The Ikaria Way
100 Delicious Plant-Based Recipes Inspired by My Homeland, the Greek Island of Longevity
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- $19.99
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- $19.99
Publisher Description
INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
Diane Kochilas' new cookbook that brings the plant-based cuisine of Ikaria to your dinner table.
Ikaria is an island in Greece where people live to a ripe old age, sometimes living well past 100. Diane Kochilas, host of the television series My Greek Table, is a daughter of Ikaria. The Ikaria Way is her latest cookbook and is filled with easy, contemporary recipes rooted in her background and steeped in the ancient Greek traditions of plant-based cuisine.
As Diane says, Greeks are almost vegan, but they’d never call themselves that. The array of plant-based dishes in the Greek diet is unsurpassed anywhere else in the Mediterranean. Diane’s pantry, and the one she suggests for readers, is culled from the traditions of the Mediterranean and is full of ingredients that have long given food its flavor: herbs, olive oil, nuts, and more. The recipes in The Ikaria Way are simple, almost entirely plant-based, prepared with real food and almost nothing processed, save for the occasional can of tomatoes. Readers will love meze like smoked eggplant with tahini and walnuts or baked chickpeas and pumpkin patties. There are wonderful salads combining strawberries and asparagus and robust mains like white bean stew with eggplant.
The Ikaria Way brings the healthy-eating recipes of an ancient island to readers everywhere. It is destined to take its place alongside Diane’s other books on the shelves of all good home cooks who want healthy eating and robust, delicious flavors on the same plate.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Drawing inspiration from the cuisine of the Greek island Ikaria, one of the five "Blue Zones" known for the longevity of their residents, Kochilas (My Greek Table) gathers an impressive array of recipes packed with vegetables and herbs known for their wellness benefits. While not organized around the seasons, dishes feature seasonal specialties from summery layered two-tomato salad and yogurt cucumber soup to kale and cabbage slaw, an update of a classic Greek winter salad, and butternut squash steaks. Legumes, eggplant, zucchini, and mushrooms are well represented in such dishes as red lentil soup with ginger, chickpea-bulgur stew, lemony giant beans, mushroom red pepper souvlaki, and "eggplant boats" stuffed with bulgur, tomatoes, and basil. Ferry boat spaghetti inventively replaces ground meat with lentils, and vegan moussaka incorporates a bechamel sauce made with aquafaba. Kochilas argues for the anti-inflammatory and auto-immune benefits of "a pantry inspired by Ikaria," and especially lauds dark greens, olive oil, feta cheese, and herbs. Though a list of sources supporting Kochilas's nutritional claims and pairing suggestions for less familiar dishes like jammy braised chestnuts & onions would be helpful, there's no denying the appeal of many of these meals. This unique vegetarian approach inspires.
