more oil to the pan and reverse the whole frittata smartly back into the pan to continue cooking the second side. It will take just a minute.
Tip out and serve immediately, or cool and use with bread for a picnic. Serves four.
Sweet Pepper Stew
Ingredients:
Two red peppers, two yellow peppers, five big ripe tomatoes, one big onion, two cloves garlic, some sprigs of thyme or marjoram, olive oil, wine vinegar.
Method:
Chop the seed the tomatoes (ideally they should be peeled, but this is a refinement that might be dispensed with on board a boat), chop the onion and garlic and cut the peppers into long strips.
Cook the onion and garlic in some olive oil, and when they are softened add three tablespoons of wine vinegar and bubble for a moment or two.
Add the peppers, tomatoes and herbs.
Stir well together, add a little more oil if you feel it is dry, and cover the pan.
Turn down the heat and cook gently for about 30 minutes until the peppers are soft. Remove any stalks from the herbs.
Cool the peppers and serve cold with good bread, or as an accompaniment to fish or chicken or cold meats. Serves 4-6.
Pasta with Courgettes and Anchovies
Ingredients:
Allow about 100 grams of pasta for each person; tagliatelli or linguini are nice with this sauce, but any pasta will do. Eight courgettes, three cloves garlic, one large onion, one tin of flat anchovies, olive oil, herbs, parmesan cheese.
Method:
Cook the chopped onion and garlic in olive oil, add the sliced courgettes, with whatever herbs you have, and stir everything together.
Add a tiny bit more oil and cover the pan, reducing the heat so that the courgettes cook slowly in the resulting steam. It should take about 10-15 minutes.
When they are ready, chop them roughly in the pan with kitchen scissors, add the drained and rinsed anchovies and two tablespoons of parmesan cheese.
Toss your cooked pasta into the sauce, amalgamate quickly and serve with more parmesan cheese.
Serves four.
Thanks to Sue Peake for the recipes.
