Love the catchy, delicious visuals of food but are scared of the arduous task involved in the “perfect” art of cooking? Then chef-entrepreneur Natasha Celmi’s latest book My Mediterranean Table — Bring Home the Flavours is, perhaps, right for you. After her first book, Fast Fresh Flavourful: Everyday Meals Made Easy, the t2 columnist takes her readers on a cultural journey through the lively pages of her new book. t2 catches up with the winner of the Gourmand Cookbook Award of 2020 about her new book. Excerpts.
This is your second culinary book. How is it different from your first and what sets it apart from the rest in the market?
My first book is a bit of Mexican, a bit of Asian and a bit of Italian from the global cuisine, making everyday meals easy for you in your home kitchen while sticking to only vegetarian cooking. However, my latest one focuses only on the enigmatic Mediterranean cuisine. Eighty per cent of the recipes featured in this book are vegetarian while the remaining cater to the non-vegetarian readers. Interestingly, the Mediterranean platter finds a lot of vegetarian dominance.
The cuisine features some of the most devoured appetisers and salads. People in the Mediterranean region grow up eating lentils, chickpeas and naturally vegetarian dishes feature in their dietary routine as an impact of the fresh, local produce. The Mediterranean area was a poorer region, which has encouraged more cultivation of vegetables and fruits on this side of the world.
One thing that definitely makes this book unique is the level of acute detailing that is quite missing from those handy cookbooks. I won’t call mine a cookbook. It should rather be best labelled as a coffee-table book. Once a reader starts reading this book, they are signed up for a culinary holiday. The book doesn’t merely inform the readers about the methods of cooking. It guarantees an immersive experience that gives a sneak peek into my personal album from my past holidays as well. The consistent cultural preferences are a bonus!
The idea was to use vibrant images between the pages to break the monotony of texts and give readers a glimpse of the local scenes and their invigorating flavours. Readers would feel as though they are holidaying in the pristine landscape of Greece, Turkey or France. Not tomention, this book sheds light onthe history of a particular dishand its origin, which wouldperhaps be interesting for an avidhistory reader who may not bemuch interested in cooking. Thebook is a visual experiencepacked with a lot of first-handinformation.
Tell us about the journey of writing this book.
I wrote this book while I was holidaying in the Mediterranean region, and it has taken me over two years to finish it. Interestingly, I did not know cooking until the age of 25, although my younger self would always be fascinated by culinary shows like MasterChef Australia and Nigella Lawson’s cooking shows. I loved how food was portrayed as an art. In Indian households, cooking for the most part is considered a chore. I take inspiration from the food I eat. If I am in a Spanish tapas bar and I eat something interesting, I come home and try to recreate it. So that’s the story behind this book. Here, I have turned myself into a bridge between Europe and India as I have said in my tagline, ‘bring home the flavours’. You don’t have to go to Europe, Europe comes to you with this book!
Your book talks about a global cuisine that may be out of bounds for the average Indian middle class. How would you make things easy for the foodies across the financial spectrum?
My mantra is leveraging healthy, local ingredients which are not necessarily expensive.
Could you share some interesting anecdotes that inspired this book?
As mentioned in my book, the Cypriot Lentils and Grains Salad is “one of the oldest recipes in my repertoire”. This rich-in-protein foxtail millet-lentil-based salad is inspired by the Cypriot Grain Salad that had once featured in MasterChef Australia by Chef George Calombaris. I have also incorporated in this book some of my husband’s family’s in-house, home-style recipes in Italy.
What lies at the core of the Mediterranean kitchen?
In this book, I have got down to the basics. Olive oil is an essential element in the Mediterranean spread and its varied use can be found across Greece, Turkey and Morocco. It’s a healthy, coldpressed oil. Due to its expensive nature in India, its use can be limited to dressing purposes. You can sprinkle it on your pasta and pizza as a flavour enhancer. Alternatively, you can use regular olive oil. In Turkey, Lebanon and Greece, nuts play a huge role in dietary preferences as much as pulses and legumes do. Unlike Indians, there is not much fixation with spices, and they substitute it with the generous use of garlic and fresh herbs such as basil, mint, thyme and rosemary to infuse flavour into the traditional dishes. Spain is best known for its extensive fruit cultivation, thanks to its cold climate conducive to growing fruits. As far as Mediterranean cuisine is concerned, you will see a lot of fruits being incorporated into the recipes as well. And, of course, dairy is yet another must-have in the Mediterranean repertoire. France and Spain use a lot of cheese while Italy has its own variety. If you head towards Greece and then proceed to Turkey and Lebanon, yoghurt finds its diversified use in meat marination and making of dips.
Do you have any tips for the lactose intolerant?
One can simply omit the cheese altogether. Alternatively, one can adopt vegan cheese.
Is there a common thread between Indian and Mediterranean cuisine?
Yes, there is a lot. Pizza in the south of Italy was introduced by the immigrants. We Indians have naans. The recipe is very similar, and very often we make a naan base for making pizza. Pizza is cooked in a woodfire oven while the Indian naan is prepared in a tandoor. But at the end of the day, it’s all very similar. We make spinach kofta curry in a tomato-based spicy gravy. In Italy, they make dumplings of spinach and ricotta (their version of the Indian paneer) sitting on a similar kind of tomato-based recipe. Halloumi, again a variation of cheese like the Indian paneer, is very popular in Greece. We have dhania and pudina chutneys while Italy has pesto. As against their vast availability of olive oil, nuts and garlic, India has its huge repertoire of dhania, mint leaves, ginger and garlic. Mexico boasts of its tortillas while Spain claims its fame in Piadina. Just that if you remove the spices (jeera, haldi, dhania, garam masala, etc.) from our kitchen, the Indian subcontinent’s centuries-old recipes and those of the Mediterranean nations are quite similar. Many would not know, saffron finds a huge fan base in Spain and can be found in their dishes significantly. Similarly, we can make salad using millets and pulses — courtesy of my book that aims to present simple Indian dishes in a modern way.
We can see there are a lot of cross-cultural references in terms of food in your book, which will perhaps bring the people of the regions closer...
It’s just like the last line of the introductory note of my book says, “With this book, you only need to set sail as far as your kitchen to experience the true taste of the Mediterranean”.
Do you endorse making the sauces and the dips from scratch or do you believe in sourcing readymade sauces and condiments from the local market?
I will always endorse making everything from scratch. However, one can use readily available sauces, including the humble tomato puree and they need not be expensive. Even a simple Dabur Hommade Tomato Puree will work. We can’t help but take into consideration one’s personal preferences and conveniences.
It’s difficult to come across a good pasta dish at many Indian restaurants. What do you think is the trick to making good pasta?
It’s probably because the pasta is not prepared the right way. A lot depends on the organic techniques of cooking. You have to hold fast to the techniques. That’s where this book plays a major role. Slow cooking can enhance the taste manifold. One needs to master the art of cooking techniques even using simple ingredients. For instance, you can get a normal tomato puree from your neighbourhood market and slow cook it to get the right consistency, achieving the same result of using tomatoes imported from Europe. Of course, the taste will be slightly different as Indian tomatoes are different, but fast-paced cooking without paying attention to the right texture will only spoil the end result. And we Indians underestimate the power of salt. Adding salt in the beginning adds a lot of depth to the flavour and is an absolute game-changer.
What are your major learnings from writing this book?
I am the writer, but there is a village of people who have worked hard and helped put together the piece of art that this book is. For this book, I have worked as a food stylist too and assisted in shooting the dishes, and conceptualised the overall look and feel of the pictorials in the book. I have probably improved my writing in this new book.
What are some of the impactful features of this book?
Fifty per cent of the recipes come with a QR code. Readers will get exclusive access to the video of the recipes when they scan the QR codes given along with many of my recipes. These videos are not publicly available on my YouTube channel. This book is special because it gives you clarity on the prep time and your actual cooking time, which helps you to manage your time in the kitchen and organise. I have written this book keeping solely in mind the busy lifestyle we lead today. If one has no time to make everything from scratch, one can simply store the leftover cooked prawns from Spanish Garlic Prawns in the refrigerator for 24 hours and add them to pasta or a salad later. There is a lot of interconnectivity and repurposing that have found their way into this book. The book emphasises the importance of multiuse. I have also provided a lot of vegan options. For the exclusive vegetarian dishes, I have shown how the same dish can have a meaty addition. One should not skip the ‘My Twist’ segment to learn how each classic dish can be customised to suit personal preferences.
What is your favourite recipe from your own book?
To name a few, Sorrento Style Potato Gnocchi, Fisherman’s Risotto and Classic Greek Salad are some of my favourites.
What does this book mean to you?
I have two children, and this book is my third baby (Smiles).