- The Life of Loi is made possible by the Behrakis Family.

♪ ♪ Experience Abu Dhabi.

♪ ♪ The Greek National Tourism Organization.

And SALFO Engineering & Management.

♪ ♪ LOI: I am Maria Loi, executive chef of Loi Estiatorio in Manhattan.

When I was growing up in Thermo, a small village in Greece, food was a way of life.

The Mediterranean diet is considered the healthiest in the world.

And I have seen how it can truly change people's lives, like it changed mine.

And since then, my life has been all about the Mediterranean diet.

♪ ♪ Each season, I take the cornerstones of the Mediterranean diet and travel the world, learning about different cultures, gathering inspiration, exchanging ideas... - Oh!

LOI: And then, going back home to share with you.

♪ ♪ On this week's episode, we will be visiting Chef Mariam Almansoori, who is known for blending traditional Emirati recipes with international flavors.

We will be making her innovative cauliflower saffron hummus.

We will also visit my namesake, Chef Mario Loi, at his restaurant to make a unique bucatini dish.

Chef Mario beautifully blends Middle Eastern influences with his Mediterranean heritage.

Back in Greece, inspired by my travels, I'll be creating a lentil hummus and sioufichta, a special pasta dish which originated in Crete.

It's all happening now, on The Life of Loi.

Pame!

♪ ♪ As a little girl, she used to watch Julia Child on TV.

Her family is her biggest inspiration.

By adding her secret spices to her dishes, they become magical.

Her dream was to open her own restaurant, where people could feel like at home.

And she did.

My new friend, Chef Mariam Almansoori.

- Hi, nice to meet you.

It's my pleasure.

LOI: Thank you very much.

- Thank you.

LOI: She's very beautiful.

- Thank you.

(laughs) LOI: What are we going to do today?

- Okay, so today as we select something to be healthy, so we have a hummus, which is we are making from scratch.

We have the chickpea... LOI: Mm-hmm.

- Olive oil, we have a sea salt, garlic, our spices, which is like an Emirati spices, like a saffron and we call it the "red gold," and we have the tahina.

From this, once we are putting in our processor, just mix it, and we will get the nice textures of the hummus.

So first, we can... LOI: Okay.

- ...just put the hummus to be there.

LOI: Yeah.

- I think this amount is fair enough for one dish.

LOI: Yes.

May I?

- Yes.

LOI: No, something else you have in there.

Don't tell me that you don't have anything else.

- (chuckling): Actually, maybe the saffron itself, but what we are doing, by the way... LOI: Yeah.

- To get the full flavor of saffron... LOI: Mm-hmm.

- And this is what my mom, she teach me.

Don't keep the saffron like this, all powdery.

LOI: Mm-hmm.

- No, you can dissolve it in the hot water, and then you can use as the stock.

So with our magical... LOI: Okay, yeah.

- ...you can see, like, a spoon... LOI: Mm-hmm.

- We can just make the shaping.

We can just... LOI: It's so simple, people.

- Yes.

LOI: Okay.

No, no, no, no, no, no, no!

- (laughs) LOI: Excuse me, You can't lose that.

- (laughs) LOI: Mm.

- How do you feel it?

LOI: Perfect.

- Thank you.

So we can get our... LOI: I love it.

- ...all mix the greenery also.

We put it in the mixing bowl.

LOI: So, you can have these... Just with pita bread that we have.

Okay?

- Yes.

Yes, we can have it with a pita bread or some will like it-- you don't want to have, like, a carbohydrate... LOI: Yeah.

- Or he doesn't want to have a bread, it's already filling enough.

It's like a full of the combination, from the vegetable to chickpea to everything, So I think it's like a complete dish.

LOI: Ah, We have something else in common, too.

- Which one?

LOI: Cauliflower.

- Yes.

(chuckles) LOI: Cauliflower is one of my best vegetables.

It's anti-aging.

So this is roasted with the olive oil, with a touch of the olive oil.

And this is how is the way that we are getting the nice, smoothly cauliflower taste.

So now, after that... LOI: Yeah.

- We can mix some of the molasses.

LOI: What is in here?

- Just a touch-- so, some of the chefs, they are using the sugar, the white sugar, to-- to prepare the molasses.

From my side, I'm using the cane sugar.

So-- which is like, we can say this healthier and it's like natural coming from the, the tree itself.

Actually, as a chef, we like to work with our hands.

LOI: Yes.

♪ ♪ - Then you can put it here, in the middle.

LOI: Mm-hmm.

That's okay, that's enough.

- Yeah.

(Loi chuckles) - Now... LOI: I'm just going to eat it.

I have the nice touch of the cucumber.

LOI: Mm.

We're doing like this, right?

How?

- Yes, we are doing like that.

LOI: Like that, okay.

Mm-hmm.

- And then you can put it here.

LOI: Okay.

- Now we will put our cauliflower to be in touch.

LOI: Mm-hmm.

It's all for me, this one.

Forget it.

No one else will eat this.

- No one.

So, we have the almond.

LOI: Mm-hmm.

- We have quinoa.

We have the cranberry.

We have the feta cheese.

LOI: Because I see that you have in there... we call it álmi, the salty water.

- Okay, okay.

LOI: That's good.

That means that you're a very good chef.

- Well, this is how-- thank you, I appreciate it.

LOI: Yeah.

- So this is how, it's the way that we are.

We can say keep the textures of the feta cheese and the flavor of the feta cheese saved in this cup.

Then we have the beetroot, which is the baked beetroot.

It will give you a nice flavor at the same time... LOI: It's not flavor.

It's not flavor only.

It's very, very healthy.

- Healthy, yes.

LOI: And then?

- And then the pomegranate also.

LOI: Okay.

- Some of the edible flower, the nice color, it will give like the colorful of the dish itself.

LOI: It's so colorful, you don't need.

- (laughs) - Now we will put the feta cheese.

LOI (emphatically): Feta cheese.

- Feta cheese.

LOI: Bravo.

- (laughs) LOI: Okay.

- So now we will put the cranberry.

Then we will add some of the pomegranate also.

LOI: You can have the sweetness... - Yes.

LOI: And the good luck.

- Oh, really?

LOI: Yes.

- And touch of the... multi quinoas, this one.

So now... LOI: Okay.

- The nice touch can use the flower to be on.

LOI: That's beautiful.

- Yeah.

LOI: What about the almonds?

- And the almonds, I will put it after I put the drizzling of some of the olive oil.

So we have, like, the olive oil... (Loi laughs) Okay, so if like this... LOI: That's...!

- It would be something like this.

LOI: I love her.

Good.

- (laughs) - And now... LOI: Mm-hmm.

- The last touch.

LOI: Yeah.

- Which is my pleasure to have it from your side.

LOI: May I?

- Yes.

LOI: Okay, so... - It's your dish.

LOI: Okay, you know what?

I'm going to do like that.

- Yeah.

This is what I like to do, always.

LOI: Okay, yeah.

And then, I'll put it on the top.

- Yeah.

LOI: It's so beautiful.

You don't want to eat it.

Well, I thought it was finished, because I cannot wait to taste it.

But Chef said, we have to put... this.

- The beetroot pickle.

LOI: And why we didn't add it before?

She didn't want to make everything red in the salad.

That's a smart move.

Right?

- Thank you.

LOI: So, may I add it?

- Yes, please.

LOI: Mmm.

(clinking forks) - So now, the time for...

Thank you.

(both laugh) LOI: Thank you.

I don't want even to mix it.

- Actually, same to me, by the way.

LOI: It's so beautiful.

- This is when I said keep it clicking for this dish.

LOI: But I need to go deep down, you know, for the hummus.

- (laughs) - Thank you for coming.

(Loi laughs) It was our pleasure to have you at Montauk.

LOI: Thank you.

♪ ♪ Here we are again.

We're going to make a recipe of hummus with my favorite chef in Corfu, Tassos Andriotis.

We're going to show you something easy and super tasty and super healthy.

Right, Tassos?

- Right.

LOI: Let's start.

- First, to start, cut... slowly.

LOI: Wrong.

- Why?

LOI: Wrong.

Here.

See?

This is the way.

- Okay, okay.

LOI: Bravo!

- (sighing): Ah, okay.

Yes.

LOI: See?

- Now I understand.

LOI: You do, okay.

- And now...

It's not very easy, but... Look.

LOI: Okay, that's enough.

- I'm good?

LOI: We don't-- yeah, we don't need more.

Do you like garlic?

- Of course.

LOI: And then, we'll add some olive oil.

- Of course.

LOI: We made this hummus-- the basic, as we say-- we made it with chickpeas.

Here you see, that's how they are dry.

Dry, and then they're boiled.

Bravo.

See it's so soft and so nice.

- It's smooth, it's... LOI: Yes, very.

Okay, we'll add some pepper... and some salt.

But we're not adding a lot of salt, because we're going to add lemon.

- Okay.

LOI: Or you like lime?

- Mmm, I think lime.

LOI: All right, so we go like this... and then we cut it.

Just a touch.

- Oh... LOI: Because it's a bit bitter.

So, mix it again.

And, I'll tell you something.

In America, they love beans, especially these beans.

The red beans.

Look how good they are.

- This looks very... LOI: Nice, eh?

- Tasty, yes.

It's Loi way for a hummus.

LOI: It's our way now.

- (laughs) Have you put something else, or... LOI: Like what?

- Lentils, or... LOI: You can do that.

So, lentils, right?

- Perfect.

LOI: Okay.

There you are.

♪ ♪ - It smells... very... perfect, very...

Perfect.

(Loi chuckles) LOI: It's so good and so tasty.

Mm.

- You need only grilled bread, maybe?

Or... (laughing): Who doesn't have a... LOI: No bread.

No bread.

Ah!

(laughing): You plated the right way!

- (laughs) LOI: Okay.

- That's it.

LOI: How's that?

- Perfect.

LOI: Okay, let's continue.

We have again... our hummus, plain.

Do you see the florina peppers?

- Of course.

LOI: My favorite.

So I blend them here.

I add olive oil, and now, I'm going to add... of course, my favorite one.

I will add some olive oil, so you can mix it.

- Perfect, yes.

LOI: And then I'll do something else.

This is spicy, hm?

I love spicy.

Depends what you like.

But put some spice in your life.

You can add as much as you want in here.

- One more?

LOI: Yes!

Come on, Tassos, put the whole thing.

- (laughs) LOI: Don't be stingy.

- It is the right way.

Perfect.

(both laugh) LOI: Are you hungry?

- (laughing): Yes.

LOI: Okay.

Nice, huh?

- (chuckling): Bo-bo-bo-bo... LOI: (mimicking): Bo-bo-bo-bo.

- (laughs) LOI: What about dill?

- Dill?

LOI: Okay.

And?

- Olive oil, of course.

Amazing.

LOI: Done.

- Amazing.

♪ ♪ - Can I try, please?

Mm.

Fantastic.

LOI: Tasso.

Remember when we were kids, how we were?

Nobody is eating here now.

- Can I?

LOI: Of course.

- Mm.

LOI: Mm.

Bye!

- Bye.

LOI: Yassou!

♪ ♪ You know me, Maria Loi.

But now, you are going to know Chef Mario Loi.

So, Mario, yassou.

Ciao?

- Ciao.

Hello.

LOI: Hello.

- Salam alaykum.

LOI: Oh!

(laughs) Well, you have 11 years here, so this way you know, right?

- Absolutely.

LOI: What are we going to make, Chef?

- So, we're going to make a bucatini pasta with roasted local tomatoes, a tomato sauce, some caper leaves for a bit of a Greek element, and some fresh capers as well to add a bit of saltiness.

Finishing it off with a beautiful Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.

LOI: So, you have the world here?

- Pretty much, yeah.

LOI: Right?

- All my heritage, all your heritage.

LOI: So, what do you need?

I will be your sous chef.

- Absolutely.

Okay, so we're going to start with some datterini tomatoes.

These are actually grown in the chef's garden in the back.

And we're going to slice them in half.

If you don't mind just putting a bit of olive oil into the pan.

LOI: Olive oil is in my heart.

- This is the basis of Mika's cooking, to be honest with you.

The root of all the cooking at Mika's is olive oil.

It's a wonderful ingredient.

Like, I couldn't make this restaurant without, you know, some good quality olive oil.

LOI: Yeah.

And a passion for local.

- Absolutely, absolutely.

LOI: And a passion for sustainability.

- Absolutely.

LOI: He has everything.

- Yeah, thank you.

LOI: All right.

- So, we've just chopped those in half, okay?

LOI: Okay.

- And we're just going to pop them into the oil.

LOI: Yes.

- A nice little sauté, break them down.

We'll add some salt and pepper to that as well.

LOI: May I?

- Absolutely, go ahead.

LOI: Next?

- Put a bit of black pepper in there as well.

LOI: Black pepper, okay.

(grinding peppercorns) And you can add a lot of pepper, because I like spicy.

- Oh, absolutely.

I mean if you're a big fan of spice, you're always welcome to add a bit of chili to this.

You can add some chili flakes.

We're not going to do it now, but it will, it'll work out really well.

All right, so we'll cook that down a little bit.

Perfect.

LOI: Yeah.

- Okay, next step now, once they've started sautéing a bit, they've started to blister, I'm going to add a touch of a garlic purée, but I'm going to lower the temperature a little bit; I don't want the garlic to burn.

I'll say half a spoon.

I mean, if you prefer, you can do it... (laughs) If you're a big fan of garlic, beautiful.

Okay, look at that.

LOI: Yeah.

- So now I'm only going to cook that down very briefly, because, you know, once garlic burns, it starts to get really bitter.

But you can smell those beautiful Italian aromas.

Now let's add some roasted tomato sauce.

So I've just increased the temperature a little bit.

LOI: Okay.

- Fantastic.

LOI: Oh my goodness, it's so good.

- It's looking good, it's smelling good.

Comfort food, that's the food I like.

LOI: That's the food that we should eat.

- Absolutely.

LOI: Why did you name the... name the... Mika, why?

- Well, that's a... that's a-- interesting story, actually.

LOI: Okay.

- If you look at this mural, there's two little paw prints at the top there.

And those little paw prints are actually my dog's paw prints.

So the restaurant is named after my dog.

LOI: Okay, so... - Okay, so now, the sauce is reduced down.

We just do a bit of... LOI: Capers?

Okay.

- Capers, yeah.

- We can just kind of use our hands.

LOI: Okay.

- It adds a nice bit of saltiness to the dish.

I mean, if you want, you could use anchovies as well.

It's a nice bit of saltiness, it works really well.

LOI: If you like.

- If you like, absolutely.

So I'm going to... LOI: I love capers.

- And then, yeah, absolutely beautiful flavor.

So now, I'm happy with that.

We've got our garlic in, we've got our sauce is reduced.

LOI: Okay.

- Now we have our cooked bucatini, and we will put that into the pan as well.

LOI: Excellent.

Here you are, Chef.

- Okay, I'm going to use my hands as well.

LOI: Yeah, of course.

- Okay, so this is cooked bucatini.

Very similar to spaghetti.

The only difference of bucatini is it has a hole running through it.

LOI: May I add something?

- Absolutely.

You can never have too much olive oil.

LOI: Did you hear what he said?

Could you please repeat it?

- (laughing): You can never have too much olive oil.

LOI: That's it.

And this olive oil comes from... Sicily.

- Sicily, correct, yeah.

LOI: So, let's go.

- Fantastic.

Okay, so, our pasta is ready.

LOI: Mm-hmm.

And that's what I like.

The way that you do in your family.

- (chuckles) ♪ ♪ And then finally, I'm just going to dress it with some... some caper leaves.

LOI: Ah, I knew it!

(both laugh) - Caper leaves are less... probably less intense than the actual capers themselves.

Also a little bit kind of salty, but it pairs really well with the tomato sauce.

LOI: Sorry, I can't help it.

- No, go ahead, absolutely.

Cooking and enjoying.

So there's our caper leaves.

And then, I will take some Parmesan cheese.

The king of cheeses.

LOI: No.

No.

- Correct.

LOI: Let's fight.

- (laughs) LOI: No.

- Are you going to say feta?

LOI: Of course!

- (laughs) LOI: Two forks.

But... - (laughs) But...

I am not going to give you anything!

- It's all yours.

LOI: Okay.

- I hope you enjoy it.

LOI: I mean it.

- I'll see how you react first, and then I'll have a taste afterwards.

LOI: No, no, no.

You can have it later by yourself.

- Deal.

LOI: I love the way you serve it.

- Thank you.

LOI: This is the way that you have to do it in your home as well.

Just do the way you like it.

Just... make sure that it's tasty like this one, okay?

And... Share it.

Because food is love.

- Absolutely.

LOI: And when it comes from the Loi family... - (laughs) LOI: The double Loi families, you know?

It's a lot of love.

Yassou, cheers.

♪ ♪ Again, we were in Yas Island, or Yes Island, like I named it.

And we cooked, you know, with Mario Loi.

Mario Loi.

(laughs) My friend Tassos here, my chef friend.

He says, "Where did you find Mario Loi?"

- You find chef with the, with the same name?

LOI: Yeah.

- (laughs) Incredible.

LOI: That's it.

And-- now, he comes from Sardinia.

- Ah, okay.

LOI: His family, where my family comes from.

So now we are trying to find out if we are relatives.

And he made all this... pasta, he said that pasta is Italian.

I said, "Of course not, pasta is Greek."

And we were fighting.

And I said, "Okay, I'm going to make today's sioufichta."

So this way he will see.

This comes from ancient Greece, especially in Crete.

We're going to make a sauce.

It's so easy recipe.

Instead of mac and cheese, you can make this.

Super easy.

You like my knife-- purple, purple?

- Yes, it's the same color.

LOI: It's nice, huh?

My sister Niki gives me everything.

We leave it a bit, just to caramelize, you know?

- Yes.

LOI: And how to make your life easier, to caramelize, add salt.

- Oh.

LOI: This is the real caramelization.

- Another secret.

(chuckles) LOI: It is, it is.

Ena... dio... tria.

- One more.

LOI: One, two, three.

It's the spoons.

That's how my grandma was counting those table spoons.

You can use fresh tomato, but please, for this recipe, use canned tomato, but make sure... no sodium.

♪ ♪ (inhales) And it smells so good.

So, at this stage, okay, you should leave it like five, six minutes, to cook it.

And you can add anything you like in here.

Even chicken-- cooked chicken, no?

But I will add pepper.

Yeah.

You can add red pepper as well.

(sniffs) Oh, God, how fresh it is.

- (inhales) Oh, yes.

Rosemary.

Dendrolívano.

(sniffs) - Nice.

LOI: Oh wow, wow, wow.

(speaking Greek) - (sniffs, small sigh) LOI: This is Greece.

Isn't it beautiful?

- Yes.

LOI: You can use any pasta you like, but make sure that you cook it al dente.

Can I have the cheeses now?

- Feta or anthotyro?

LOI: Both.

- Okay, both.

Yes.

LOI: So, I'll take the feta first-- and don't put those white cheeses and tell me that is feta.

No!

Feta is only from goat's and sheep milk.

No cow's milk.

It's just a white cheese.

You want some more in there?

- Yes, of course.

LOI: Yeah.

Okay... - A little more.

LOI: And more?

Okay.

- Yes.

LOI: And anthotyro.

- And anthotyro.

LOI: Anthotyro is so soft, and it comes from Crete.

I know you cannot find Anthotyro from Crete, except if you are in the big cities, now they have it.

But you can use ricotta, it's okay.

I'm part Italian, like Mario Loi.

You can use this, as it is, for any sauce.

Have it with chicken, with fish, with meat, anything.

So now we are done here.

So... - And now it's ready?

LOI: Oh, it's going to be in the oven - Okay.

LOI: Okay?

For 20 minutes.

- Only?

LOI: That's all.

Yeah.

I will add a-- a few pieces of feta on the top.

Okay?

- Ah, yes.

LOI: And then, you take it to the oven.

Bravo.

You see why we didn't add salt?

- Yes.

LOI: Because feta is salty.

Perfect.

- Perfect.

LOI: Could you take this inside?

- I'm going.

LOI: Thank you, Tassos.

♪ ♪ I like that you add some more feta.

- (laughs) Wow, wow, wow.

That's... (laughs) You mouth is watering, right?

- (laughing): Yes.

♪ ♪ - That's good.

LOI: How's that?

- It's beautiful, like a painting.

LOI: You know what?

We're not going to eat this.

You take it.

For later.

Come over here.

- Ah, it's better for me.

(laughs) ♪ ♪ - It's very tasty.

These recipes, like life.

LOI: Tasty, healthy, easy.

- And now?

LOI: The liquid gold.

We have to show to people how to live healthy.

(glasses clink) Yassou.

- Yassou.

LOI: And yassou!

And remember... metron ariston.

Everything in moderation, except love, olive oil and good deeds.

Yassou!

- The Life of Loi is made possible by the Behrakis Family.

♪ ♪ Experience Abu Dhabi.

♪ ♪ The Greek National Tourism Organization.

And SALFO Engineering & Management.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪