“From novice to nonna: how I mastered the art of Mediterranean cooking.”

Growing up in a Croatian family, I thought I knew Mediterranean cuisine and culture inside-out. Then I moved to Italy and discovered how much I actually hated cooking; probably because I really sucked at it, much to the disapproval of my grandparents.

Hailing from the Dalmatian coast, my grandparents knew that the secret to creating delicious meals lay in the holy trinity of Mediterranean cooking: a little garlic, some parsley, and a whole lot of high-quality olive oil. They cooked often and served us with love – which meant if I wasn’t eating, I wasn’t being loved enough.

When I moved to Italy for exchange a few years ago, one of the biggest concerns everybody had was how I was going to manage to feed myself. I figured growing up around village-taught master chefs meant that I’d absorbed their cooking skills by osmosis. And Italian culture is pretty close to my own, right? Surely there wasn’t going to be much food-related culture shock.

Wrong.

"I figured growing up around village-taught master chefs meant that I’d absorbed their cooking skills by osmosis. Wrong." Image: supplied.

With my limited culinary repertoire and literally no knowledge about nutrition, cooking became a daily struggle. I quickly learnt that nothing is more depressing than having to cook meals for one, especially when you’re eating the same thing day in, day out. Who knew that cooking required so much creativity and forward planning?

Cooking became the bane of my existence. Luckily, as everything was so cheap in Italy, with entire meals – okay, pizza – starting around 2 euros, I could afford to grab food on the go all day every day. My habit of prioritising cheap Ryan Air tickets over good quality protein didn’t help my diet either. Instead of buying meat for one week, I could save 30 euros and grab a flight to Paris. The choice was obvious: my diet would have to suffer.

One year and 10kg later, I was back home in Sydney. Considering the Mediterranean diet is considered the healthiest in the world, and Mediterranean people are known for their vitality and longevity, I was surprised at how much weight I put on. Though no one told me eating tortellini smothered in butter and cheese for breakfast isn’t exactly how the Italians do it.

Once home, I decided I needed to live a healthier lifestyle. Even though I love working out and playing sport, I knew that what I was eating needed to change.

My Instagram is filled with #getinmybelly. Image via Instagram @nataliakrslovic 

Despite having been surrounded by Mediterranean cultures my whole life, I really didn’t know much about how to incorporate their traditional diet into my everyday life – let alone how to actually prepare food on my own. I needed to get back to basics. Luckily, I was put onto Hans’ Oliving product range and recipe hub, which not only makes high quality deli meats using the goodness and taste of olive oil – a much healthier alternative to animal fats and butter – but it actually taught me how to make tasty meals.

Here are three quick and easy recipes that will turn any novice into a nonna in the kitchen.

Ham, tomato and mozzarella free-form lasagne.

One thing that always bewildered me was how Italians manage to eat pasta every day and stay lean and healthy. This was one secret carb party that I definitely wanted to get in on. In the first week of my time in Italy, my roommate made a point of drilling the fact that pasta is a lunchtime meal. “It is never, NEVER eaten at dinner – capisci, Natalia? – that’s sacrilegious.” Apart from not wanting to offend the pasta gods, eating pasta at lunch means that I’m full of energy to burn up for the rest of the day, so I’m feeling satisfied and don’t feel the need to snack.

Lasagne has always been a personal favourite of mine. The fact that I don’t need to slow-cook a bolognaise or béchamel sauce for this recipe not only means that I’m skipping out on unnecessary animal and saturated fats, but I can whip this up in a matter of minutes and still have leftovers to pack for work the next day. Winning.

Lasagne has always been a personal favourite of mine. Image: supplied.

Papperdelle pasta with Strassburg sausage, pumpkin, sage and pine nuts.

The sausage/roast pumpkin combo is the unsung hero of pasta sauces. While they do all the heavy lifting, a splash of olive oil and fresh basil makes the whole dish sing. Throw in some pine nuts for texture and good measure, and you’ve got a delicious meal that’ll keep you full for hours but won’t weigh you down. And all it requires is some light chopping, and the ability to throw the ingredients into a pre-heated oven. Even I could master it.

"The sausage/roast pumpkin combo is the unsung hero of pasta sauces." Image: supplied.

Spring minestrone with Polish sausage.

One of my all-time favourite meals is my grandmother’s minestrone. Filling, fresh and full of all the goodness of vegetables, it’s the perfect dish to fill up on after a long day at work. With the addition Polish sausage to give the broth a hearty, meaty flavour, it’s as easy as throwing everything into a pot and letting it boil.

Easy as. Image: supplied.

One of the things that has helped me master the art of Mediterranean cooking is understanding that being healthier doesn’t mean that I need to cut out carbs or fats. In fact, both are important parts of a balanced diet. It just depends on how frequently I’m eating them, at what time of day, and the quality of the ingredients that I’m using.  Hans’ Oliving and their recipe hub has made the prospect of home cooking far less daunting for this chef-in-training.

What have you learned to cook recently?