A Mediterranean diet incorporates wonderful fruits, vegetables, fish and whole grains into delicious recipes that follow the traditional cooking style of countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea. If you're looking for a heart-healthy eating plan, that limits unhealthy fats, the Mediterranean diet might be right for you.
On the menu:
Tomato, Olive and Caper Tapenade Salad with a Balsamic Vinaigrette, Seafood Paella with Couscous
Grilled Peaches, Pineapple and Bananas with a Blueberry Mint Sauce.
Paella is a Spanish dish that originated on the East coast of Spain. It is richly favored by layering fresh ingredients with herbs and spices including saffron.
The four groups of students each added their own unique touch to the recipe, creating 4 amazing paellas. And even though there were a few different routes taken to create their dishes, each one had the right flavors and textures and truthfully were the best paellas I've ever eaten!
Next was the Tomato, Olive and Caper Tapenade. The colors and flavors were fabulous. Each group created their own version and the results put a smile on their faces.
Tapenade is a very popular dish in France. It is made from capers, olives and often tomatoes. This particular recipe would be good served over rice or fish and chicken or as a topping for bruschetta.
Capers are very low in calories and have an amazing amount of nutrients, including antioxidants similar to those found in vitamin E.
The grilled fruit dishes turned out better than I ever imagined. The students absolutely demonstrated fantastic plating skills. They all pitched in and helped each other, some giving great advice. What I call real team effort.
The final touches each student gave their dishes made this a very successful class.
Even the UT Culinary Student helpers enjoyed the class. They were a great help in the kitchen. A special thank you to them as well.
