In 1950 Elizabeth David published her revolutionary A Book of Mediterranean Food. It was full of ingredients that no one could buy. Seventy years on and almost everyone in the UK has easy access to a year-round range of fresh fruit and vegetables, including the ones I’m talking about below. It’s strange then that 71 per cent of people don’t eat five-a-day, imposing on themselves the highly processed descendants of post-war rationing foods: necessary then but just big business now. I’ll be discussing the cause of this (it’s not poverty) in my next article. David was trying to show the nation that just a few hundred miles away there was a completely different, much more healthy and utterly delicious way to eat.
In the seven decades since David’s book the types of food we eat have profoundly changed. Veganism has become the fastest rising food market in the UK, with the demand for meat-free alternatives increasing by 987 per cent. On the other hand, World Health Organisation data reveals that children in Greece, Spain, Italy, and Cypress now have the biggest weight problem in Europe. Across the West, our food cultures have undergone structural transformations and traditional eating customs are quickly disappearing. The Mediterranean diet as the world’s healthiest is now a thing of the past.
We’re being confronted daily with a bewildering array of dietary choices. Author and food writer Bee Wilson explores this change and our confusion around food in her best selling book, The Way Eat Now (2019). Supermarkets are stocking more nut milks, probiotic drinks, and vegan ready-meals, but also more of the processed foods that continue to fuel obesity. The fact that a weekly shop presupposes the burden of all that single-use plastic just makes matters worse and heightens anxieties about a food system that is out of control. This is all the more reason to look back to traditional cultures and simpler times that relied on staple local and seasonal ingredients for a balanced diet. Here are six star ingredients that helped to define Mediterranean cooking before the invasion of junk food.
Zucchini or courgette (Curcubita pepo)
If we’re talking in stereotypes, British people might slice and dice courgette and throw it into a nondescript curry or pasta sauce. The French put it in ratatouille. But for the Italians the zucchini is a culinary masterpiece.
In the beginning was the gourd
Zucchini is partially Italian, but not originally. Christopher Columbus brought an earlier cultivar to Europe along with other Mediterranean staples, potato and capsicum pepper. Before this Columbian exchange, nearly every region and locality in Europe had some domesticated version of squash. This was thanks to the ancient gourd and its tenacious seed that (after the mastodons) travelled oceans and sought domination on the shores of every continent.
A stylish update on the frumpy English marrow?
C. pepo is a highly polymorphic family. All members are genetically very similar but appear in many colours, shapes, textures, and sizes. It’s safe to call the courgette an immature marrow. England has a long and eccentric association with this unfashionable vegetable. It has been in cultivation since the middle ages but cooks have been unsuccessful in producing anything like a world-class marrow recipe. Since around the 1970s and the rise of supermarkets the sleek courgette has replaced the hefty marrow almost entirely.
The beauty of the courgette, and its commercial advantage, is that its soft edible skin and creamy flesh don’t need peeling or gutting before cooking, leaving little to waste. To fully appreciate the courgette, it should be treated in the kitchen with the Italian “whimsy and style” which brings out the unique qualities of vegetables.
Zucchini and the gallant cook from Naples
Vincenzo Corrado (1736–1836) is credited with defining the brilliance of Italian cuisine, which is to make individual ingredients taste and look simply beautiful. Vincenzo was head chef in the gardens and kitchens of the 18th century nobility of Naples. He was no ordinary chef but a connoisseur; famous in his time. As a natural scientist who had studied mathematics, astronomy, and philosophy under Benedictine monks, he understood the fruits, flowers, and vegetables growing in his region more intimately than most.
Vincenzo published a seminal cookbook, Il Cuoco Galante (The Gallant Cook) in 1773. In it he describes some of the first recipes for baby and mini zucchini (“zucchetta” e “zucchettine”) and zucchini flower fritters (fiore di zucche fritti), which remain classics.
Here are a few traditional Italian zucchini recipes to try this season: zucchini Parmesan, cocozelle, zucchini bread and frittelle fiore di zucca.
Florence fennel (Foeniculum vulgare)
There are two culinary types of fennel: the herb (Foeniculum vulgare) and finocchio the bulb (var. dulce). Both are apiaceous, belonging to the same family as carrot, parsley, and poisonous hemlock. To English botanist John Gerard (1545–1612), the herb was so pervasive that he was lost for words to describe it. When Gerard published Herbell in 1597, fennel had been growing wild and in gardens for centuries and was commonly used as a remedy for poor eyesight and digestion, as well as a cooking herb.
John Parkinson (1567–1650), celebrated English botanist and herbalist among horticulturalists, was the first to write about the culinary use of the fennel bulb originally from Italy: “The leaves, seede and rootes are both meate and medicine; the Italians especially delight in the use thereof, and therefore transplant and whiten it, to make it more tender to please the taste, which being sweet and somewhat hot helpeth to digest the crude quality of fish and other vicious meats.” Parkinson was most likely describing finocchio, the pearly white bulb of crisp, overlapping sheaths that fall apart when sliced. All parts of the plant are used in cooking, from the bulb to the stalks, the herbage and seeds.
Finocchio is an essential ingredient in the food of Italy where the vegetable is often the dish in itself rather than added as an afterthought. In Tuscany finocchio grows wild and features in many of the local dishes. Some of the best known include braised finocchio al vino bianco (braised in white wine) and finocchio gratinato (baked with Parmesan). The seeds are used to give a distinct anise flavour to Tuscan sausage and the famous local salami, Finocchiona — quite possibly the “vicious meats.”
Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum)
You’d be forgiven for thinking tomatoes are Italian. The Italians themselves would be lost without salsa di pomodoro. In fact, sweet and juicy tomatoes originated in pre-Columbian Mexico and the Aztecs were the first to cultivate them from their wild, and probably bitter tasting, ancestors. It wasn’t until 1519 when Hernan Cortés, Spanish conquistador, invaded Mexico and abolished the Aztec Empire that ‘tomātl’ (in Nahuatl) became known. The pomodoro that now forms the basis of world-renowned Neapolitan cuisine was nowhere to be found in Renaissance Italy.
Tomato was one vegetable along with beans, avocado, potato, capsicums, and squashes to trickle in from the Andes and make a gradual yet stunning impact on Mediterranean cuisine and diet.
The first Bruschetta was probably made in Naples in the 15th century and might well have informed the Neapolitan invention of pizza. The Spanish controlled the city until Italian Reunification in the early 19th century. The first tomato sauce was termed “Spanish style” and, therefore, Spanish soldiers likely introduced fried tomatoes with onion and aubergine as a topping on toasted bread. The old Italian word for tomato, “pomi d’oro,” means “golden apple,” suggesting these were small yellow-orange tomatoes, which you can buy in many supermarkets. Three hundred years later and Vincenzo Corrado’s Il Cuoco Galante is packed with pomodoro recipes that wouldn’t be out of place in a modern day Carluccio’s.
For the very best tomato experience this season, check out your local farmer’s market or nearest quality supermarket and pick ’n’ mix a few heirlooms. The classic vine (Alicante) is used in tinned or tomato soup, Margherita pizza and basic pasta sauces and salsa. These make the best Caprese salad with mozzarella and fresh basil. Cherry tomatoes are a cross between wild current tomatoes and Alicante. These with Kalamata olive tapenade, basil, and olive oil make a faultless bruschetta. Or you might prefer Nigel Slater’s Perfect Bruschetta. Look out for burgundy coloured Kumato, Cherokee Purple, Green Zebra, Garden Peach, and the Golden Classic. With the exception of Green Zebra, these are “heirloom” varieties and are sweeter than hybrids since they aren’t genetically bred in the way that gives the common red tomato that perfect uniformity of shape and colour and results in a weaker taste and aroma.
Olive oil
It wasn’t long ago when the only olive oil found in Britain came in 15ml bottles and sold as eardrops at the chemist. In a traditional meat ’n’ two veg nation, olive oil struggled to find a place at the table among roast beef and sausage, egg, and chips. But the way we eat is changing. Since the 1990s Britain has increased imports of extra virgin olive oil by over 1200 per cent. This suggests at least one bottle of olive oil can be found in practically every household at some point, replacing salad cream.
Bee Wilson suggests British attitudes towards vegetables has shifted significantly in a decade. There are many factors that explain why we’re eating differently. Clean eating trends and “low carb” alternatives; “new and easy cooking techniques” that don’t involve boiling (fermenting, pickling, and shredding raw) are just a few that she mentions.
So what are we doing with all this olive oil? The variety and quality of salad vegetables have definitely improved since the iceberg lettuce era of the 1970s. We’ve learned how simple dressings of oil and lemon juice, or oil and balsamic vinegar enhance the flavour of crisp lettuce, chicory, cucumbers, and fresh tomatoes. We’ve begun to realise how much easier, cheaper, and healthier it is to make delicious pasta and vegetables cooked in a modicum of potent herbs, chilli, garlic, and salt in olive oil. It seems British cooking is doing away with the sloppy textures and artificially sweetened sauces of the post war generation and discovering the pleasures of aromatic foods. Gleaming olive oil binds fresh ingredients and adds the finishing touch. It closes the holy trinity with bread and wine.
Table olives (Olea europaea)
If you relish olives, then you can probably remember the moment you fell in love with the briny drupes. The cured taste and complex texture tend to overpower the sensitive taste buds of youngsters, but a predilection grows with age; the same goes for wine. From Egypt to Europe, America, and the Mediterranean, olives are the appetisers of choice and available year-round. But the summertime is when we appreciate them the most. Eating al fresco with family or lunch in the park with friends, olives are ideal for sharing. Those healthy fats, that vitamin E and oily goodness make you feel even more radiant in the sun!
When it comes to buying from the deli it can be confusing to know which olives complement different foods and drinks. When making a decision, it helps to spot the difference between Greek, Spanish, Italian, French, Californian, Moroccan, Turkish, and so on. Since we can’t examine all the olives of the world in this article, here’s a quick guide to the Mediterranean’s best known and most available in Britain:
Spanish
Seville and Andalusia’s biggest olive exports: Gordal and Manzanillas. Having first been washed in lye and then fermented in brine these are at the saltier end. They go well with beer and tapas, naturally!
Greek
The regions of Halkidiki and Kalamata are world famous for these olives. Both soft textured and slightly tart, Halkidiki is green and usually pitted and stuffed with feta or garlic. Kalamata is deep purple and best bought with the stone intact for a more succulent drupe. Go Greek when you’re planning a meze with flatbread, tzatziki, and hummus.
Italian
Vivid and plump Nocellara are exclusive to Valle Del Belice on the Island of Sicily. They have a smooth, crisp texture with a mild flavour: buttery and less salty. Best eaten whole rather than pitted or stuffed. It might go without saying that these olives match perfectly with Italian food.
Cantaloupe melon (Cucumis melo var. cantalupensis)
Like courgette, melon is also a cucurbit (a type of squash) and among the earliest domestic crops. Cantaloupe is a naturalised fruit that was introduced from Armenia and cultivated in Cantalupo, a historical papal town near Rome. The sweet orange flesh draws its high fructose content from the leaves, which die back as the fruit ripens on the vine. Cantaloupe is used in classic Italian antipasti wrapped in prosciutto.
Setting aside the ham, you might like the idea of spiced melon with chilli and salt. Seasoned melon is a popular snack in India and the Middle East using spices such as garam masala, crushed cumin seeds and tangy sumac.
There is a saying that “melon should be eaten alone or left alone.” The belief is that it gives you indigestion when eaten with other foods. Whether this is true for everyone or not, the jury is out. However, there’s a curious story about Pope Paul II (1417–1471) who famously died after eating “two good big melons.” According to an article in Bon Appétit, the Pope expired just “a year after his chef published a cookbook recommending melons be eaten as appetizers, since eating them on a full stomach could have serious consequences.”
But there is a more serious health warning that comes with Cantaloupe and all melon varieties with webbed rind. It is not commonly known that the skin can harbour salmonella and other harmful bacteria in the meshing. We might assume that supermarkets thoroughly disinfect the fruit to avoid causing potentially deadly outbreaks, but this isn’t always preventative. But don’t let these little scare stories put you off enjoying ripe juicy melons this summer. The problem is an exception and not the rule. Millions upon millions of people enjoy melon every year! Just be cautious and buy from vendors you trust.
