Greek Greens Pie

Crete, an island off the coast of Greece, is synonymous with health and longevity.  It is also the scene of one of my favorite moments in nutrition history.  I know, I actually have favorite moments in nutrition history.  What a nerd.

After WWII, war-torn Europe was in a major economic depression.  Crete, already impoverished before the war, was in especially dire straits.  Greece begged the Rockefeller Foundation to come and provide humanitarian aid.  They asked the foundation to make recommendations for improving the Cretan diet, thought to be inadequate due to extreme poverty. 

Researchers found the Cretan diet was plant-based, with most of the bulk coming from whole grains such as barley and wheat, and wild greens picked in their backyard - Crete is covered with more than 80 types of wild greens!  They ate a high fat diet, but from local olive oil.  Meat and dairy were consumed in limited amounts, and were typically used for flavoring rather than as a main course.  Initially, researchers were concerned about the adequacy of their spartan, mainly vegetarian diet.  Soon however, researchers realized there was very little malnutrition.  In fact, the Cretans were much healthier than the researchers themselves!  

So what did the researchers conclude?  Did they simply write back and say, "Hey guys!  It's kinda a funny story, but the Cretans are actually eating a heck of a lot healthier than we are!  Don't we feel silly!"  Nope.  They wrote back detailing ways to get more animal foods into the Cretan diet, not because it would make them healthier, but because the people of Crete said they wanted more meat and dairy.  At the time, animal foods were associated with wealth, the same way developing countries today associate McDonalds with affluence.  

Luckily, the study wasn't a complete waste.  At the same time, a cardiologist serving in nearby Naples during WWII was stunned after realizing he hadn't treated a single cardiac patient.  He ran across the Rockefeller Foundation's study and decided to use Greece in the Seven Countries Study, examining the relationship between diet and chronic disease in seven different countries.  The data he found on the low rates of chronic disease in Greece became the foundation for the Mediterranean Diet we know of today.  

This recipe is a perfect example of the Cretan diet - lots of greens, grains and just a little bit of cheese for flavor.  If you want to get hard core Cretan, I suppose you could gather some wild greens from your backyard (dandelion greens are edible!).  However, if your backyard is covered in dog pee like mine, just go to the farmers market. To save money, use frozen spinach, or a combination of frozen spinach and fresh greens.

Greek Greens Pie

Serves 4 as a main, 6 as a side dish

Adapted from New York Times

Ingredients:
2 lbs spinach, chard, beet greens or other milder tasting green or combination of greens, stemmed and rinsed
1 large onion, finely chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh dill
1/4 cup chopped fresh mint
1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 bunch scallions, chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
4 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 cups 2% milk
1 cup fine cornmeal or polenta
1 cup water, as needed

Directions:
Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat in a large skillet.  Add the onion and cook until tender, about 5 minutes.  Add the scallions and cook for another minute.  Stir in the greens and chopped herbs.  If using a tougher green (i.e. chard or beet greens), you may want to add this before the herbs, since it takes a little bit longer to cook, or even blanch it lightly in boiling water.  You might also want to add a small amount of water (a couple tablespoons) to help steam the greens and prevent burning.  Once cooked, season with salt and pepper.  Place in a large bowl, add feta and stir together.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Oil a 10-in round baking dish or cake pan. 
Combine the milk and 1/2 cup water in a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat.  Add cornmeal in a fine stream and whisk while pouring to break up any clumps.  Lower the heat to medium-low.  Stir and cook until the mixture is thick.  This took me about 15-20 minutes.  Remove from heat and place half the mixture in the pan.  Spread in an even layer with your spoon or wet fingers.  

Spread the greens over the bottom crust.  Dilute the remaining cornmeal with water until it has the consistency of wet sand (I had no idea what this meant, I just added about 1/4 - 1/2 cup water).  Mix in 2 tablespoons olive oil.  Spread over the greens. 

Bake 45 minutes to 1 hour, until the top is browned.  Remove from heat and allow to sit 30 minutes before slicing.  Or dig right in and have ugly slices like we did.