Look on any kitchen counter next to the stove, and it’s a good bet you’ll find a bottle of olive oil.
But when “The Mediterranean Diet” first came on the scene in the early 1960s, America’s favorite fats were Crisco shortening and Wesson oil.
In the 50 years since Colorado Springs-born biologist Ancel Keys first made the connection between long life, heart health and the diet of a group of men on Crete (lots of olive oil, fresh produce and pasta; little butter, red meat or milk), countless cooks have explored the subject.
Keys, who died in 2004 at the age of 100, and his wife Margaret, wrote the first Mediterranean cookbook for Americans in 1959, “Eat Well and Stay Well,” which sold more than 100,000 copies and opened the door to ongoing nutrition research and several generations of cookbooks.
One among the new generation advancing Keys’ legacy is author Joanne Weir, whose first cookbook, “From Tapas to Meze: Small Plates From the Mediterranean,” was selected by Julia Child as one of her 12 favorites in 1994. A completely revised version, with vivid color photographs, came out last year.
The ingredients for this heart-healthy diet are hardly exotic now, Weir says.
“Mediterranean ingredients have become commonplace. No matter where people are in the country, they are using olive oil – a lot of it,” she says in a telephone interview from her San Francisco home.
The teacher and host of “Weir Cooking in the City” on PBS television has been taking groups to Italy and Provence for eight years, and was home for a few days between trips. She came through Colorado earlier this summer for a demonstration of her full-flavored recipes at the Aspen Food & Wine Classic, but I had more questions for her:
What inspires you about Mediterranean cooking?
I studied French cooking, but I never really liked rich food. My mother was a wonderful cook, but she was always thinking about cooking and dieting. She was just always careful. In art school, I met a Lebanese girl who became my best friend. I still remember my first dinner at her house – the smells of lamb, garlic, olive oil. They made this vinaigrette with lemon … I remember beans with tomatoes and garlic, baba ganoush (eggplant-sesame seed purée used as sauce or dip).
You grew up in New England and studied cooking with Madeleine Kamman in France. How did you end up on the West Coast?
I always knew I wanted to work with Alice Waters at Chez Panisse (the Berkeley, Calif., restaurant). That was my first and only restaurant job, but it brought it all together.
You studied and taught art before going into food. Does that influence your approach to cooking?
I really believe that cooking is a fine art. I have a really strong creative background, and it affects how I put a meal together. Creativity goes into every single part, plus, I come from four generations of professional cooks.
With all your projects, do you get to cook much at home?
I do, actually; I entertained on Sunday evening. Want to hear the menu? I wanted to try this new recipe that I have just developed for a flatbread with smoked trout crème frâiche, caviar and chervil. Then I made a red-wine risotto with amarone (a jammy red wine from the Veneto region around Venice), nutmeg and Parmigiano-Reggiano – it’s a very traditional dish that comes from the Veneto. My brother-in-law raises lamb in Massachusetts, and I roasted a leg of lamb from him. Then, I made a grilled potato salad with feta, green and yellow beans, kalamata olives and fresh mint oil with tzatziki (yogurt-cucumber sauce). Dessert was a cobbler of peaches and blackberries from the farmers market.
Do you stick with what’s in season? Where do you shop?
If I’m home I go on Saturday mornings to the Ferry Plaza farmers market. If you haven’t been, you would not believe it! It’s on Embarcadero at the end of Market Street. You can drink bellinis and eat caviar or have oysters and champagne. They have smoked fish and sausages and cheese and flowers.
What are some of your favorite food products?
Mount Vikos barrel-aged feta, “O” olive oil is really delicious, and their port and zinfandel vinegars are really good. Point Reyes Original Blue Cheese from Tamales Bay. So good. Cowgirl Creamery cheeses, McEvoy Ranch olive oil.
Do you combine art with food on your trips?
One of my favorite things to do is take 10 to 15 students on one-week tours all over Italy and Provence. We do five hands-on classes, excursions to wineries and majolica (pottery) makers. We go to a friend’s house and make this big pot of risotto for lunch and sit on the lawn and look out over the vineyards. It’s not just about food.
Food editor Kristen Browning-Blas can be reached at 303-820-1440 or kbrowning@denverpost.com.
Middle Eastern Bread Salad with Mint, Peppers and Tomatoes
Sumac, a spice made from the berries of a bush that grows wild throughout the Mediterranean, adds a sour note to Arabic cooking. Part of the Anacardiaceae family, it is related to cashew and poison sumac but is not toxic. Look for sumac at spice shops and Middle Eastern markets. From Joanne Weir, serves 6.
Ingredients
Directions
Salt cucumber and let drain 30 minutes. Rinse under cold water and dry well.
Whisk half of lemon juice along with garlic and olive oil together in a small bowl. Season with 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper. Combine vinaigrette with cucumbers, tomatoes, green onions, parsley, mint and cilantro. Season with salt and pepper; mix well.
Place toasted or dry bread in a salad bowl. Sprinkle with remaining half of lemon juice and let sit 5 minutes. Add vegetables and vinaigrette to bread and mix well. Season with salt, pepper and lemon juice. Sprinkle sumac onto the top. Garnish with black olives and serve immediately.
Wine ideas: You could go red or white with this hearty bread salad, just as long as the wine is dry and has great acidity to stand up to the tart, sharp flavors in the mix. Or, you could take the easy way out, and opt for a rose. Wines such as Bodegas Muga Rose or Lynmar’s Russian River Valley Vin Gris of Pinot Noir offer red fruit flavors with the body of a white wine.
– Tara Q. Thomas
Turkish Pizza with Red-Hot Lamb and Tomatoes
From Joanne Weir, makes 2 9-inch pizzas.
Ingredients
Directions
Preheat oven to hottest temperature that it will go, preferably 500 degrees. Place stone on bottom shelf of oven to preheat (if you plan to use a pizza peel to transfer to the hot stone). Grate two cheeses and combine.
Combine 2 tablespoons olive oil and garlic and let sit 30 minutes. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet and saute onions until soft, 10 minutes. Add lamb, tomatoes, tomato paste, parsley, pine nuts, spices, 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper and cook slowly, uncovered 10 minutes. Add lemon juice and mix well.
Roll pizza into desired shape. It should be 1/4-inch thick. Transfer it to a heavily floured pizza peel, or place directly on baking pan. Brush dough to within 1/2-inch of edge with garlic oil. Sprinkle half of combined cheese on top and then half of spiced lamb mixture. If using peel, transfer pizza to preheated stone. If using a pan, place in oven and bake until golden and crisp, 8-10 minutes.
Wine ideas: The exotic spice and gamey flavors of the lamb in this dish find soul mates in the earthy tang of many hot-climate Mediterranean reds. Look for wines from Ciro, and an area in Calabria, Italy, or an aglianico from Irpinia in Campagna, like Montesole (about $11). Or search out Domaine El Borj Coteaux de Mascara from Morocco ($10). -Tara Q. Thomas
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Joanne’s Best Pizza Dough
Adapted for high altitude.
Ingredients
Directions
Combine yeast, 1/4 cup warm water and 1/4 cup flour in a small bowl. Let stand for 30 minutes. Add remaining 1 3/4 cup flour, 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons warm water, olive oil and salt. Mix thoroughly. Turn onto a floured surface and knead until smooth, elastic and a bit tacky to the touch, 7-8 minutes. Place in an oiled bowl and turn to cover with oil. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place (75 degrees) until doubled, 1 hour. Punch down and roll out. (You can let it rise in refrigerator overnight. The next day, bring to room temperature to use.)
Moroccan Baked Triangles with Shrimp and Scallops
From Joanne Weir, makes 30 rolls to serve 6.
Ingredients
Directions
Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Add scallops, shrimp and half the garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Remove seafood from pan, chop coarsely and reserve in a bowl. In same pan, add remaining 1 tablespoon oil, onions and tomatoes, simmer 10 minutes. Add remaining garlic, parsley, cilantro, cumin, paprika, cayenne, saffron, salt and pepper. Continue to simmer until moisture is evaporated, 10 minutes. Add seafood and bread crumbs, mix well. Season with salt and pepper.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cut phyllo on short side into 4 equal strips, 4 inches wide. Cover with a slightly dampened towel until ready to use. Brush 1 strip lightly with melted butter and place another one on top. Brush lightly with butter. Place a heaping teaspoon of filling along short end. Fold sides in and roll, forming a cigar shape. Brush lightly with butter. Repeat with remaining phyllo and filling. Place on a greased baking sheet and bake until golden, 15 minutes. Serve immediately, garnished with lemon wedges.
Note: These also can be made into triangles. Cut 3-inch-wide strips. Brush one strip lightly with melted butter and place another one on top. Brush lightly with butter. Place a heaping teaspoon of filling at one end and fold corner in to make a triangle. Fold along line as you would in folding a flag. Brush lightly with butter and proceed as above to bake.
Wine ideas: The complex spice and sweet richness of the seafood in these rolls will meld well with a rich but bone-dry white wine. To find such a wine, look to warm Mediterranean regions and search out native grapes; for example, in southern Italy, opt for falanghina instead of chardonnay. Villa Matilde and Terradora are two of the best that run $15 or less.
– Tara Q. Thomas
Moroccan Sweet and Hot Pepper Tomato Relish
This can be made one day in advance. However, do not add the garlic until ready to serve. From Joanne Weir, serves 6.
Ingredients
Directions
Place tomatoes in a frying pan over high heat and cook until thickened, 6-8 minutes. Remove from pan and place in a bowl.
Mince roasted peppers and add to tomatoes. Add garlic, cumin, harissa, olive oil, lemon juice and parsley. Mix well. Season with salt and pepper, and place in a serving dish. Serve with baguette slices.
Wine ideas: This dip packs some punch in its harissa heat, so watch the alcohol levels of the wines you pick: Alcohol feeds the fire in your mouth. Look for light reds, like Beaujolais, or rose like the Reserve St-Martin Vin de Pays d’Oc Syrah Rose, a steal at $9.
-Tara Q. Thomas
Crispy Pita Chips with Za’tar
Za’tar is a spice blend. From Joanne Weir, makes 48 chips.
Ingredients
Directions
Preheat an oven to 375 degrees. With a knife, trim edges from pita bread and separate halves to form 2 circles. Cut each into 8 wedges. Place pita wedges on a baking sheet and drizzle with oil. In a bowl, combine salt, pepper, thyme, parsley, shallot, sumac and sesame seeds. Sprinkle mixture over the pita chips, distributing evenly. Bake until crisp, 10-12 minutes.
Wine ideas: These salty, herby chips are addictive with a glass of cold, refreshing sparkling wine. Israel’s Golan Heights Winery makes an excellent version under their Yarden label that sells for less than $25.
-Tara Q. Thomas
Hot Spiced Cheese Puree “Goreme”
This can be prepared 24 hours in advance and refrigerated. Bring to room temperature before serving. From Joanne Weir, serves 6.
Ingredients
Directions
Combine yogurt with 1/4 teaspoon salt and mix well. Place yogurt in a cheesecloth-lined strainer over a bowl and let drain 2 hours.
Place yogurt and feta in a bowl. With a fork, mash them together to obtain a smooth paste. Add garlic, cayenne, paprika, 1 tablespoon olive oil and black pepper; mix well. This also can be puree in a food processor or blender.
To serve, spread puree on a serving plate. Drizzle with remaining 1 teaspoon olive oil and garnish with olives. Serve with warm pita bread.
Wine ideas: Spicy, salty and tangy, this is made for a crisp, minerally white wine, like a Santorini from Greece. Boutari is one of the best and easy to find; look also for examples from Argyros and Gaia Estate.
-Tara Q. Thomas
