Mediterranean Women Stay Slim, Too: Eating to Be Sexy, Fit, and Fabulous! (22 page)

In the Mediterranean, women typically have one small glass of wine with dinner, and that means about 4 ounces! Not much compared to the big bowl-shaped glasses brimming with wine we tend to drink in the United States. Hundreds of studies have demonstrated the positive effect of moderate wine consumption on heart health, stress levels, blood pressure, and even longevity.

The key is moderation. Just a little bit and
always
with food.

That’s the Mediterranean way. It’s also the way to enjoy the great health benefits of wine without subjecting yourself to too many calories from alcohol or (and this is important) alcohol’s tendency, when consumed in excess, to make the drinker eat much more than she really needs.

What is it about moderate wine consumption that is so healthful? Some people believe it is the plant compounds found in red wine, while other studies demonstrate equally beneficial effects from white wine and even from liquor and beer consumption—but always, of course, in moderation.

Muslims in the eastern Mediterranean most certainly do not drink alcohol, yet still enjoy good food and good health. If you don’t drink or don’t want to drink with every meal, that is, of course, perfectly fine. I don’t drink wine every day. Daily drinking isn’t nearly as much a part of our culture as it is in the
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western Mediterranean, where even children sometimes get spoonfuls of wine in their water glasses.

In France, wine is thought of as food, so

necessary to life that nobody is too poor to go

without it.

—Katharine Butler Hathaway, writer

√ What to Drink

Matching wine with the right food can make or break a great recipe. First courses of antipasto or soup might be served with a crisp white wine such as Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Grigio.

Pasta with red sauce goes well with a light red table wine, while pasta in a light cream sauce or tossed with fresh vegetables and olive oil blends perfectly with a rich Chardonnay.

Forget the traditional idea that white wine must go with fish.

If seafood makes up your main course, try a flowery Pinot Noir or a fruity Cabernet Franc or Sangiovese. Choose white wines such as Chenin Blanc or Pinot Gris for light, delicate fish in subtle sauces. Meaty red wines such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel, and Syrah have the strong character to make a perfect foil for rich meat dishes such as lamb, beef, and rabbit, while lighter reds and whites work well with poultry and lean cuts of red meat lightly dressed in delicate sauces. If you don’t drink, consider matching fresh-squeezed or purchased organic purple and white grape juices with your meal or other juices from interesting fresh fruits. Or consider matching your meals with different herbal iced teas or even varieties of mineral water, a tasting experience on its own.

The only way to really figure out which wines you like and what tastes good with your favorite recipes is, of course, to
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taste, taste, taste. Keep a journal and list the wines you’ve tried, what foods you tried them with, and how they tasted to you at the time. The more you taste wine, the more you will learn to appreciate its subtle nuances and the way it can bring out the flavors in one dish while obliterating the flavors in another.

Wine is earth’s answer to the sun.

—Margaret Fuller, writer

Wine tasting is an adventure, but it is not meant to be a drunken one. In the Mediterranean, a glass of wine is only about 3 or 4 ounces, not the 8- to 12-ounce portions you tend to get in the United States. Each little taste of wine goes with each little taste of food in a beautiful marriage of flavor. Binge drinking isn’t healthy, and drinking wine in the Mediterranean has nothing to do with overconsumption.
Mettere la testa a posto!

(Make sure your head is on straight!)

Between courses, you needn’t dirty every wineglass in the house, either. Choose a good, basic wineglass shape with room to swirl the wine around, releasing the aroma for a full sensual appreciation before you take a sip, then fill up your glass with water between each glass of wine to cleanse your palate, rinse out your glass, and stay well hydrated throughout the meal.

Wine is often used in cooking in the Mediterranean, too. Try a splash of wine in a pasta sauce, as a replacement for vinegar in a salad dressing (this is a good way to use wine that is past drinking when you didn’t finish the bottle), to flavor or marinate meat or fish, to give an added depth and complexity to soups, and even to flavor desserts such as custards and cookies.

I’ll share some of my favorite recipes that use wine and spirits later in this chapter.

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Cheese that is required by law to append the word

food to its title does not go well with red wine or

fruit.

—Fran Lebowitz, writer

√ Digestivo

Finally, no meal is complete without a
digestivo
. While the
aperitivo
is sweet, the
digestivo
tends to be bitter—so bitter that some people have a hard time even tasting them. They are definitely an acquired taste. But in the Mediterranean, the
digestivo
is just as important as any other course of the meal. The bitter taste helps to settle the stomach and promote healthy digestion. This is incredibly important to the Italians, and they will be glad to talk to you for quite a while about the state of their own digestion!

After the final salad and cheese courses, a tiny glass of bitter grappa may be the quintessential Italian
digestivo
. This distilled wine is made from the bitter stems and other residue from the grapes after winemaking, and it has a harsh taste. A bitter lemon limoncello is a somewhat milder but still effective
digestivo
that is also popular in Italy. We make our own at Primo (see page 207). Other
digestivos
include Fernet-Branca, a walnut liqueur called Nocino, good port, robust sherry, Vin Santo or marsala, and Sambuca. Licorice, citrus rind, nuts, and other deep bitter flavors work best to wind down the celebration of sharing food and drink with friends and family.

You can find the same bitter digestive-aiding qualities in herbal teas. We make our own herbal teas at Primo, and we have an extensive tea garden full of herbs. Your local markets probably stock many different types of teas. Ginger, licorice, chamomile, cinnamon—all these are warming and slightly bitter or pungent digestive aids that will help you to relax and un-Mediterranean Women Stay Slim, Too

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wind after a meal, sharing a warm cup with friends and reflect-ing on your gastronomic experience.

Incorporating these drinking traditions into your life will help you to appreciate, even cherish, every meal and every coming together of family and friends in a way that is not only Mediterranean but ancient and venerable. Celebrate your food.

Celebrate the harvest. Raise your glasses in a toast:
Cin Cin!

√ Homemade Stuff

Making homemade liqueurs is easy and fun to do. Make them about six weeks ahead of when you want to serve them, or keep them in your pantry all the time. You can use sterilized Mason jars for aging, then pour the finished liqueur into attractive bottles you have saved from purchased wine and spirits. Just be sure the bottles are washed in very hot, soapy water and dried with clean towels, or run them through the hot cycle on your dishwasher.

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Sweet Orange Aperitivo

M a k e s a b o u t 4 c u p s

√This sweet, enticing before-dinner drink will help to whet your appetite before dinner. Use organic oranges without blemishes, and cut off any moldy, bruised, or soft spots. Nonorganic oranges are often dyed and waxed, and they could have trapped pesticides in the skin.

4 organic oranges

1 cup brandy or cognac

1 vanilla bean

1 cup sugar

1 cinnamon stick

1 cup water

2 cups vodka

1.
Wash the oranges well, then cut them into wedges. Remove the seeds.

2.
Put the oranges, vanilla bean, and cinnamon stick in a sterilized glass jar. Add the vodka and brandy. Cover and steep in a cool, dark place for 2 weeks.

3.
After 2 weeks, take the jar out. Combine the sugar and water and boil over high heat until the sugar is completely dissolved, about 5 minutes. Add this sugar syrup to the jar. Return the jar to a dark place and age for 4 more weeks.

4.
When the liqueur is done aging, strain it through a wire mesh strainer into a clean glass bottle. Serve in small glasses at room temperature or over ice.

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Primo Limoncello

M a k e s a b o u t 3 c u p s

√Try this lemon liqueur as a
digestivo
. It is a very popular after-dinner drink in Italy and easy to make at home. Keep it in the freezer—it tastes best when it’s very cold. If you don’t cut the pith from the peel, this will be very bitter, so try to get most of it off with a sharp knife. Use organic lemons so that you aren’t adding dye, wax, and chemicals to your lovely liqueur.

11⁄4 cups lemon peel (cut off all signs

1 cup sugar

of the white pith)

1 cup water

2 cups vodka

1.
In a large saucepan, add 1 cup of the lemon peel and pour the vodka over it. Store the remaining lemon peel in the freezer.

2.
Heat the vodka and lemon peel over low heat until the vodka is just barely warm. Remove from the heat and pour the mixture into a sterilized glass jar. Cover and store in a cool, dark place for 1 week.

3.
After 1 week, combine the sugar, water, and remaining 1/4 cup frozen lemon peel in a small saucepan over high heat. Bring to a boil and cook until the sugar is completely dissolved, about 5

minutes.

4.
Strain the lemon peel out of the vodka mixture and put it in a large glass measuring cup. Strain the lemon peel out of the lemon syrup and add the syrup to the vodka mixture. Mix well and pour into a clean glass bottle. Store in the freezer and serve ice cold.

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Amaretto

M a k e s a b o u t 3 c u p s

√This liqueur is a lovely almond flavor with just a hint of bitterness. It makes an excellent
digestivo
, or it can be an
aperitivo
, depending on your mood. Try it drizzled over ice cream, or put some in your coffee. Or let it stand in for dessert, all on its own.

If you use blanched almonds, the amaretto will be less bitter, but some people prefer some nutty bitterness.

1 cup sugar

1⁄4 teaspoon pure almond extract

1 cup water

3 cups vodka

1 cup raw unsalted almonds, roughly

chopped

1.
Combine the sugar and water in a small saucepan over high heat. Bring to a boil and cook until the sugar is completely dissolved, about 5 minutes. Store half of this sugar syrup in the refrigerator until needed.

2.
Put the almonds in a sterilized glass jar. Add the almond extract, vodka, and half the sugar syrup. Cover tightly and shake until thoroughly combined. Put the jar in a cool, dark place and allow to steep for 2 weeks.

3.
Strain the amaretto through a fine mesh strainer to remove all of the almonds. Add the remaining sugar syrup and stir.

4.
Age the amaretto for 3 more weeks, then serve at room temperature.

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Tisane

S e r v e s 4

√Tisane is just a fancy word for herbal tea. We make herbal teas at Primo according to what herbs inspire us from our garden.

You can experiment with your own combinations, too. This lemon-mint tisane is an excellent
digestivo
to help you process a delicious dinner. It can also stand in for dessert. To make other tisanes, just follow the same directions using your own combinations of fresh or dried herbs from your garden, farmers’ market, or natural health food store. Always use organic herbs, of course. You want to make your tisane with the essence of the herbs themselves and nothing else. If you don’t like your tea sweet, just leave out the honey, although it does coax the flavors from the herbs in a subtle way.

3 sprigs lemon verbena

2 tablespoons honey

1 sprig lemon balm

1 quart boiling water

1 sprig mint

4 sticks rock candy (optional, look for

1 lemon, cut into thin slices

it in fancy candy stores or online)

1.
Put the herbs and lemon in a clean glass jar or pitcher. I like to use 1-quart Ball jars.

2.
Pour the boiling water over everything and let steep for at least 15 minutes. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve or coffee filter and serve warm or chilled over ice with honey to taste and a rock-candy stick.

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Tummy Tamer Tisane

S e r v e s 4

√This tisane is perfect for when your digestion feels a little off. It can help settle your stomach or make you feel better if you are feeling nauseated. Use fresh or dried herbs, whichever you can find.

1 sprig calendula

1 sprig mint

1 sprig bergamot

1 quart boiling water

1.
Put the herbs in a clean glass jar or pitcher, or a 1-quart Ball jar.

2.
Pour the boiling water over everything and let steep for at least 15 minutes.

3.
Strain through a fine-mesh sieve or coffee filter and serve warm.

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