Authentic Flavors from a Mediterranean Kitchen
Rachel MazzaI’m gonna be honest with you: I destroyed my first attempt at a homemade Mediterranean bowl. Like, impressively bad. This was back in 2019—I remember because I’d just bought this fancy grill and wanted to impress my neighbor, Derek, who’s weirdly competitive about summer entertaining. I threw some dry chicken on there with nothing but … Read more
Look, I’m just gonna say it: my first attempt at lahanorizo was a soggy, flavorless disaster. It was February 2021, my neighbor Yiayia Maria had given me her ‘foolproof’ recipe, and somehow I managed to turn this Greek cabbage rice into what can only be described as… wet cardboard with delusions of grandeur. My husband … Read more
If you’re looking for more protein-packed Mediterranean meals, you’ll love our Mediterranean chicken bowl recipe that uses similar principles for maximum satisfaction.
Okay so here’s the thing. The first time I made lemon garlic chicken with spinach and olives—back in like, March 2019 I think?—it was genuinely embarassing. My husband described it as “interesting” which, if you’ve ever cooked for family, you KNOW is code for “please dear god never make this again.” The chicken was rubbery … Read more
So listen. I need to tell you about the time I almost ruined date night with chickpeas. It was February 2022—Valentine’s Day, actually (because of course it was)—and I’d seen this marry me chickpea pasta recipe floating around TikTok for months. Looked easy enough. Creamy sauce, some sun-dried tomatoes, done in 20 minutes. Famous last … Read more
Look, I will be honest with you – I absolutely butchered this cottage cheese tzatziki dip the first three times I made it. My friend Mariana (who, bless her heart, has watched me fail in the kitchen more times than I can count) actually started timing how long it took before I would call her … Read more
Here’s what most recipes won’t tell you: the magic of amatriciana isn’t in the tomatoes — it’s in the rendered fat. When you slowly cook the meat until the fat becomes golden and translucent, you’re creating what food scientist Harold McGee calls a “flavor base” that carries the essence of the protein into every strand of pasta. The Maillard reaction (that’s the fancy term for browning) develops hundreds of new flavor compounds that simply don’t exist in raw ingredients.
Fast forward to today, and I’ve made this Mediterranean chickpea power bowl literally 87 times (yes, I counted). My partner asked me to stop counting. The beauty of this recipe isn’t just that it’s delicious or that it comes together in 25 minutes—it’s that it somehow tastes like you’ve been cooking it all day while you’re genuinely still wearing your workout clothes. I’m not a dietitian, obviously, but I am someone who gets genuinely excited about plant-based meals that don’t taste like “healthy punishment,” and this bowl absolutely delivers both nutrition and vibe.
The crazy part? I’ve tested this recipe fourteen times since then because everyone kept asking for it, and I promise you – this pesto pasta with grilled chicken is so stupidly easy that you’ll feel like you’re cheating at dinner.
I tested this recipe seven times in two weeks—twice with burned tomatoes (oven was too hot), once with undercooked potatoes (didn’t give them enough head start), once with salmon so dry it could’ve been jerky (overcooked by three whole minutes). But attempt #5? Perfection. The vegetables caramelized, the salmon stayed moist, and the whole thing looked like I’d ordered takeout from a restaurant that actually cared.