PUBLISHED IN FIELD AND FEAST JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2006
As a child living on the outskirts of Pittsburgh, in a family that loved to eat sweets, I grew up believing that all dinners ended with dessert and that all desserts resembled either gooey sundaes or rich cream pies. Desserts were hearty and big, feasts unto themselves. They were also, I came to realize, neither the most nutritious nor satisfying way to conclude a meal.
In junior high, my sweet tooth still intact, I encountered a novel ending to supper while eating at a classmate’s house. After our dinner plates were cleared from the table, small bowls of poached peaches appeared. They were followed by a plate of cookies made with nuts and locally produced honey rather than with the usual bleached flour and refined sugar. Noticeably absent were the thickly-iced, thirst-inducing cakes as well as the overstuffed feeling that I often had at meal’s end. On that evening in the home of an Italian-American friend I discovered how simple and sublime Mediterranean desserts could be.
Most Americans learned long before I the delicious and nutritious aspects of Mediterranean cuisine. The 1975 publication of How to Eat Well and Stay Well the Mediterranean Way alerted the public to the low fat and fruit, vegetable and grain-rich diets of such countries as Greece, Spain, and Italy. Written by the late University of Minnesota physiologist Ancel Keys and his wife Margaret and based upon decades of Keys’ research into the relationship between diet and coronary disease, the book supplied hundreds of flavorful recipes and sound dietary advice. Keys would be the first but certainly not the last in the English-speaking world to espouse the merits of a Mediterranean diet and attitude toward food.
Like Keys, Dr. Nikoleta Kolovos has long promoted the healthful properties of Mediterranean cooking. The child of Greek restaurateurs, she grew up eating fruit as the ending to dinner, a habit that she continues to this day. The St. Louis physician is careful to distinguish her family’s traditional meal conclusions from the sweets that many consider authentic Greek desserts. “Sweets, by and large, are reserved for special occasions or when friends visit,” she says.
In Greece, Kolovos explains, many sweets are fruit based as well. “My relatives will serve a candied fruit from the fruits they have harvested as opposed to chocolates and such that have a limited shelf life. Even the sweets per se are a little healthier in that the sugar base is often honey as opposed to simple processed sugars. Many, like baklava or kataif, use walnuts or pistachios for their fillings, also adding to their nutritional value,” she says.
What Kolovos and Keys indicated and I experienced on repeated trips to the Mediterranean is the wholesome, uncomplicated nature of this region’s cuisine. The final course can be as simple as piece of fresh cheese or seasonal fruit. Just a bite of something savory or sweet to top off a satisfying meal.
When whipping up more complicated confectioneries, cooks in this part of the world employ a few, standard ingredients. Fresh or dried fruit and nuts such as almonds, pistachios or walnuts often star in the desserts. Honey and fruit juice act as natural sweeteners. A chiffonade of mint leaves or dash of cinnamon adds to the depth of flavors. Simple to make, these desserts are nonetheless complex in taste.
Sika sto fourno, or Greek baked figs, provide a perfect example of the ease of creating flavorful last courses. The recipe calls only for fresh figs, red wine and a scant amount of honey to intensify the fruit’s already sweet flesh. Baked for 10 minutes at 400 degrees Fahrenheit, the resulting dish is a nutritious treat, high in fiber, phosphorus, calcium and iron.
Among the sprawling olive groves and treasure-filled churches of Tuscany I enjoyed an even simpler delicacy. Here ripe strawberries macerated in balsamic vinegar capped off an evening’s repast. Juicy and sweet, they were the ideal snack on a hot summer’s eve.
Although occasionally spiced up with a splash of liqueur or garnished with a handful of mint leaves, this Italian delight requires just a pint of strawberries and one to two tablespoons of good balsamic vinegar. Allowed to steep for at least an hour, the berries increase both in sweetness and complexity. A pleasure for the palate, they are also an excellent source of vitamin C.
In Turkey meals frequently conclude not with baked or marinated fruit but with a cup of rich coffee, known as Türk kahvesi, or glass of hot tea. Coffee in particular has held a prominent place in Turkey’s culinary history. First introduced by traveling dervishes in the 16th century, it quickly became the drink of hospitality and common closure to meals.
While wandering through the ancient coastal city of Fethiye at dusk, I repeatedly witnessed the popularity of Türk kahvesi in the 21st century. Cafes were filled with men drinking black, foamy coffee from white demitasse cups. Their workdays were over. Their bellies were full. It was time to finish off the evening with a strong cup of coffee or two.
Strong may underplay the intensity of this drink. With brewing instructions ranging from one heaping teaspoon to two rounded tablespoons of finely ground coffee per two ounces of water, Turkish coffee is neither for the faint-hearted nor the weak-stomached.
On the coast of Morocco in the picturesque, white-washed, fishing port of Essaouira I encountered yet another beloved after-dinner drink. Throughout the town square of Place Prince Moulay el Hassan men dressed in long, flowing robes sipped hot mint tea from slender, gold filigree glasses. As in Turkey, luxuriating over a hot drink at supper’s completion was a widespread, daily ritual.
Made with fresh mint, green tea leaves and varying amounts of sugar, tea functions not only as a conclusion to dining but also as a symbol of hospitality in this North African country. Unlike in America where we can pass on a slice of coconut cream pie, to decline a glass of tea in Morocco is deemed rude. Recalling the powerful antioxidants found in green tea and the digestive properties of mint, I would never dream of refusing a refreshing glass of tea.
In a region containing such culturally and geographically distant countries as France and Egypt, Italy and Tunisia, ingredients are bound to vary from land to land. Nowhere is this more evident than in Morocco. In this arid landscape couscous dominates the cooking in both homes and restaurants. Not only a staple in entrees, the steamed grain is also the main ingredient of the popular Moroccan treat, sweet couscous.
I first tasted this delightful confection in the bustling trade city of Marrakech. Seated at an outdoor cafe in the crowded, snake charmer-filled square of Djemaa el Fna, I spotted sweet couscous on a menu overrun with fruit desserts, nut pastries and mint tea. Sweet couscous sounded like a traditional follow-up to a tagine of chicken, preserved lemons and green olives. So far I had loved all the native foods. I saw no reason why I would not savor this dish.
Savor I did. Dotted with iron-rich, chopped dates and vitamin A-filled, dried apricots and decorated with a dusting of cinnamon, sweet couscous proved the perfect ending to an exotic feast. One bite of the warm, luscious dessert and I was hooked. The next morning I scoured the souks in search of a couscoussier, the two-piece, perforated steamer used to make couscous. After lugging the stainless steel pots across the highest mountain range in North Africa and through the sweltering Sahara, I learned with some chagrin that there was no need to invest in special cookware. Sweet couscous can also be made in a sauce pan using instant couscous.
Something that I learned with much delight is that desserts are not exclusively relegated to supper time. Mediterraneans are just as likely to nibble on a wedge of moist sponge cake or dip into a bowl of yogurt topped with toasted walnuts and honey during their afternoon tea as they are to consume these goodies as their last course. Considering the wholesomeness of these sweets, it comes as no surprise that they appear as mid-day snacks as well as after-dinner treats.
Simple to make, nutritious yet delicious to eat, the desserts of this region provide something for every taste and every time of day.