The 17 Best Vegetables To Grow for Following the Mediterranean Diet
Are you in love with Mediterranean cuisine? Do you wish you could fill up on baba ganoush and tabbouleh every day? Chefs agree—the secret to incredible Mediterranean food is using fresh ingredients.
The good news is you don’t need to call Italy home to eat as if you live there. If your growing zone can support a tomato, then there are plenty of ingredients for Mediterannean food you can grow at home. Having easy access to fresh herbs, eggplant, tomatoes, and more will make it possible for you to make dinners that comply with the Mediterranean diet.
If you’re serious about eating like you’re in the Italian countryside, here are 17 vegetables to add to your gardening plan this year. Each is used in a variety of Mediterranean cooking and ensures you’ll have plenty of options for cooking nutritious, delicious cuisine at home.
Sweet basil is a species of mint plant native to Asia and Africa. It is a popular houseplant, and thrives when it receives plenty of regular sun and water. This plant is also easy to transfer from one soil environment to another. The edible Sweet basil leaves can be eaten fresh or dried with pizza, salads, soups, teas, and many other dishes.
Oregano (Origanum vulgare) is a herbaceous perennial plant closely related to marjoram. Ancient Greeks and Romans considered it a symbol of happiness. It is one of the most popular spice herbs, used in various cuisines all over the world. Oregano oil can be derived from the plant as well. Unfortunately, legal action has been required to stop suppliers of the oil from falsely claiming unproven health benefits.
Tomato is an annual or perennial herbaceous vine native to Central and South America that produces a large, juicy, edible fruit known as Tomato. Today there are over 10000 cultivated varieties. Although tomato is the world’s most popular vegetable, botanically it is a fruit.
The Peppers is a plant that produces bright red pepper vegetables. This chili pepper is commonly used for cooking in places such as the Southern U.S. and Central America. Most are moderately spicy, though because there are so many variants, the spice level can vary dramatically. Cayenne powder is also a popular seasoning product made from Peppers plants.
Eggplant (Solanum melongena) is a plant species related to nightshade and native to India. Eggplant is grown worldwide for its edible purple fruit. The spongey and absorbent fruit is a staple in Eastern cuisines. This plant is known as “brinjal” in South Africa and Asia, while Britains call it “aubergine”.
Despite the name, the Chinese white olive is not related to Olive at all. The name of this evergreen tree comes from its olive-like fruit, with edible pulp and seeds. The tree is regularly cultivated in East Asia and the pulp and the seeds are sold in food markets. The fruit can be preserved like a common olive, but it can be also eaten fresh. The seeds are used for manufacturing culinary oil.
Cucumber (Cucumis sativus) is a creeping vine native to South Asia. It has a long history of cultivation – mentions of its use are found in various ancient scripts, including the Bible, Epic of Gilgamesh and Pliny the Elder’s “Natural History“. Today, Cucumber is one of the most widely cultivated vegetable species in the world.
Common fig, colloquially known as the Common fig, is a deciduous small tree or shrub widely known for its sweet, chewy fruits. This shrubby plant has a very, very long cultivation history. The earliest evidence of its cultivation was found in the Jordan Valley and go all the way back to the tenth millennium BC.
Wine grape (Vitis vinifera) is a woody, fruit-bearing vine with a very long and vivid history of cultivation for culinary, recreational, and ritualistic purposes – most notably in winemaking. The earliest known evidence of domesticated wine grapes has been identified in Georgia, and carbon dating traces its domestic origins all the way back to 6000 BC. In addition to wine, the fruit of the Wine grape is eaten in the form of grapes, raisins, and currants.
Globe artichoke (Cynara scolymus) is a popular vegetable that has been cultivated for thousands of years in the Mediterranean region. Its blossoms are harvested before blooming, at which time they will bloom with hundreds of purple tendrils. The Globe artichoke’s flowers are nutritious when cooked, and are found in many Italian dishes as well as teas.
Garden asparagus (Asparagus officinalis) is a flowering plant species that undergoes photosynthesis in its stems and branchlets. Garden asparagus has a long history of cultivation for culinary and agricultural purposes. The ancient Greeks first cultivated this plant 2,500 years ago.
The Beet (Beta vulgaris) provides a variety of uses for food products and garden growth. The roots are commonly consumed as nutrient-rich vegetables, the body of the sugar beet is used to make table sugar, and the leaves are harvested as a separate vegetable: chard. In 18th-Century Silesia, an area that is now part of Poland, the first-ever beet sugar extraction plant was created by a royal decree from the king.
Coriander is well-known in many countries and is most commonly used for cooking. The dried seeds of the Coriander plant are ground and used to season dishes, while the leaves and stems can be eaten cooked or raw. In the United States, the leaves and stems of this plant are called cilantro.
Garlic (Allium sativum) is an extremely popular garden plant because of its use for flavoring dishes, as well as its ease of care and growth. It is traditionally planted in autumn and harvested in mid-summer. This plant is also called the stinking rose, and it is useful as an insect repellent in gardens. Garlic is important to Korean creation myths, and is believed to ward off vampires and other spirits in European folklore.
Onion (Allium cepa) is an onion species commonly known for its ubiquitous culinary applications. The Onion is toxic to a variety of animals. Aside from its many culinary uses, the Onion is often used to teach students how to use a microscope because its cells are very large and easy to visualize.
Apricot (Prunus armeniaca) is a fruit-bearing plant species native to Asia. Although the genus name, “Prunus,” means plum, the fruits of this tree are actually apricots. The seeds are occasionally used as substitutes for almonds because they share a similar shape and nutty taste. The Apricot has been cultivated by humans for centuries, and was even discovered in the remains of ancient Armenian settlements.
Chick Pea (Cicer arietinum) is an annual, bushy plant widely grown for its nutritious seeds, also called chickpeas. They are high in protein and fiber. They contain iron, phosphorus and folic acid. The plant blooms in summer and seeds ripen about four months after planting.