Australia’s balmy weather is a perfect foil for Mediterranean cooking. And while our cities our brimming with exceptional Italian, Greek, Moroccan and Middle Eastern joints, there’s nothing quite like a home-cooked plate of pasta – or a vibrant salad – to get you dreaming of the sparkling Med.
To that end, we’ve rounded up some of our favourite Med-inspired recipes from top chefs. Extra virgin olive oil reigns supreme across their recipes, which focus on simple ingredients and sure-fire flavour combinations. Need a veggie-forward crowd pleaser? A starter that’s easily scaled up into a lunchtime hero? Versatility is baked into the most of these dishes, too.
Kafeneion’s Greek keftedes (meatballs)
Juicy, aromatic meatballs are a staple in every Greek home. Each region – and each family – has their own take on the recipe. These keftedes come from Melbourne institution Kafeneion ’s co-owner Con Christopoulos’s mum’s kitchen. Serve them as a meze or team with fresh tzatziki, salad and pita for an easy weeknight meal.
Danielle Alvarez’s spaghetti alla Nerano
The magic of pasta water comes to life in this recipe from Danielle Alvarez’s cookbook Recipes for a Lifetime of Beautiful Cooking. Inspired by Nerano, a small village on Italy’s Amalfi Coast, this spaghetti champions humble ingredients: zucchini, extra-virgin olive oil, garlic and freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano are about all you need to get things going.
Ella Mittas’ mucver (zucchini fritters)
We’re making these crispy fritters for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Pulled from the pages of Ela! Ela! To Turkey and Greece, Then Home, this recipe calls for Aleppo pepper to add warmth to the dish. “It’s mildly spicy, with some fruitiness and cumin-like undertones, and is a brilliant red,” Mittas says of the spice. You can substitute it with a mix of smoked paprika and cayenne pepper if needed. Plate the fritters up with eggs or a fresh tomato salad – a generous dollop of Greek yoghurt or tzatziki is a welcome addition.
Joseph Abboud’s barbequed chicken wings with toum
Being on a budget doesn’t mean entertaining is off limits – for example, you could whack this zippy dish by Joseph Abboud, chef-proprietor of Melbourne Middle Eastern diner Rumi, on the table at any dinner party and get a positive reaction. It’s made with chicken wings, which tend to be cheaper than their breast-and-thigh counterparts, with just a few added extras – spices you can use over and over again. And toum is the ultimate condiment, a garlicky joy that requires few ingredients and can liven up almost any meal.
Sami Tamimi’s eggplant and fava beans with eggs
If you love shakshuka, you’ll love this vibrant, veggie-packed dish by chef Sami Tamimi. It comes from his book Boustany – you might be familiar with his co-authored projects alongside Yotam Ottolenghi, Falastin and Jerusalem. Make it for weekend brunch enjoyed in the sunshine or master the meal as a meat-free Monday option to have on rotation.
Julia Busuttil Nishimura’s spicy Syrian muhammara
Melbourne-based cook and author Julia Busuttil Nishimura offers up her take on muhammara – a tasty, terracotta-hued Mediterranean dip. This recipe stuns as a starter or side, or can even elevate a simple sandwich. For an approved shortcut, use a jar of roasted red capsicums if you don’t have time to roast your own.
Bar Morris’s baked ricotta
Rosy Scatigna, head chef of Sydney’s Bar Morris, reckons this bold, gooey dish is the perfect recipe for a host to have up their sleeve. The baked cheese beauty pays homage to Puglia (where Scatigna grew up), championing basic but beautiful ingredients. Add it to bruschetta or simply slather on dinner rolls.
Rumi’s baba ganoush, by Joseph Abboud
When Joseph Abboud was growing up, everything cooked on the barbeque was intentionally a bit charred. In this baba ganoush recipe, Abboud applauds the act of charring for bringing out the bittersweet flavour in eggplant. Once blackened, simply scoop out the flesh of the eggplant and whisk together with garlic, tahini, lemon juice and salt – you don’t even need a blender.
Shane Delia’s Fattouche
This salad by Shane Delia of (Melbourne’s Maha) will buttress any feast with the brightness of ox heart tomatoes, minty freshness and plenty of crunch from nuts, cucumber and fried flatbread. Bonus: it’s a doddle to prep. Just make sure you use the ripest tomatoes you can find.
Stalactites’s oven-baked lamb and potatoes lemonato
Nicole Konstandakopoulos’s family has run Melbourne institution Stalactites since her grandfather, Konstantinos Tsoutouras, opened it in 1978. She shares the recipe for the restaurant’s oven-roasted lamb – a hearty riff on an Orthodox Easter lamb on a spit. Konstandakopoulos says the key to this dish is being generous with the spices and not afraid to taste and add more spice or lemon as you like.
Clare Scrine’s vegetarian moussaka
This veggie-based version of a Greek classic promises to feed the whole dinner party – and even leave you with leftovers. It comes from the pages of Clare Scrine’s cookbook The Shared Kitchen, which brings emphasis to zero-waste, nourishing recipes. It calls for plant-based meat (or you can substitute tins of lentils) to create the flavoursome ragu that provides the scaffolding for this dish.
Deborah Kaloper’s bucatini alla amatriciana
Deborah Kaloper’s cookbook Pasta Night features more than 60 comforting, carby dishes. But we can’t go past a Roman classic: this solid amatriciana recipe is one to keep up your sleeve for wowing a crowd. Guanciale (cured pork cheek) steals the show – the salty meat cuts through the sweet tomato sauce.
Helena and Vikki Moursellas’ Loukoumades with Honey and Pistachio
Crispy and golden on the outside, soft and airy inside, these Greek doughnuts from the sisters’ cookbook Opa! are best prepped just before serving and eaten fresh from the fryer. They recommend pairing with a freddo cappuccino “preferably in the sun.”
Dining and Cooking