Ben Tish shares recipes gathered from his travels around the islands and shores of the
Mediterranean in his new book Mediterra
Spinach, fennel and herb pie
I love this Cretan-style pie with its rich and crumbly olive oil-based crust. I’ve eaten many versions on my travels and the options for predominantly vegetable-based fillings are plentiful – courgettes, kale, green cabbage and even diced squash or pumpkin. Aleppo-style pepper and cumin are also often used in the spicing.
Sesame seeds are regularly used in Cretan cuisine, a legacy of its Moorish occupation, adding a sweet, caramelly nuttiness to the pie crust when baked, which I very much like.
Serves 8
100ml olive oil
2 fennel heads, finely chopped
2 red onions, finely chopped
1 leek, washed and finely chopped
a bunch of spring onions, finely chopped
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
500g spinach, washed and finely chopped
fronds from a bunch of dill, roughly chopped
leaves from a bunch of mint, roughly chopped
100g feta, drained and crumbled
2 large free-range eggs, beaten
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the pastry
500g plain white flour, sifted, plus extra for rolling out
1 teaspoon table salt
200ml olive oil, plus extra for greasing the pie dish
200ml lukewarm water
1 large free-range egg, beaten, to glaze
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
Method: Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat. When it is hot, add the fennel, red onions, leek, spring onions and fennel seeds, and season. Turn the heat down to medium-low and leave to sweat for 30–35 minutes until softened but without colour. Stir often as you go to avoid anything sticking. When everything is softened, turn off the heat and stir in the spinach, dill and mint. Season again.
Let the vegetables cool completely before stirring in the crumbled feta and eggs. Set aside at room temperature.
Meanwhile, make the pastry. Place the flour and salt in a bowl. Make a well in the centre, add the olive oil and water and gradually work this into the flour to form a soft dough. Don’t overwork the dough as it can become heavy. Cover and chill for 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 200°C/Fan 180°C/Gas Mark 6. Grease a round 25–30cm pie dish.
Lightly dust a work surface with flour and then cut the dough into 2 pieces – you want one piece slightly larger for the pie base. Roll out the larger piece in a circular motion until it is about 0.5cm thick, dusting with more flour as you go. Fold it over the rolling pin and then roll into the pie dish. Press the pastry into the side well, leaving an overhang. Spoon in the vegetable and feta filling and spread it out evenly.
Roll out the remaining pastry until 0.5cm thick and lay over the top of the filling. Pinch the pastry edges together to seal the pie, then trim off the excess pastry. Brush the top with beaten egg, sprinkle over the sesame seeds and poke a couple of holes in the top to let out excess steam.
Place the pie dish on a baking sheet and transfer it to the oven. Bake for 1 hour, or until the pastry is golden brown and crisp. Leave to stand for at least 5 minutes before serving. It’s equally good served hot or at room temperature.
Tuscan-style steak with rosemary, garlic and grape molasses
A culinary hymn of praise to simplicity, this is my favourite way to cook steak. Fiorentina is traditionally a T-bone or a porterhouse steak – a steak on the bone has more flavour than a boneless one – but a good-quality rib-eye or sirloin steak will work well. The steak must be cut thick as you want the meat beautifully crisp and caramelised on the outside and medium-rare and pink within. This recipe is perfect for cooking on the barbecue, and fried potatoes and a salad are ideal accompaniments.
Serves 4
2 x 1kg T-bone or porterhouse steaks, or 2 x 600g sirloin or rump steaks, at room temperature
olive oil
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
needles from 3 fresh rosemary sprigs, finely chopped
grated zest and juice of 1 unwaxed lemon
2 tablespoons grape or date molasses (optional)
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method: Light a barbecue about 30 minutes before you want to cook so the coals turn ashen grey and are at the optimum grilling temperature. Position the grill above the coals so it gets very hot. Alternatively, heat a large ridged, cast-iron griddle pan to maximum.
Rub the steaks with oil, then season well and place them on the grill or griddle pan. Cook for 3 minutes on each side, or until nicely caramelised and charred. Now move either the steaks to a cooler spot on the barbecue or turn the heat under the griddle down to medium, and continue cooking for a further 6–7 minutes, turning every minute or so for medium-rare. Add another 3–4 minutes for medium-well.
Remove the steaks from the grill and transfer to a tray or rimmed platter and sprinkle over the garlic, rosemary, lemon zest and juice and the molasses, if using. Leave to rest for 10 minutes like this before serving either whole or in the traditional style with the meat cut from the bone, sliced and arranged back against the bone for serving with the resting juices spooned over. Sprinkle with extra salt, if you want.
Medjool date and cardamom loaf
A sweet-savoury juicy bread from Morocco to be eaten with tangy fresh labneh or thick yoghurt, accompanied by a bowl of stewed stone fruits and nuts. It’s also delicious toasted and drizzled with extra virgin olive oil or just spread with salty butter.
Serves 12
1 tablespoon clear honey
500ml lukewarm water
7g sachet fast-action dried yeast
300g strong white flour, plus extra for kneading
150g fine semolina flour
50g ground almonds
8 green cardamom seeds, ground in a pestle and mortar or spice grinder
1 teaspoon table salt
olive oil for greasing the bowl
150g Medjool dates, pitted and chopped
date or pomegranate molasses
50g flaked almonds, toasted
Method: Stir the honey into the lukewarm water, then stir in the yeast to dissolve. Set aside for an hour or so until it ferments and bubbles.
Mix both flours, the ground almonds, ground cardamom seeds and salt together in a large bowl. Make a well in the centre, pour in the yeast mixture and incorporate into the flour until you have a sticky dough.
Tip the dough onto a floured work surface and knead for 5–10 minutes until it is smooth and elastic. Wash, dry and grease the bowl, then return the dough to it. Cover with cling film and leave in a warm place for an hour, or until it doubles in volume.
Tip the dough onto a floured surface and knead it briefly to knock the air out. Sprinkle over the chopped dates and knead them into the dough so they are evenly distributed.
Divide the dough into two equal portions, then shape each into a tight ball and put them on a lightly floured baking sheet. Slash the top of each twice with a sharp serrated knife.
Cover with a tea towel and leave for about an hour until doubled in size.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 220°C/Fan 200°C/Gas Mark 7.
Bake the loaves for 35 minutes, or until nicely browned. Tap the bases of the loaves – they will sound hollow when baked through.
Transfer the loaves to a wire rack. Drizzle with molasses and brush to glaze the tops. Sprinkle with the toasted almonds and leave to cool completely before slicing.
All recipes taken from Mediterra by Ben Tish published by Bloomsbury at £26. Dorset Magazine readers can get 25% off RRP plus free P&P (UK customers) by ordering the book from bloomsbury.com/uk/ and using the code: DORSETAUG24. Offer runs until August 31, 2024.
Meet Ben Tish
Ben is the Chef Director of Cubitt House, where he oversees the food offering across several pubs and eateries in London. With a love of the Mediterranean, the food and its history, one of Ben's passions is recreating the flavours and dishes from his travels. Ben appears regularly on TV including Saturday Kitchen, Sunday Brunch, and Masterchef. Ben has written four cookery books including Moorish and Sicilia. Follow him on Instagram @ben_tish / chefbentish.co.uk
