THE European Co K Book
THE European Co K Book
THE European Co K Book
THE
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EUROPEAN
CO K
BOOK
HEALTHY DIETS, HEALTHY HEARTS
Photography
Paolo Zappaterra
Nutritional tables
Giovanni Cassani and Isabelle Zucchi
Linguistic Consultant
Mike Nugent and Neil O’Brien
Graphics
Valentina Steffenini
The contents of this book have purely an informative value. The choice or the prescription of a dietary therapy
rests with the individual general practitioner who would be able to ascertain eventual side effects (allergies, food
poisoning or intolerance to certain food substances).
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INTRODUCTION
There is no doubt that cardiologists are fulfilling this mission. Of the 10 years
increase in lifespan which has occurred in the last 50 years, we have
contributed to 6 years and 9 months. This is a huge achievement. The bad news
is that, despite this success, every 20 seconds someone suffers a heart attack
and every minute one individual dies from one. It follows that we have not
solved the problem but rather transformed an acute disease into a chronic one.
It is evident that to fulfil our mission we do not have to only treat, but we
should prevent cardiovascular diseases from occurring. Prevention is
awareness and a change of lifestyle, including our eating habits.
But The European Cook Book is more than a collection of recipes. It endeavours
to serve an educational purpose, explaining what cardiovascular diseases are
and also providing suggestions on healthy ingredients and food preparation.
The table of ingredients also allows the reader to prepare favourite recipes making
them healthier just by adjusting the proportion of “good” or “bad” ingredients.
However, we have to say that The European Cook Book is also a cultural adventure.
Interestingly enough, there is no one European cuisine as such. From a
culinary point of view, Europe is a fusion of two very different cultures. The
Greek and Roman culture based on agriculture (fruit & vegetables), olive oil
and wine and the Nordic culture based on hunting (meat), beer and butter.
The gradient and consequently the interaction between the two different
cultures becomes very evident to the reader whilst sampling menus typically
from northern Europe or those of the southern Mediterranean countries.
Claudia and I enjoyed putting this book together. The recipes were prepared
and photographed at our home in Ferrara. We hope that our personal visual
interpretation of the recipes will be appreciated by each participating society.
The preparation of this book has shown that the European Society of
Cardiology is a true family. We did this together, despite the geographical
and cultural distances between us and we did it for a worthwhile cause –
prevention of cardiovascular diseases.
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AUTHORS
Claudia Florio is a film director. The original idea for European Heart
for Children came from her and she convinced her husband, Roberto
Ferrari, and the incoming ESC President, Michel Komajda to
establish the foundation. Since the creation of European Heart for
Children, she has dedicated part of her time in humanitarian
enterprises. She happily made her home kitchen available for the
preparation and photography of each individual dish.
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SUMMARY
Treatment 22
Hypertension 26
Different types 28
Symptoms 29
Diagnosis 30
Treatment 30
Diabetes 34
Different types 36
Symptoms 36
Treatment 37
Hypercholesterolemia 48
Treatment 50
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Smoking 59
Main ingredients 64
Different chemicals 65
Items of food 74
Useful tips 92
Stocks 95
Carpaccio 97
Acknowledgements 328
9
THE CARDIOVASCULAR
SYSTEM
The heart
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The heart
The heart is divided into a left and right side by For example, venous blood enters the right
a muscular wall known as the septum. atrium, the atrium contracts and pushes the
blood into the right ventricle through the
The right and left sides of the heart are further tricuspid valve.
divided into two top chambers, named atria,
and two bottom ones, named ventricles. Once the right ventricle is full, the tricuspid
valve shuts, preventing the blood from flowing
The right atrium receives blood from the veins backwards into the atria when the ventricle
and transfers it (through a valve called the contracts.
tricuspid valve) to the right ventricle, which then
pumps it into the lungs. As the right ventricle contracts, it pushes the
venous blood into the pulmonary artery, which
The valves of the heart are similar to the one-way is also called an artery despite the fact that it
valve used in plumbing and prevent the blood carries the venous blood to the lungs. From
from flowing in the wrong direction. there it releases the carbon dioxide into the
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Heart valves
Normally, the heart beats around 50 to 70 times
per minute.
So, the heart is a fantastic engine which allows The heart is like the pump in the aquarium
the blood to circulate through the body. which continuously pumps and recycles the
water.
But . . . what an engine!
This pump needs to be linked to electricity,
The heart beats continuously, night and day, which provides energy enabling it to function.
every day of the year, averaging 100,000 beats
per day and pumping 9,000 litres of blood in 24 Equally, the heart needs energy to beat and this
hours. is provided by the blood (or more specifically
by the oxygen contained in the blood) which, in
The cardiovascular system can be compared to turn, reaches the heart through the coronary
an aquarium: the entire system is full of blood arteries.
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CORONARY ARTERY
DISEASE
a) Angina
b) Heart attack
c) Arrhythmias
d) Heart failure
Treatment
a) Prevention
b) Pharmacological
c) Interventional
d) Surgical
e) Treatment of heart failure
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19
HYPERTENSION
Different types
Symptoms
Diagnosis
Treatment
a) Diet
b) Physical exercise
c) Treatments and drugs
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ARTERIAL HYPERTENSION
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First Course
Bučnica
Main Course
Tuna pašticada
Dessert
Shaky cake
Croatian
CARDIAC SOCIETY
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Bučnica 1. Fry the tuna slices on both sides in a non-stick
(pumpkin strudel) pan with the olive oil, until they reach a nice
brown colour.
This is a traditional Croatian autumn recipe.
2. Add some roughly chopped garlic, the
Serves 6 vinegar, a pinch of salt and pepper and the
400 g of fresh low-fat cottage cheese cloves.
1 egg 3. Cover the pan and simmer, adding some
500 g of grated pumpkin red wine every now and then, and a few
2 sheets of strudel pastry (or 4 sheets, tbsp of water if it gets too dry.
if they are very thin) 4. After 35 minutes, add the prunes and the
1 tbsp of low-fat yoghurt Dalmatian prosecco. Simmer for a further
pinch of low-sodium salt 10 minutes.
5. Remove from the heat and rest for 10
1. Salt the pumpkin and, after 10 minutes, minutes before serving.
squeeze as much liquid from it as you can. Serve with potato gnocchi and lettuce or
2. Discard the liquid and mix the pumpkin well radicchio salad. Perfect with a glass of
with the fresh cottage cheese and the egg. Plavac or Terrano wine.
3. Spread this mixture evenly over the sheets
of pastry, then roll them. This will make Kcal/portion 316 Carbohydrates g 19
2 strudels. Protein g 30 Cholesterol mg 94
4. Pour a little yoghurt over the rolls and bake Lipids g 14 Sodium mg 62
them in the oven at 180° for about 20 minutes.
5. Allow them to cool for 30 minutes before
serving.
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Tuna Pašticada
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First Course
Freshwater perch ceviche
Main Course
Arctic char with mushroom
and parsnip purée
Dessert
Apple oatmeal crumble
Finnish
CARDIAC SOCIETY
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First Course
Spaghetti with swordfish
Main Course
Anchovy pie
Dessert
Pear tart
Italian
FEDERATION OF CARDIOLOGY
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Spaghetti with pinch of coarse salt and the spaghetti.
swordfish Cook only until the pasta is “al dente”
(check the packaging for cooking times).
(Picture page 189) 10. Drain in a colander (saving a ⅓ cup of the
Serves 4 drained water) and add the pasta to the
frying pan with the fish and tomato mixture.
300 g of spaghetti
11. Continue to cook, gradually adding the
200 g of fresh swordfish
saved water. Add the aubergine and
150 g of fresh pachino tomatoes, sliced in half
chopped parsley before removing from the heat.
1 small aubergine
Be careful not to overcook the spaghetti.
2 cloves of garlic
Serve immediately.
4 tsp of extra virgin olive oil
⅓ cup of white wine
3 tbsp of chopped parsley Kcal/portion 397
1 small chilli pepper Protein g 19
Lipids g 8
pinch of low-sodium salt Carbohydrates g 61
freshly ground black pepper Cholesterol mg 42
Sodium mg 69
1. Wash, peel and cut the aubergine in half
lengthways. Sprinkle with a little salt, place
in a colander with a weighted saucer on
top, and allow to drain for 30 minutes. Anchovy pie
2. Rinse off the salt, then dry with kitchen Serves 6
paper and cut into chunks. 400 g of fresh anchovies
3. Heat 2 tsp of extra virgin olive oil in a 400 g of potatoes
heavy-based pan over a medium heat. Add 200 g of fresh tomato sauce
one peeled clove of garlic, halved, and the 3 tbsp of breadcrumbs
chilli pepper. As soon as the garlic begins 3 tbsp of chopped fresh thyme
to brown, remove it from the pan. Add the 4 tbsp of chopped fresh parsley
chunks of aubergine and cook for a few 4 tsp of extra virgin olive oil
minutes. Put to one side. For a healthier pinch of low-sodium salt and
dish, use water instead of the olive oil. freshly ground pepper
4. Clean the swordfish and remove any dark
skin. Dry it with kitchen paper and cut into 1. Clean and bone the anchovies, removing
small chunks. the heads and insides. Dry with kitchen
5. Heat 2 tsp of extra virgin olive oil in a large paper and fold them flat.
non-stick frying pan. Cut the other peeled 2. Grease the bottom of a Pyrex dish with 2
clove of garlic in two, add it to the oil, allow tsp of extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle with
to brown slightly, then remove. Again, use 2 tbsp of breadcrumbs (remove any excess
water instead of olive oil if you wish. breadcrumbs by turning the dish upside
6. Add the swordfish pieces. Stir fry for a few down).
minutes until lightly browned. Add the white 3. Peel the potatoes and cut into very thin
wine and reduce the liquid until it has round slices.
almost completely evaporated and is thick. 4. Place one layer of the potato slices (about
7. Wash and cut the tomatoes in half, then one third of the potatoes) on the bottom of
add them to the fish. the Pyrex dish. Sprinkle with salt, pepper,
8. Season with freshly ground black pepper 1 tbsp of breadcrumbs, 1 tbsp of thyme
and a pinch of salt. Continue to cook for and 2 tbsp parsley. Lightly spoon about half
several minutes. of the tomato sauce over the layer of
9. Bring a large pot of water to the boil. Add a potatoes.
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Pear tart
Serves 4
4 pears (medium)
1 egg
3 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil
½ cup of low-fat milk
50 g of flour
2 tsp of dried yeast
1 tbsp of vanilla extract
1 tbsp of icing sugar (not suitable
for diabetics)
pinch of low-sodium salt
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
327
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Belorussian
SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY
OF CARDIOLOGISTS
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329
Copyrights
The images on p. 23, from p. 26 to p.28, from p.31 to p.33, p. 37, p. 39, p. 40, from p.45 to p. 47, from p.51 to
p. 62, from p. 64 to p. 70, p. 72, from p. 74 to p. 91, p. 95, p. 97, p.191, p.258, p. 298 were provided by and are
property of © Shutterstock.
The images on p. 34, p.200 were provided by and are property of © Stockfood.
All other illustrations were provided by Paolo Zappaterra and Colorblack. While every effort has been made to
obtain permission to reproduce published material, the publisher will be pleased to make the necessary
arrangements at the first opportunity if any such material have been included inadvertently.
Care has been taken to confirm the accuracy of the information presented and to describe generally accepted
practices. However, the authors, editors and publisher are not responsible for errors or omissions or for any
consequences of application of the information in this book.
Application of this information in a particular situation remains the professional responsibility of the practitioner.
All rights are reserved, including that of translation into other languages.
This book is protected by copyright. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form
or by any means, electronically or mechanically, including photocopying, recording or any storage or
retrieval system without prior permission in writing from the European Society of Cardiology,
Roberto Ferrari and Claudia Florio.
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THE EUROPEAN CO K BOOK