3 Mediterranean Diet Italian Recipes (With Shopping List)

3 Free Mediterranean Diet Italian Recipes

The Mediterranean diet is a diet based on the foods of Italy and Greece and has been in practice outside of the Mediterranean for almost 70 years.

This diet, also known as the Med diet for short, was examined by Harvard’s Health in 1993 and was recommended as a type of nutrition in the treatment process of many diseases.

The Harvard study also resulted in the creation of a pyramid for this diet.

At the base of the pyramid are vegetables and fruits, olive oil and grains; which are the foods that should be consumed the most.

In the middle are fish, seafood and dairy products, which should be consumed less. Chicken and red meat, which you should consume very little of at all, are at the top of the pyramid.

The main idea of the diet is based on this pyramid structure. But what exactly are we going to cook?

This is a legitimate question, because after a while you may feel like you’ve tried everything and are stuck when it comes to generating new ideas.

Especially for diets with food restrictions. But now we come to you with some easy and delicious ideas. Let’s pick a few of them and start preparing.

Shopping List for Mediterranean Diet Italian Recipes

Mediterranean Salad with Italian Dressing: Lettuce, cucumber, baby corn, black olives, fresh pepper, feta cheese, yellow cherry tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, olive oil, lemon, garlic, fresh rosemary
Few Ingredient Italian Homemade Pizza Recipe: 100% whole wheat flour, instant yeast, olive oil, tomato puree, basil, garlic, mozzarella cheese
Caprese Salad: Tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, olive oil, pomegranate syrup (optional), freshly ground black pepper, thyme, rucola or arugula

Mediterranean Diet Italian Recipes

1. Mediterranean Salad with Italian Dressing

Mediterranean diet Italian recipes – Salad with Italian dressing recipe

Ingredients

For the Salad:

3 leaves of lettuce
1 slice of feta cheese
3 yellow cherry tomatoes
3 cherry tomatoes
1 tablespoon of corn
2 tablespoons of fresh pepper
1 cucumber
2 tablespoons of black olives

For Dressing:

Half a teaspoon of olive oil
1 sprig of fresh rosemary
1 lemon
1 clove of garlic
1 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of black pepper

Recipe

Wash and dry the lettuce well. Chop them and put them in a deep bowl. Cut the red and yellow cherry tomatoes in half, then add them to the bowl. Peel and chop the cucumber and add them too.
Get another bowl for the dressing. Pour olive oil into it and add lemon juice. Then chop the fresh rosemary, fresh thyme and garlic brunoise*. Add to olive oil. Add salt and pepper and mix it all.

*Brunoise: In short, this means chopping the ingredients into cubes in the smallest possible size.

Trick 1: If possible, keep the salad dressing in the refrigerator for 1 night. This way, the dressing gives it a nicer flavor. If you don’t have time for that, you can make more salad dressing and store it in the fridge for your next salad.

Finally, add the Italian dressing to the salad and mix gently. Remove the core of the olives and add them too. And then baby corn. Mix them all gently for the last time. Put it on the plate you will serve, and add the cheeses to it.

Trick 2: If you cut the cheese with a knife, it will most likely fall apart. For this reason, instead, slowly divide it into pieces with your hands and add it to the salad.

2. Few Ingredient Italian Homemade Pizza Recipe

Italian homemade pizza recipe

Ingredients

Dough:

3 cups of 100% whole wheat flour
1.3 cups of water
Half a teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon sugar
2 teaspoons instant yeast
1 tablespoon of olive oil

For The Pizza Sauce:

1.5 cups of tomato puree
1 clove of garlic
3-4 sprigs of basil
4 tablespoons of olive oil
2 teaspoons of salt

Top:

2 large balls of mozzarella cheese

Recipe

Start by mixing the dough ingredients in a bowl. Use half the water at first. Add the other half of the water along with the olive oil. Mix the dough with a spoon or mixer. You should get a sticky dough.

Trick 1: You can take the flour and water measures as a basis. But before diluting all the flour all at once, add it slowly in a controlled manner. Since each flour is different from the other, these measurements may vary. Focus on making a sticky dough.

Then form the dough into a ball. Cover with cling film and a towel and put aside for 6 hours. Towards the end of the dough’s fermentation time, you can start preparing the pizza sauce. To prepare it, put garlic, basil, salt, olive oil, and tomato puree in the blender. Blend them.
Then start preheating the oven at 220 degrees. Line a baking tray with parchment paper and drizzle 1 tablespoon of olive oil. If you have it at home, also sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of semolina.
Dip your hands in some olive oil. Put the dough on the tray and start spreading it gently all over the tray. Be careful not to tear the dough at this stage.
After the spreading process, pour the pizza sauce into the center of the dough and apply it to all parts of the dough with the back of a spoon or a brush. Place the tray on the bottom shelf of the oven and bake for 10 minutes.
Get the mozzarella for the next step. Remove as much of its water as possible with a paper towel, dry well, and slice. Try to get the cheese water out of the cheese by pressing a paper towel over the slices again.

Trick 2: You must remove the water from the cheese. We do this so that it does not become watery during baking and does not spoil the taste of the sauce.

Add mozzarella cheese to the dough you cooked for 10 minutes and let it cook for another 5 minutes. When the pizza is cooked as it should, the cheeses will be melted.

3. Caprese Salad

Mediterranean diet Italian recipes – Caprese salad

Ingredients

2 tomatoes (medium size)
2 balls of mozzarella cheese
3 tablespoons of olive oil
1 tablespoon of pomegranate syrup (optional)
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon thyme
1/4 teaspoon salt

For service:

1 bunch of rucola (or arugula)

Recipe

Wash the tomatoes, making sure to dry them well. Then remove the green parts of the tomatoes. You can use a sharp knife tip for it. Then cut the mozzarella cheese into thick slices. Now slice the tomatoes in the same shape and size as the cheeses.
Wash the rucola thoroughly. Then place in the center of a large serving plate. Arrange the ingredients you prepared, including a slice of cheese and a slice of tomato, on top of it.
Now sprinkle black pepper and salt and drizzle olive oil and pomegranate syrup on the top.

Trick: As with all salads, there is a rule that applies to the Caprese. That all the ingredients must be fresh. Pay attention to this while shopping, and prepare your salad as soon as you bring the ingredients home to consume it fresh and serve it immediately.

References:

https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/