Christina Cooks: Back to the Cutting Board

Ah, our hearts.

They beat with life.

They grieve with sorrow.

They pulse with love.

They pump life through our bodies.

And, yet, we don't take very good care of our tender hearts, and they fight for our lives every minute of every day.

Let's give our hearts some delicious TLC today on Christina Cooks.

(theme music) (announcer) Underwriting for Christina Cooks is provided by Suzanne's Specialties, offering a full line of alternative vegan and organic sweeteners and toppings.

Suzanne's Specialties.

Sweetness the way Mother Nature intended.

Jonathan's Spoons, individually handcrafted from cherry wood, each designed with your hand and purpose in mind.

Additional funding is also provided by: Hi, I'm Christina Pirello, and this is Christina Cooks, where each week we take fresh, seasonal ingredients and whip them into amazing dishes.

Will it all be plant-based?

Yeah.

Will it all be delicious?

Yeah.

It's the macroterranean way, baby!

So, before you grab the remote and change the channel, yes, I'm going to talk to you about heart health yet again.

Since 1973, it has been the leading killer of both men and women.

During the COVID pandemic of 2020, more people died of heart disease than died of the actual pandemic, something like 680,000.

We got a problem, people.

Our collective ship is sinking and we're bailing it out with a thimble.

But there's good news: in Southern Mediterranean countries, the cardiovascular disease prevalence is about five to ten percent.

Do you know what it is for us?

Thirty-five percent, 35.7, to be exact.

That means we're doing something pretty wrong.

What they're doing right is called the "Mediterranean diet," and people who adopt the Mediterranean diet reduce their risk of heart disease by 50 to 70 percent.

That's not nothing.

That's a lot!

And it's delicious!

We're gonna make recipes today that will make your heart as happy as your tummy.

So, let's start with our first recipe which involves lentils.

Now lentils contain a protein called "lectins," and lectins are about to go down the same road as gluten and become the new ingredient that we demonize, but you shouldn't.

Unless you're chowing down on a raw bowl of kidney beans, lectins are not harmful to you.

They break down when you cook them.

They're actually a protein that binds to carbohydrates, that protects the plants from the elements.

Once you cook them, you digest them, and you get the antioxidant benefits, so lectins are a good thing.

So settle down, people.

Okay, so we're gonna start this recipe.

We're gonna start by cooking our red lentils.

I'm gonna take a little bit of garlic.

Save the rest for our gravy.

Some finely diced celery.

You want to dice your veggies pretty small for this so that the lentils, uh, lentil fritters have a nice texture.

And then we're gonna add a cup, half cup depending on how many you want to make.

I'm gonna use a half cup of red lentils.

Now, normally, I tell you to rinse your lentils.

I don't rinse them in this case because I want the starch that's gonna help to hold the fritters together.

So now we're gonna take three times the amount of water.

And we're gonna put these up to cook with a bay leaf.

"Why a bay leaf," you ask?

Why, I'm glad you asked me that.

A bay leaf contains something called "monosodium glutamic acid" which is gonna help you to become not musical when you eat beans.

It's good to help you digest the protein and the fiber.

So these are gonna go up to cook.

They take about 17 to 20 minutes, but they need to be completely cool before you move on.

So we're gonna move to a cooked bowl of red lentils and veggies.

Take out the bay leaf so that nobody chokes on it, otherwise, you'll have to give a prize.

Slip the lentils into a mixing bowl.

And we're gonna add to them some chia flour.

Start with a quarter cup.

You want to make a fritter batter that is stiff but not crazy stiff.

Then we're gonna start to mix.

Now you can also, to kind of ensure that they are nice and, you know, held together, you can add to them some chia seed, which I'm probably gonna do right now.

Just a little bit.

You can measure if you want to, but it's gonna be about a tablespoon.

I don't know.

Whatever.

Pinch of salt.

And mix.

And what the chia will do is start to inflate itself and absorb moisture and help to make the fritter batter a little bit stiffer so that they do what you want them to do in the hot oil.

Now... We take some avocado oil which is a mild-flavored, high-heat oil.

And I have a really hot cast iron skillet.

We're gonna add enough avocado oil to cover the bottom of the pan.

You don't want the fritters to be oily, but you need enough oil that they brown.

Kind of do that.

Then, we're gonna use a third cup measure... ...and drop them into the hot oil.

(sizzling) That's the sound you want to hear.

You want to hear that nice sizzle.

And you want to try to get the fritters to be the same size so that they cook evenly.

And they are gonna cook about three to five minutes on each side.

I usually take a spatula and kind of smoosh them down a little bit so that they can cook.

Don't move them too soon or they'll break.

They'll brown on the bottom, but they kind of need to take their time a little bit.

So we're gonna lower the heat just a little.

Now, in this pan, we're gonna take some extra virgin olive oil while the fritters brown... ...some garlic... ...some hot spice 'cause this is a spicy dipping sauce.

This is just a mixture of crushed red chili flakes.

And then we're gonna take some canned-- I'm using canned cherry tomatoes from Sardinia because Sardinia is a blue zone, so we may as well, right?

And these are just sort of crushed up.

You can pure them with a blender if you want your sauce to be really, really thin, you know, smooth.

But I'm just gonna kind of break 'em up with my spoon and with my fingers.

Usually I use my fingers.

My nonna used to use her fingers.

We're just gonna let this simmer.

It's--the tomatoes are canned, so this does not have to be a long-cooked gravy, right?

Pinch of salt.

And while that simmers, let's check our fritters.

So they've nicely browned on the edges.

You flip 'em, that's what you're looking for, that lovely browned edge.

And the other side takes less time.

(sizzling) Now they are cooking in oil, so what we're gonna do is let them finish.

The sauce is cooking nicely.

We'll give that a little stir.

It's starting to simmer, which is a good thing.

You just want to cook this long enough so that the tomatoes don't taste raw.

And it's gravy.

From where you're from it may be sauce, but I don't know what tomato sauce is.

I only know what tomato gravy is.

We make gravy.

We're gonna drain them really quickly.

Just drain any excess oil off them.

And then we're just gonna plate these up with our lovely tomato gravy, our spicy gravy.

So...

The gravy goes right into this bowl.

I'm big on gravy, so there's gonna be a lot.

You know what I mean?

This is probably more than you're gonna use to dip your fritters, but that's all I can tell ya.

Then these go on the side.

And we're gonna garnish it with a little parsley... ...for freshness.

You can use basil as well.

Whatever you have in your garden or on your windowsill.

And you have a dish that's as delicious and good for you as it is good for your heart.

And coming up next, you're gonna love this, I'm gonna be talking to a local cardiologist who is not only a great doctor but can cook with the best of 'em.

I have such a great treat for you guys today.

One of my dear friends, a cardiologist, is gonna be coming and cooking with me.

Cooking with me.

Paging Dr. Shah!

What, are you gonna sit there all day and drink coffee, or are you gonna come up here and cook with me?

Come on.

Let's go, Rakesh.

(Rakesh) Where's the emergency?

-Right here.

-What's going on?

(Christina) I'm well.

Everybody, this is Dr. Rakesh Shah, a local cardiologist from Bucks County, Pennsylvania, and we're gonna cook together and talk about heart health, which I know you fix broken hearts for a living.

And you all should know my following doesn't refer to him as the cooking cardiologist, he's the cutie cardiologist for very good reasons.

Okay, now, Rakesh, one of the things I don't like on cooking shows, actually, I hate, is when two people are trying to share the space awkwardly, so I'm gonna sit this one out... -Oh, really?

-...and watch you cook, yes.

-Okay, a little turn of events.

-Why, thank you.

(Rakesh) Well, in that case, I'm gonna have to take my glasses off.

Okay.

Well, I'd say it makes you even cuter.

-Oh.

-All right.

So what are we-- what are we making, and why are we choosing this?

(Rakesh) This is really, really good for your heart in general.

You know, you're big into Mediterranean food which is clearly heart-healthy.

Chickpeas are a staple in Mediterranean food, so let's go with it.

One of the nice things about chickpeas is its low calorie density.

-Mm-hm, and creamy naturally.

-Naturally creamy, but it doesn't have any significant fats.

So, how do we elevate that and give you that creaminess along with something else that's heart-healthy?

Avocados, high in fiber.

(Christina) You know, I've never made hummus like this.

(Rakesh) Oh, it's beautiful.

It's gorgeous, to die for almost.

-Really?

-Yes.

Comes out incredibly smooth.

Let's make it so we can eat.

(Rakesh) All right, let's do it.

All right, so here we have a can of chickpeas.

We throw it into our... (Christina) Now when I use canned chickpeas, I rinse them really well to get that kind of stale water--okay.

(Rakesh) Yeah, exactly, but in this, you might want to just save just a little bit and add maybe a quarter... -To ensure creaminess.

-Just a little bit of creaminess and a little bit of-- just give it that natural salt that it already had.

And I don't really want to add any more salt.

So you're not gonna add salt to this?

(Rakesh) No, it's hit or miss, if you want to.

That's great because I'm not gonna add more salt to the next recipe.

(Rakesh) Oh, so this was a s-- You set me up for a selfish move.

All right, but I love garlic.

The nice thing about garlic, it also fools your taste buds into thinking something is a little salty.

-Right, it's more seasoned.

-Exactly.

(Christina) And also creates great high drama in life.

(Rakesh) Exactly, and then we're gonna save the lemon.

-We'll cut... -So you need nice ripe avocados for this, obviously.

(Rakesh) I love your knife, by the way.

(Christina) Thank you, so do I.

Usually I say people can use my toothbrush before they can use my knife, but you're special.

(Rakesh) Aww.

(laughing) (Christina) 'Cause your knife is your knife.

Your knife is very personal.

When you guys are cooking, your knife is your knife, right?

(Rakesh) Yeah, I...

This is a hybrid, isn't it?

-Ceramic and metal?

-Ceramic and metal, yup.

(Rakesh) All right, so, now, how do you take your pit out?

(Christina) I take the knife, turn it, pull it out.

-Go for it.

-Ohh.

If these are ripe enough, it'll work.

They're not.

There you go, like that.

-Want to do the other one too?

-No.

How do you do it?

(Rakesh) See, for safety reasons, exactly for that reason, I'm not sure sometimes how quickly and easily it's gonna pull out and, besides, I try to save my hands, so I just take a little scoop and rip the pit out.

(Christina) Oh, you do it the sissy way.

Get in there with those avocados.

(Rakesh) I used to fix broken hearts for a living.

-I can't damage my hands.

-Okay, that's true, that's true.

Chefs' hands are all beat up, so it doesn't matter so much.

(Rakesh) And then where would we be if I cut myself?

And we would wind up having to decontaminate everything.

(Christina) That's true.

That's true, and the show is vegan, so no animal food allowed in the hummus.

We have to keep everything vegan.

(Rakesh) All right, so we'll put two avocados in here.

(Christina) So it's two avocados to a can of chickpeas.

-Correct.

-This sounds yummy.

'Cause let me tell ya, I'm not-- and you guys know this about me, I'm not a big avocado eater on my own, like just straight up avocados.

They have to be part of something 'cause they're a little rich for me.

(Rakesh) And the beauty of this is it has omega-3s, it has other oils that are really good for you.

It helps control your cholesterol numbers and so forth.

-All right.

-Okay.

(Rakesh) All right.

-See, and then you have to... -I don't want to get my hands dirty 'cause I'm not cooking.

-See what I'm saying to ya?

-I got ya.

You know, I have one segment where I stay nice and clean.

Just one.

Now how much--so you're just gonna-- Do you use a gadget or... Yeah.

Best kitchen tools, your hands.

So while you're seasoning your hummus and making it, talk to me a little bit about, you know, what you're seeing.

You know, like, Americans really struggle with eating well for heart health.

So I know the machine is gonna be on, but, you know, kind of talk to me about what you see.

(Rakesh) Okay, let me just do this and then... -So the color is gorgeous too.

-Yeah.

And I... And I like to do this by itself original--initially just to get everything really ground down pretty nicely, and then I'll add in my oil.

(Christina) Okay, so you are gonna use a touch of oil?

-Olive or avocado?

-Avocado, yup.

Exactly, let's stick with the flavor profile, but, then, on the top we can garnish with olive.

-Garnish it with olive.

-Exactly.

Perfect, that looks really good.

(Christina) So there's your avocado oil there.

You can just stream it right in while it's mixing.

Lovely.

That's lovely.

-I love the color.

-It's about two tablespoons.

(Christina) So hummus is usually like Clark Kent beige, which is nice, but this has that beautiful... Like you want to serve this in the spring and summer -with the green color.

-Exactly, exactly.

(whirring) (Christina) That looks good.

-I'll stop that.

-So in your practice... And you've got a nice bowl over there you can finish into.

I'll help you clean up some of the little area here.

Um, are you seeing people becoming more aware about food, or is that part of your advice?

-The spatulas are there.

-Yup.

So it's really interesting.

Right, people want to learn how to cook healthy.

(Christina) They do?

You are seeing that more?

(Rakesh) They do, but it's really difficult.

They don't have the resources.

-Right.

-You know?

-You mean information.

-Information.

But aside from that, I think one of the other challenges is it's so easy to get processed foods and they're so much cheaper.

Maybe the challenge for the food industry is how about we make healthy foods cheaper than processed foods?

(Christina) Well, if we don't have subsidies...

There's no broccoli subsidy, we always joke, in our, you know, in our world.

It's like, well, there's no broccoli subsidy, so we don't... Oh, gosh, that looks--whoo!

(Rakesh) All right, so let's put that aside.

And, then, which one is our olive oil?

-Right there.

-That one.

-A little drizzle.

-Just a little drizzle on top.

(Christina) Oh my goodness.

Grab that pita.

Now you have strawberries for garnish.

You know, when I was in Israel, our host ate his hummus in the morning with grape jelly.

-Really?

-So it kind of was like a weird thing for me.

But now you asked for strawberries, so... (Rakesh) Well, so I love pomegranates on here, but it's hit or miss on the season, right?

But strawberries work really nicely, too.

(Christina) So you dip this with the strawberry?

(Rakesh) No, I'm gonna chop these gu--puppies up.

Oh, you're stirring them in.

(Rakesh) Or just garnish on top.

-Just... -Whoa, okay.

All right, it's not a flavor profile that I will tell you I'm familiar with, but I'm gonna--I'm gonna-- I trust you.

I may not want to, but I trust you.

(Rakesh) Ooh.

These are juicy.

-My God, they're sliding.

-Aren't they lovely?

(Rakesh) Yeah.

-It's the season, baby.

-It is.

-So... -So let's put these on top.

As we taste... (Rakesh) Wait, we're not done yet.

-We're not?

-No.

-We got to have our... -Okay.

Are we gonna cut pita or are we gonna tear it?

-Oh, how do you... -In our... (Rakesh) All right, then let's do that.

-Have a dip, shall we?

-We shall.

-Dr. Shah... -Now do we have any cilantro up here?

-Not in my world.

-I know.

(laughing) (Christina) So we're just gonna taste this.

Dr. Shah, thank you so much.

Cheers.

Thanks for--thanks for joining me.

It was great to have you.

(Rakesh) Thank you, this was a pleasure.

(Christina) Here you go, avocado hummus.

Yum.

-What do you think?

-That's so good.

-It works.

-Yeah!

-Can a vegetable be a fruit?

-A fruit can be a vegetable.

(boy) What?

It can be both?

(girl) What happens if you swallow the seeds?

(unintelligible) -I don't get it.

-I am so confused.

People are often confounded by what it means to live a plant-based lifestyle or eat a vegan diet or live greener.

So, in these series of segments, we've decided to try to clear a few things up.

I have some experts coming on, some people have questions for me, and we're gonna try to make things less confusing for everybody out there.

So, today, I'm being joined by Angela Yvonne.

You would know her from Vegan Pop Eats 2 on Instagram.

And, um, Angela travels around the country and the New York area and finds fabulous places to eat, but I understand you have a question for me today.

(Angela) Yes, the question that I have for you is that you are a pioneer in this space and you're doing it so eloquently, what still inspires you to still spread the message, and what also inspires you to forever be a student in this space?

Well, I'm gonna answer the second part first.

If you find in your life that you're not a student anymore and there's nothing more for you to learn, you should either go do something else or go sit on a mountain somewhere and get wisdom because that means you've become arrogant.

I'm surprised every day.

I'm inspired every day by what other people are doing, especially younger people.

Like, you're coming up, and all these young people who are out there changing the planet.

I mean, my generation, a big part of my generation is responsible for the planet being in the shape it's in.

But then there's this segment of my generation that pushed that rock uphill for years.

I mean, for me, I'm vegan for 37 years.

You wanted to have tofu, you made it from soybeans.

They had the little wooden presses and you made tofu.

I know, I know, we did.

And, actually, once, my husband and I decided to make it out of black soybeans, and it was lavender, and no one would eat it -because it was purple.

-But was it good?

(Christina) It was delicious, it tastes like tofu.

So, to see the progress that has come for plant-based eating and vegan lifestyle, and how we're no longer weirdos.

Nobody's asked me where I get my protein in a really long time.

Um, I'm inspired every day by the progress that we're making, by the people who are joining it, by the people who are no longer threatened by not eating meat, by people who no longer... Um, the first thing they say to me is, "Oh, you know, I eat less meat."

Whatever.

Like, it's now become-- it's part of our modern pop culture, as you know.

So, as long as I see people like you out there doing what you do, I feel like I'm leaving the planet in pretty good hands.

So, that's how I stay inspired.

So thank you for asking that.

I've been doing this a long time.

Yes, and you're doing it up here.

-Well, thank you, thank you.

-Your show is amazing, and I'm just so thankful that you asked me to be on it.

(Christina) Well, I'm grateful that you're in my world.

So there you go, stay inspired in your life and you'll always see progress.

So, now we're gonna make my absolute favorite dish ever, ever, ever, ever, ever I'm gonna share with you.

My grandmother used to make this.

No, my nonna used to make this.

In the north of Italy it's known as cecina.

In the southwest, it's known as farinatta.

In Puglia, it's known as panelle.

It translates to be a chickpea cake, and it could not be easier.

So, what I did was take chickpea flour, which is really, really super-fine flour made from chickpeas.

That's it, very simple.

And it goes into a bowl with twice the amount of water, and you whisk it really, really, really well to make sure that there's no lumps in it.

And then this has to soak for two to four hours before you can use it.

That's the biggest sort of thing, you have to soak it, right?

So once it's soaked, then we're gonna add to it three--two tablespoon-- two tablespoons.

Three?

Two?

Ah, whatever.

Two tablespoons of oil.

Olive oil, really good olive oil.

A generous pinch of salt.

Like that.

You whisk that in.

Now we're gonna chop some fresh rosemary which helps to balance blood sugar but also helps to balance the flavor of the chickpeas.

You can use fresh basil too, but rosemary is sort of the tradition, so I kind of want to go with rosemary.

And you just give it a chop, just a coarse chop.

And that's gonna go in, and we whisk again.

Now, here's the key to this recipe and the thing that you really have to do, you have to preheat your oven to 500, and you have to get a cast iron skillet that can go in the oven super, super, super hot.

I mean hot.

Okay?

So, to that pan we're gonna add three tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, and it's gonna sizzle when it hits the pan, so be careful.

This is what you want.

And you're gonna take this oil carefully... ...and make sure that it, like, runs a little bit up the edge, right?

Now you're gonna take your really hot batter-- Now I'm gonna need some help here 'cause this has to go right to the oven.

Eric Russo, subito.

Let's go!

It'll sizzle.

It goes right to the oven.

Bravo.

And that's gonna bake for 25 to 27 minutes.

The edges will get browned and it will be beautiful, and you'll see.

So let's come back in 25 minutes.

Okay, so it's been exactly 27 minutes and the farinatta should be perfect.

Oh, Eric?

Carino?

Oh, look at it.

You see how it sort of browned at the edges?

So, now, you take a spatula... ...and you slide it right out of the pan.

Run around the edge.

Slide it right out of the pan onto a serving plate.

And you'll see this, this is called lace, farinatta lace, and that goes on top and it's actually some of the best part of the farinatta.

So what are you waiting for?

Let's get back to the cutting board, and I'll see you next time on Christina Cooks, the macroterranean way.

(announcer) Underwriting for Christina Cooks is provided by Suzanne's Specialties, offering a full line of alternative vegan and organic sweeteners and toppings.

Suzanne's Specialties.

Sweetness the way Mother Nature intended.

Jonathan's Spoons, individually handcrafted from cherry wood, each designed with your hand and purpose in mind.

Additional funding is also provided by: You can find today's recipes and learn more by visiting our website at: And by following Christina on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.

The companion cookbook, "The Macroterranean Way," combines the Mediterranean diet with the ancient wisdom of Chinese medicine, allowing us to understand how food affects us so we can cook deliciously while creating the wellness we want.

To order your copy for $14.95 plus handling, call: Add "Back to the Cutting Board" and Christina's iconic "Cooking the Whole Foods Way," and get all three books for $49.95 plus handling, call: