dessert reinvented
Does the thought of a Mediterranean dessert make you drool? We get it! After all, the region is known for its many decadent delights: Baklava, tiramisu, cannoli, gelato, flan and chocolate mousse, to name a few.
In traditional Mediterranean cultures, though, sweets like these are typically reserved for special occasions such as weddings, religious observances, and family or national celebrations.
Instead, fresh, whole fruit is the basis of most after-dinner treats, arranged artfully on a platter, perhaps accompanied by cubed melons, nuts or cheese.
Prefer something a bit fancier? Up your game by grilling pineapple and strawberries with mint and balsamic vinegar or add heat with Sriracha or sambal oelek. Poach pears in port or pomegranate juice and serve them over plain yogurt or try baking pears and other fruits in parchment. Stuff dates and figs with goat's cheese or ricotta, try dipping figs in chocolate, or soak pistachios, almonds, pine nuts and pomegranate seeds in orange flower water.
Rahaf Al Bochi, a registered dietitian nutritionist and founder of Olive Tree Nutrition, has created this beautiful and healthy Strawberry Ricotta Granola Parfaits recipe for CNN.
Move over, calorie-laden gelato. Italians also invented granita, a fruit slushy that uses little sugar. In Egypt, a favorite street food is fakhfakhina, made of layers of dried and seasonal fruit with fruit juice, nuts, dates, honey and a bit of ice cream. The Lebanese have their own version -- a cocktail of up to six kinds of fresh fruit mixed with strawberry juice and then topped with a clotted cream called ashta, made from milk, whipping cream and rose water.
Cakes composed of rye, whole-grain semolina or almond flour are popular all over the Mediterranean, often made with yogurt or extra-virgin olive oil, and flavored with citrus syrups, flower blossoms and honey.
| cook, plate, post |
We invite you to make Al Bochi's original parfait recipe, any other recipe in this newsletter, or a personal favorite and send us a photo and a review at eatbetter@cnn.com or share with #plateitpostit. You might be featured in an upcoming story! Thank you!
| shop this way |
Add a Mediterranean fruit you've never tasted to your shopping list this week -- such as persimmon, pomegranate, cactus pear, loquat, fig or date.
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Grilling fruit can be tasty, but keeping all those small bits together requires skewers. Check out the highly rated Flafster Kitchen Skewers, suggested by our partners at CNN Underscored, a product reviews and recommendations guide owned by CNN.
spice rack
Try rose or orange flower water, blood orange or mandarin/lime simple syrups or make your own syrup to sweeten your fruit. Balsamic vinegar, which comes in many flavors, is another tangy option.
| food for thought |
Figs are frequently mentioned in the Bible -- in fact, some scholars believe the forbidden fruit picked by Eve was a fig rather than an apple -- while Buddha is said to have attained enlightenment under the Bodhi Fig Tree.
| living the good life |
Challenge yourself to put aside all store-bought sweets this week and eat only fresh fruit. It's easy to pack an apple, orange or pear for a snack or add fruit to lunch or dinner as a dessert.