Chef Maria Loi wants to teach the world how to live healthier, happier, and longer. The key to doing that, she says, lies in Greek cuisine and its more than 2,000 years’ worth of wisdom.
Loi is a passionate ambassador for Greek food and the Mediterranean diet, which has increasingly gained the spotlight as one of the healthiest in the world. She’s authored several cookbooks on the subject, including “Ancient Dining,” the official cookbook of the 2004 Olympics in Athens, and the best-selling “The Greek Diet.”
At her restaurant Loi Estiatorio, in Manhattan, New York, she continues to spread the gospel of Greek cuisine, along with her longtime corporate chef Dara Davenport (who, she jokes, “is becoming Greek”).
Loi draws upon her childhood in Nafpaktos, Greece, granules of wisdom passed down from her grandmother and grandfather, “the doctor in the house” despite never having formally studied; and farther back, to the teachings of the ancient Greeks, who believed, as Hippocrates famously said, that “food is medicine.”
In her latest project, she’s teamed up with Harvard professor and nutrition expert Dr. Stefanos Kales to research and further spread the health benefits of the Greek diet. Their findings, she said, have only confirmed the wisdom of the ancients.
But Loi’s mere presence is compelling evidence enough: she’s endlessly warm and spirited, eyes always sparkling behind her glasses, and prone to breaking out in song and dance mid-conversation, sashaying and twirling her arms to the music playing on the speakers in the middle of her restaurant. If you are what you eat, Greek food must be pure joy.
“This kind of food that we’re eating, it’s very good, it’s very healthy, and it doesn’t have side effects,” unlike more processed foods that may contain hidden toxins, Loi said. Greek food is based on simple, seasonal, and high-quality ingredients, including an abundance of fresh produce and wild greens, herbs and spices, fiber-rich beans and pulses, and heart-healthy fats such as olive oil, nuts, and seafood.
Balance is key—that’s another piece of ancient Greek wisdom Loi pulls from: “Métron áriston,” “everything in moderation.”
“It’s everything together, it’s a mixture of all these foods. That’s what gives you the good life, the healthy life,” she said.
In the spirit of spreading that good life, she and Davenport shared their essentials for stocking a Greek kitchen, from olive oil to Greek yogurt—the building blocks for making healthy, nourishing food for both body and soul.
Greek Olives and Olive Oil
Dubbed “liquid gold” by Homer and “the great healer” by Hippocrates, olive oil has long been a cornerstone of Greek culture and cuisine. As a Greek myth goes, the olive tree was a gift to humanity from Athena, the goddess of wisdom, presented in a competition with Poseidon for patronage of the then-unnamed city of Athens. (You can guess the victor.)
Health Benefits
Many of olive oil’s health benefits can be traced, in turn, to its concentration of polyphenols, naturally occurring compounds that act as powerful antioxidants and anti-inflammatory agents. They’re the compounds responsible for that peppery, throat-tickling sensation you’re after.Uses
“I use olive oil in everything,” Loi said—stirred into soups and stews, drizzled over vegetables and fish, even baked into chocolate cake. “My desserts, they use olive oil. People don’t believe that,” she said. (She never uses butter, she adds emphatically.)When it comes to cooking, good quality, extra-virgin olive oil has a high heat resistance and a smoke point—the temperature at which an oil starts to burn, smoke, and degrade—of somewhere between 390 and 405 degrees Fahrenheit, Davenport said, making it suitable for anything from light sautéing to even deep-frying. (The key to safely frying with olive oil, or any oil, she adds, is to keep your oil temperature consistent, and generally no higher than 380 degrees F.)
Olives, meanwhile, are a great way to add salt to a dish; or, simply enjoyed on their own, a satisfying, savory snack.
Market Tip: An Award-Winning Olive Oil From Crete
When asked how to identify good olive oil, Loi is quick to answer: “First of all, it has to be Greek.” Her newest product, Loi Ladi extra-virgin olive oil, provides a worthy option—it was just crowned winner of the Specialty Food Association’s 2019 sofi award for “Best New Product” in the olive oil category.Greek Oregano
The Greek name for oregano, perhaps the cuisine’s most beloved and essential herb, translates to “joy of the mountains,” or “brilliance of the mountains.” It was believed to have been created by the goddess Aphrodite, grown in her garden on Mount Olympus, to bring health, happiness, and joy to the people.
Health Benefits
The ancient Greeks recognized the preventative and curative benefits of oregano early on: Hippocrates used it as an antiseptic for cuts and skin infections, and a cure for digestive and respiratory problems, from stomachaches to asthma. Now, studies have shown oregano to have powerful antibacterial, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory properties; some research has also pointed to its potential in fighting cancer cells.Uses
In Loi’s cooking, dried Greek oregano is second only to olive oil in ubiquity; few dishes are spared at least a sprinkling. Add it to salad dressings or atop salad greens themselves; stir it into soups and stews; use it to season any variety of meats and fish.Barley Rusks (Dakos)
Greek rusks, also known as paximadia, are a frugal peasant food turned beloved pantry staple. The hard, crunchy, twice-baked biscuits (“like the biscotti of Greece,” Davenport said) are made in a variety of different shapes and sizes, using a variety of flours, across different regions of Greece. Cretan barley rusks, or dakos, are one of the country’s most famous versions.
Dakos were born from practicality: After making a loaf of bread, home bakers would cut it into slices and bake them a second time to dry them out, thus preserving them for months ahead. They only needed to be softened slightly in water, oil, or wine before enjoying.
Health Benefits
Made with whole grain barley flour, dakos are high in dietary fiber, especially beta-glucan, a soluble fiber that has been linked to lower cholesterol and lower blood sugar. They’re also a good source of vitamins and minerals, including vitamin B1, selenium, calcium, phosphorus, and chromium.Uses
Dakos are most commonly used to make a Cretan salad of the same name, consisting of dakos briefly softened in water, drizzled with olive oil, and topped with freshly grated tomato, tangy feta, and briny capers or olives. The olive oil and tomato juices further soften the rusks.Beans
Beans are “severely underrated,” Davenport said, despite their star qualities: they’re versatile, inexpensive, easy to prepare, and extremely good for you. Greeks have traditionally made them into soups and stews, Loi added, as an economical way to stretch ingredients.
Health Benefits
Beans are an excellent source of plant-based protein and iron, especially helpful for vegetarians. Their high concentration of both soluble and insoluble fiber keeps your digestive system running smoothly, makes you feel full while eating less, and helps lowers cholesterol.Uses
The culinary uses for beans are as varied as the types of beans available: chickpeas, black beans, kidney beans, navy beans, and so on. Cooked dried beans are better than their canned counterparts, in terms of both taste and texture, but canned beans work just fine in a pinch, so long as you thoroughly rinse them before use, to wash off excess sodium.Greek Yogurt
Thicker and tangier than regular yogurt, and packed with protein and gut-friendly probiotics, Greek yogurt has become known as a nutritional darling. In Greece, it was traditionally made with sheep’s milk, though cow’s milk is now more common.
“Good yogurt, when you turn the spoon [upside-down], it doesn’t fall down. That’s good yogurt,” Loi said. Her Greek yogurt, strained of almost all its whey until thick and creamy—the way her grandmother made it—passes the test with flying colors; she serves it in a bowl in three proud, perfectly spherical mounds, one stacked on top of the other two like scoops of ice cream.
Health Benefits
Greek yogurt has less sugar, due to lactose being strained out with the whey; and double the protein of regular yogurt, which helps you fill up quickly and stay full, and can contribute to healthy weight loss. It also contains a host of other nutrients, including calcium, iodine, potassium, and vitamin B-12.Uses
Though traditionally used as a base for tzatziki dip, or eaten as a snack or dessert topped with honey or other sweet or savory toppings, Greek yogurt is extremely versatile, especially as a healthy substitute in cooking and baking.Its creamy texture and pleasantly tart flavor make it a great swap for mayonnaise in sandwiches and chicken salads; for sour cream atop baked potatoes and tacos or in dips, creamy sauces, or cakes; and for buttermilk in pancakes and other baked goods. Try mixing it with your favorite herbs and spices and using it to marinate and tenderize meat, especially chicken or lamb.
Honey
In Loi’s book of sweeteners, honey reigns supreme; she casts white sugar away with the same disdain as she does butter.
Health Benefits
Honey is rich in antioxidants and may help lower cholesterol, blood pressure, and blood triglycerides, a risk factor for heart disease in high concentrations. The ancient Greeks used it as a topical treatment for wounds and burns, effective due to its antibacterial and anti-fungal properties.Uses
Loi uses honey instead of sugar in all of her desserts. Since it’s sweeter than sugar—just half a tablespoon of honey is equivalent in sweetness to a tablespoon of sugar—you can use less of it. For a classic Greek treat, drizzle it in sticky ribbons over mounds of thick Greek yogurt, and top with crushed walnuts.Greek Mountain Tea
Mild and fragrant, with a long-lasting sweetness, Greek mountain tea is an herbal infusion made from the stems, leaves, and flowers of the sideritis plant, a hardy perennial native to mountainous regions across the Mediterranean. Greek shepherds would brew tea from the plants while tending to their flocks in the mountains, earning the drink its other common name of “shepherd’s tea.”
Health Benefits
Sideritis has antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-microbial properties, and has been used since ancient times as a panacea for a wide range of ailments, including the common cold, digestive and respiratory issues, and allergies. Yet another one of its names, “ironwort,” is related to its past use for treating wounds inflicted by iron weapons. “Malotira,” the name of the variety of mountain tea specific to the island of Crete, literally means “to extract a bad thing.”Uses
Greek mountain tea is packaged as whole, dried stems, with leaves and flowers attached. To brew, break a few stems into small pieces and add them to a teapot, fill the pot with cold water, and bring the water to a boil—you want the tea to steep from the beginning, to enhance the flavor. The longer you let it simmer, the stronger the tea will be.Serve the tea strained or with stems and all, adding honey and lemon or milk if desired. Loi suggests letting it cool, then refrigerating it for at least an hour and enjoying it cold.
