Yet another study came out this week touting the health benefits of a Mediterranean diet rooted in whole grains — and like every other such study, the news was greeted with a collective “meh.” Every time I hear that this diet is good for me, I use it as an excuse to drink red wine and eat dark chocolate — and change very little else.

Maybe this is why Cambridge’s Maria Speck is such a good ambassador for the Mediterranean way of eating — she doesn’t care about the health benefits. Speck, the author of Ancient Grains for Modern Meals, eats whole grains simply because they’re delicious. When she talks about grains, she rhapsodizes about the nuttiness of buckwheat, the bite of quinoa, the warmth of amaranth — but the word “fiber” never once comes out of her mouth.

Even though this February has been absurdly mild, New Englanders still face another couple of months of long, dark nights and grey-tinged days. At this time of the year, a bowl of warm grains is a comforting thing. Because of this — and in anticipation of her upcoming lecture at Boston University, which is open to the public — we spoke to her about weeknight cooking, easy baking, and good German bread. Plus — a recipe!

PRK: Because it’s February right now, we’re writing a lot about comfort food. A lot of people associate whole grains with health, but do they have a place there, as well?

MS: Absolutely! […] Basically, whole grains have so many textures and flavors, and there are comforting grains as well. And a lot of people don’t know that. One of the misconceptions about whole grains is it’s all very chewy. And yes, there are chewy whole grains, but there are comforting grains as well. […] Millet is vastly underrated. There’s polenta – cornmeal – which is a wonderful comforting grain in the south, obviously, where it is known as grits. And then you have also Buckwheat, which has a wonderful comforting side. I even include quinoa, which has a very slight, gentle crunch, but can be used in a comforting stew or soup. […] I’ve been working amaranth a lot – a warming breakfast bowl of amaranth is fantastic. Another comforting grain – we were raised on it – is obviously a bowl of oatmeal.

PRK: I think a lot of cooks are also under the impression that whole grains are harder to work with. Are they wrong?

MS: Whole grains are as easy to boil as pasta. There’s really nothing complicated about cooking whole grains, and I really stress that. Basically in my book, what I’ve done is I’ve separated grains into quick-cooking and slow-cooking whole grains. And I’ve done that exactly for that reason – to help people see how easy it is. For these quick-cooking grains, you boil them in a little water and then you can bring them to your table in about fifteen to twenty minutes. And these are quinoa, a very trendy grain that lots of people have added to their table. There’s bulgur, a fantastic quick-cooking grain, that’s ready in fifteen minutes… there’s millet, and whole wheat cous cous, which just needs a quick steaming.

All of these are extremely versatile in the kitchen and cook really fast, so I think they’re ideal for a busy life. My training is in journalism, so always I’ve had a very busy career, and I’ve always eaten whole grains – because during the workweek I grab these quick grains.

And then when I have a bit more time, I have slow-cooking grains…  like whole wheat berries, whole rye, hulled barley, spelt, kamut… I call these “supremely textured.” I love their chewiness. But I love it sometimes. Sometimes I want comforting grains, sometimes I want chewy. So what I do, I take these slow-cooking grains and I prepare them ahead of time.

[…] For these slow-cooking grains I strongly encourage people to soak them, which makes them infinitely more pleasurable to eat. They plump up really nice and often become more digestible, which I prefer. […] So you soak them, and then simmer for about 45 minutes to an hour.

PRK: I like to make bread, though, and it’s always a little bit more difficult with whole wheat – how do you make it easier?

MS: There’s a couple of aspects to it – it depends how finely ground your flour is, how much texture you have. I actually love having different textures in the flour – so more coarsely milled textured flour and bread. What lots of millers have done in the U.S. is, if you get whole wheat flour, it’s a very finely milled flour, and that’s the reason. That’s more appealing for most people, and that’s fine. You can adapt recipes in a way – and you have to – with whole wheat flours, because you don’t want to pull a brick out of the oven […]

The lightest 100 percent whole-wheat loaf that I’ve made in my life is on page 71 – it’s the floating sesame loaf […] I’m still trying to get to the bottom of the origins of this recipe. I’ve been researching it and I am still trying to figure out who decided to let a dough rise in water, which removes practically all the kneading. This is really an amazing loaf – you just stir it up and plop it in this pot of water… I am a purist, so I use as few ingredients as possible in baking. If you use a lot more yeast, for example… you can make a taller loaf, but I think that’s way over-yeasted. […] I don’t know how familiar you are with baking?

PRK: I’m just a beginner, but I really want to try that recipe.

MS: You should, this is a wonderful loaf and there are also some variations. But try the basic loaf. It’s actually a lot of fun. I really enjoy making it, especially with children – they love sitting next to the stockpot and waiting for the dough to rise!

But you will always have texture in grain. You will not get Wonder Bread. That’s understood. The book is really about the flavors, textures and even stunning colors that grains bring to our table. That’s something that’s really close to my heart because we’ve done whole grains a disservice by always just labeling them “healthy.” When you say whole grains, people say “healthy” and that’s it! […] As someone raised in Germany and Greece, where whole grains are part of the culinary fabric to this day, I thought, you know, grains are so much more that that. They have such amazing textures, rich flavors, that’s why I eat them – I love them!

PRK: So, you grew up with lots of whole grains, and then in 1993 you moved to America. Was there some culture shock?

MS: Absolutely – I especially missed the German-style bread I grew up on. [In the book, I call it] the aroma bread – which is truly a textured and denser-type loaf… Really, I think, one of the reasons why at some point I combined my passion for writing with my passion for whole grains had to do [with the fact that] I was in a new culture. Looking back, of course, I was missing all these things. When America became interested in whole grains, I thought, wow, this is all I eat and cook – I’ve used them all my life. And I haven’t used all-purpose flour since I was eleven or something!

Interested in learning more about Speck? You can follow her on Twitter and Facebook, or visit her website.

Artichoke-Rosemary Tart with Polenta Crust

Serves 4 as a main course, or 8 as a starter

Polenta Crust

11/2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
11/4 cups water
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
11/4 cups polenta or corn grits
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese (about 21/2 ounces; use the large holes of a box grater)
1 large egg, at room temperature
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Artichoke Cheese Filling

1 cup plain whole-milk Greek yogurt
2 large eggs
1/2 cup finely chopped green onions (about 3)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 (12-ounce) package frozen quartered artichoke hearts, thawed and drained
2 ounces crumbled goat cheese (about 1/2 cup)
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

1. To make the polenta crust, bring the broth and the water to a boil in a large heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the salt. Using a large whisk, slowly add the polenta in a thin stream, and continue whisking for 30 more seconds. Decrease the heat to low and cover. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring vigorously with a wooden spoon about every 2 minutes to keep the polenta from sticking to the bottom. Remove the saucepan from the heat and let sit, covered, for 10 minutes, stirring a few times. The polenta will be fairly stiff. Stir in the cheese, egg, and pepper.

2. Grease a 10-inch ceramic tart pan with olive oil or coat with cooking spray, and place on a wire rack. Have ready a tall glass of cold water. Dip a wooden spoon into the water as needed as you spread the polenta mixture across the center of the pan, pushing it up the sides. Set aside to firm up at room temperature, about 15 minutes, and then form an even rim about 3/4 inch thick with your slightly moist fingers, pressing firmly. No need to fret over this—it’s easy.

3. Meanwhile, position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 375°F.

4. Prepare the artichoke cheese filling. Place the yogurt, eggs, green onions, parsley, rosemary, salt, and pepper in a 2-cup liquid measure or a medium bowl and combine well with a fork. Distribute the artichoke quarters over the crust, cut sides up, forming a circle along the rim and filling the center (you might not need all the hearts). Sprinkle the goat cheese on top and gently pour the filling over the artichokes. Sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese.

5. Bake the tart until the top turns golden brown and the filling is set, about 45 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and set aside at room temperature to firm up for at least 20 minutes, 40 if you can wait. Using a sharp serrated knife, cut into slices. Serve with more freshly ground pepper on top if you like.

TO GET A HEAD START: The polenta crust, as in steps 1 and 2, can be prepared 1 day ahead, as can the entire tart. Cool to room temperature, chill for a couple of hours, and then cover with plastic wrap. Allow the tart to come to room temperature before serving, or gently reheat to warm (not hot) in a 325ºF oven for about 20 minutes.

TO LIGHTEN IT UP: Use 1 cup non- or lowfat Greek yogurt in the filling instead of whole-milk yogurt.