Midwinter Mediterranean Recipes: Healthy Budget Cooking

Escaping the Winter "Meat-Fatigue" with Simple, Sunny Plant-Life

Turkey, beef, pork, lamb, chicken, ham (both home-cooked and Iberico), and tongue—not to mention numerous sausages, bacon, and a few other carnivorous delights! After indulging in all that last month, I thought it was time to write about vegetarian food.

Borlotti beans

Somehow, my body is now crying out for something light, easy-going, and easy to digest: a bit of plant-life.

The Seasonal Dilemma

Of course, it would be much easier in summer. Imagine whacking great big salads filled to the brim with nourishment from the garden! That's exactly what I would eat by choice right now. Sure, I could pop into a supermarket and grab some ready-picked salad leaves, a few greenhouse tomatoes, a cucumber, and a pepper or two.

But I, like many others, have a thing about seasonal eating. I’m not religious about it, mind you. I’ll happily drizzle extra-virgin olive oil over a bowl of Canary Island tomatoes—especially if I can add a handful of the herbs that still bravely grow in my garden.

Pulses waiting to be cooked

Still, it seems to miss the point. All those un-ecological food miles that the tomatoes have flown, and all those poly-tunnels where artificial fertilisers are used with enthusiastic abandon… Having once over-wintered near Motril on the Costa de Sol, I know what goes into the average Spanish iceberg lettuce. Not a single crunchy but tasteless leaf of that stuff has passed my lips since!

The Magic of the Dried Bean

The sunshine taste of the Mediterranean can be enjoyed, however, with the help of a pulse or two. The secret is to get your act together and give your hardened dried vegetable jewels a plunge in water the day before you intend to eat them. Or, if you're in a rush, you can buy them in a can! What could be more instantaneous than a simple salad made of cannellini beans, sliced red onion, and a hefty sprinkling of parsley?

Cooked chickpeas

Martin’s Tip: If using dried beans, pour on extra virgin olive oil just after you have drained them while they are still warm. This prevents sticking and heightens the flavour of the eventual vinaigrette.

Three Simple "Sunshine" Dishes

1. The Piquant Bean Salad

To your cooked beans, add a substantial vinaigrette made from the best extra virgin olive oil you can afford, lemon juice, and a spoonful of French mustard.

• Add a Kick: Throw in finely chopped chillies and sun-dried tomatoes.

• The Umami Twist: Add half a clove of garlic with some anchovies crushed in a pestle and mortar.

• Make it a Meal: Add a couple of cans of tuna fish to feed a crowd for under two quid!

  
  

Market spices for a Moroccan tagine

2. Moroccan Chickpea & Fish Tagine

Chickpeas are remarkably adaptable. For a warming fish tagine, you'll need:

• 1kg of fresh white fish (locally caught is best).

• Garlic, paprika, ground cumin, and chilli pepper.

• Pre-soaked and boiled chickpeas.

  
  

Simmer the fish and spices in olive oil for 30 minutes. Then, add the chickpeas with a little of their cooking water and simmer for another 10 minutes. It’s exotic, warming, and brightens even the coldest February day.

Chickpeas in the electronic pressure cooker

3. Sicilian Puy Lentils with Spaghetti

Lentils are the "food of paupers" with the flavour of kings. My favourite way to serve Puy Lentils was taught to me by a Sicilian friend:

1. Boil Puy lentils until al-dente.

2. Fry garlic and onions in olive oil until soft.

3. Break spaghetti into inch-long sticks, boil, and drain.

4. Combine everything in a large bowl with copious amounts of top-quality olive oil, sea salt, and cracked black pepper.

   
   

Bean stew

Saving the "Poor Old Body"

Dried pulses rate as one of the most inexpensive foodstuffs you can purchase. If you have an electronic Instant Pot, they don’t even take much energy to cook—reducing chickpea cooking time from 90 minutes to just 30.

I, for one, will be taking the simple, sunny, healthy Mediterranean route to cooking in the next few weeks. It’s the best way to save the poor old body from the heavier excesses of midwinter.

Editor’s Choice: More Healthy Winter Inspiration

If you enjoyed these Mediterranean ideas, you might also like these recipes and tips from the archive:

• Chickpea and Spinach Curry: A grounding, spiced dish perfect for supporting gut health after the festive period.

• Healthy Winter Recipes & January Wellness Tips: More ideas for using woks, winter walks, and real food to beat the "sluggish" midwinter feeling.

• The Secret to Real Moroccan Flavours: A deeper look at the spices and techniques that make a tagine sing.

• Warm Winter Meals with a Mediterranean Twist: Why the "sunshine taste" of pulses is the best way to bridge the gap until spring.