Cheesy Savoury Vegetable Crumble

Tags

Can I cook with olive oil?, Can I get Sainsbury's magazine recipes online?, Can I put sunflower or pumpkin seeds in a crumble topping?, How do I make a savoury crumble?, How to use Olive Oil in vegetarian cooking, is olive oil healthy?, Is olive oil vegan?, Is savoury crumble good reheated?, Recipes using Tesco Spanish Extra Virgin?, What can I do with Ratatouille?, What to do with leftover savoury crumble?

This crumble is based on a Ratatouille and Melting Mozzarella Crumble in the September 2017 issue of Sainsbury’s Magazine, the original recipe for which is available on line here: https://www.sainsburysmagazine.co.uk/recipes/vegetarian/ratatouille-and-melting-mozzarella-crumble

I confess I was originally drawn in by the picture of lovely melting cheese and then decided to make it when I saw a total of 6 tablespoons of olive oil – yum, yum!

Ingredients to serve 6:

3tbsp extra virgin olive oil (I used the Tesco Spanish Extra Virgin that I’ve talked about before, but you can use any robust EVOO)

1 aubergine washed and diced (about 3cms)

1 large red onion roughly chopped

2 red peppers (or mix orange, red or yellow), diced

2 large courgettes roughly chopped

3 garlic cloves peeled and roughly chopped

1tsp mixed dried herbs

1 x 400g tin of chopped tomatoes

150ml vegetable stock

1 x 260g pack of young spinach leaves (washed if necessary)

1 x 150g ball of mozzarella, drained

CRUMBLE TOPPING:

150g fresh breadcrumbs (wholemeal or other brown is best)

75g finely grated Parmesan (or vegetarian alternative)

1tsp dried rosemary

60g toasted pumpkin and sunflower seeds (either mixed or use only one if you prefer)

3tbsp extra virgin olive oil (the same as the one used for the vegetable mix)

Method:

1. Heat the oil in a large deep sauté pan, add the aubergine and a pinch of salt and fry for 5 minutes until starting to brown. (the oil will soak up quite quickly so keep stirring at least to start with because otherwise a few of the pieces will absorb all the oil)
2. Add the chopped onion and peppers and fry for another few minutes before adding the courgette and garlic and continue cooking for about 5 minutes.
3. Stir in first the dried herbs, then tomatoes, then stock. Bring to a simmer and cook partially covered for 5-10 minutes.
4. Add the spinach, cover completely and cook until the spinach has wilted. 
5. Tip the vegetables into a large baking dish and you can leave to cool at this stage if you prefer.
6. Mix all the dry crumble ingredients together in a bowl before drizzling in the EVOO and stirring through to form a loose topping .
7. Chop or tear the mozzarella roughly and scatter over the vegetable mix before topping with the crumble.
8. Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes until the topping is crisp and golden brown and the juices are bubbling. (If you prepared to the end of step 5 and then cooled you might need an extra 10-15 minutes in the oven)
9. Remove from the oven and stand for about 10 minutes before serving with extra crusty bread and EVOO if you like, or a sturdy salad, or just as it is. 

In the original recipe, Tamsin Burnett-Hall stipulates olive oil rather than specifically Extra Virgin but EVOO is healthier so that’s what I’d recommend using.

This is an absolutely delicious supper dish and leftovers reheat very well. It would also be great served with a barbecue, grilled chicken or even (as we did) with pan fried salmon fillets.

Bon appetit, and remember to tell me if you’ve made it, and send a photo over so I can drool all over again!

Until next time EVOO lovers,

Karen

 

Advertisements

Warm Salad with Halloumi

Tags

Basilippo Olive Oil from Seville, British Halloumi, Cooking, Cooking in Newport, Cooking with broad beans, Cooking with Coconut Oil, Cooking with lettuce, How to cut down on kitchen waste, How to make a warm salad, Olive Oil Seville, Spain, Spanish Olive Oil, Spanish olive oil in a warm salad, Spiralising, Spiralising carrots for warm salad, Using left over lettuce in soup, Using lettuce in a warm salad, Wales, Warm vegetarian salad

It’s a glorious late summer’s morning here in Newport (summer officially ends in the UK on Friday 22nd September) and the birds have finally found the lovely new bird feeder I installed in my garden a few weeks ago.  And if they’re being well fed, so should we be!  Whilst many people see lettuce as a salad ingredient and therefore always served cold, I’ve been experimenting recently with cutting down on kitchen waste – and lettuce is often the main culprit.  There’s only so much Lettuce, Pea and Mint soup one can eat – even though I do love it.  If that doesn’t appeal, how about this fabulous salad from the Hemsley sisters which they describe as “An easy, fresh supper, bursting with flavour and just right for long, balmy evenings”.  It’s featured in their second book ‘Good + Simple’ but I have it on a page torn out of the August 2016 Waitrose magazine.
This is my version of their original recipe with a few tweaks and changes – I’m sure their original is fantastic but I didn’t want to use coconut Oil or butter for example.  So, here it is:

Ingredients:
5 tbsp olive oil *
2 red onions, thinly sliced
4 medium carrots
200g frozen broad beans defrosted in warm water (or 500g fresh, podded and blanched for 2-3 mins in boiling water)
200g fresh or frozen peas
2 gem lettuce, trimmed, leaves separated and chopped into chunks (or any lettuce lurking in the fridge!)
1/2 lemon, zest and juice
small bunch of flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped,
250g pack of halloumi cut into chunks

Method:
1. Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a heavy frying pan, add the onion and gently fry for 10 mins until soft and lightly caramelised, stirring occasionally.
2. Either spiralise the carrots or peel into strips with a julienne or vegetable peeler, set aside. Slip the broad beans from their outer skin (warning, this takes a bit of time but is worth the effort).
3. Turn the heat up under the onions, stir in the broad beans and frozen peas with a small pinch of salt. After 2 mins add the carrot and lettuce and stir gently for a minute or two.

4. Whisk the remaining olive oil (3tbsp) with lemon zest and juice, season and toss through the vegetables with most of the parsley.  Transfer to a large serving plate.
5. Wipe out the pan and dry fry the halloumi over a medium heat until browned. Scatter over the salad with the remaining parsley.

Enjoy as is, with extra lemon and oil and crusty/crisp bread to mop up the juices.

A note about the olive oil.  I used the Basilippo Organic as shown in the picture.  Basilippo is a 20 hectare, family run estate with over 5,500 arbequina olive trees.  In addition to their award winning olive oils, they also produce an absolutely delicious Aromas, a fabulous union of their beautiful olive oil with natural extract of orange (they also produce a vanilla one I think).  I have just messaged them about suppliers in the UK and will report back once I have more information.  Next time I make this I’ll use the organic EVOO as I did here for the main dish and 2 tbsp for the dressing (see 4. Method)  with a final 1 tbsp of the Aromas Orange sprinkled over the finished dish.  UK readers can buy Basilippo oils in London from Santos and Santos suppliers of Artisan Spanish Foods or direct from Basilippo online. 

 

Excitement and some words of wisdom

Tags

Cooking, France, Greece, health, Italy, Mediterranean Diet, Olive Oil, Olive Oil Recipes, reading, Spain, Turkey, Waitrose, Wales

Running a close second to my love of cookery books is a passion for foodie magazines, and let’s be honest, in the UK at least, we’re absolutely spoilt for choice, despite their hefty price tag.  There are two magazines that do make it into my basket however – the Sainsbury’s magazine and Waitrose Food.  They both have a cover price of £2 and the latter is free to myWaitrose members.

I was delighted on a recent trip to Waitrose to see ‘Olive Oil Special – Our pick of the best, plus an amazing recipe for olive oil cake’ splashed across the cover (ha, ha, pun intended, take a look!)

Yum, yum, I was so excited to find a feature on Olive Oil, and with the brilliant selection of EVOO on offer in my local store (Pontprennau, Cardiff), I figured there’d be plenty to read about.  My initial excitement soon turned to disappointment;  I couldn’t even find the feature!  Expecting at least a double page spread with lots of glossy photos of lovely EVOO bottles from around the world, it took three ‘looks’ before I finally found it –  half a page on page 11.  Four Olive Oils – that’s it, four.  Oh boy, my heart plummeted.  Then I reminded myself that not everyone in the UK is as obsessed with the stuff as I am, and Waitrose magazine has a huge readership and it’s better to start small and not confuse things with too many options.  Pep talk to self over, I read the piece: Behind the Label featuring EVOOs from Greece, Spain, France and Italy and my mouth started watering.  Don’t they look great?  

And I was somewhat mollified by the five recipes starting on page 53 and spread across the next seven pages entitled Virgin Queen.  I did have a chuckle reading the start of the article which I quote:  ‘In the 1950’s, Elizabeth David had to tell readers to get olive oil from the chemist …’  On a recent visit to a chemist I was rather shocked to see a tiny bottle of olive oil on sale – presumably for ear ache or some such ailment?  And so, back to excitement – shall I try the Spinach and Feta Gözlemeler (described as a moreish Turkish flatbread) or the Spaghetti Aglio e Olio with Anchovy Breadcrumbs?  Decisions, decisions.

Final gripe, then I’ll stop moaning, I promise.  Although all of the recipes sound fabulous and all of them feature Olive Oil (of course!) I was a bit disappointed that there’s no link between the four mentioned on page 11 and the recipes – I’d have expected the magazine to recommend a specific oil for each recipe – after all, isn’t the point to sell more olive oil?  And one of the problems I think we all face is knowing which oil to use for each recipe.  So, here’s my final offering this week – some words of wisdom from me, The Olive Oil Taster – a consumer who’d like to know more.  Drum roll please.

As a general rule when trying to decide which oil to use for a particular recipe, try to pick one that comes from the same country as the dish you’re preparing i.e. Spanish EVOO for Spanish dishes, Greek for moussaka etc.  It’s kind of obvious I guess but housewives throughout the Mediterranean use local ingredients (and by local, I mean usually grown in the same village).  Their produce and oils will balance perfectly.  So, as a rule of thumb, that’s not a bad place to start.

I’m also a bit miffed that the Italian EVOO is the most expensive featured when Spain produces the most EVOO and wins most of the international awards – but that’s a rant for another day!!!!

Until next time, enjoy lots of heart healthy EVOO,

Karen

 

Healthy, Happy Fats

Tags

Aldi, baking, blood pressure, Books, Cadiz, Cooking, diabetes, Dr. Simon Poole, Greece, health, heart disease, Judy Ridgway, Kalamata, Nancy Harmon Jenkins, Napolina, Spain, Sunflower oil, Tesco, The Olive Oil Diet, Virgin Territory

It was all going so well!  As I was going to write today about Olive Oil bottles, and more specifically what to look for on the label, I began by lining up a few bottles from my cupboard and having a good look at them.  And then, I got side-tracked.  You can blame it on the Napolina Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Blend of olive oils of European Union Origin: 

This is what we call ‘oil’ in our house.  When hubby is cooking and shouts: “Where’s the oil Karen?” – this is it.  So I was pleasantly surprised to note that the Fat content (91.4g/100g if you’re interested) was broken down into Saturates (13.1g), Mono-unsaturates(66.7g) and polyunsaturates (7.5g) (did we lose 4.1g somewhere in the maths?!)

As a fat, Olive Oil contains about 120 calories per tablespoon which I think you’ll find is the same as most other fats.  So here’s the thing; it’s not the consumption of fat that causes weight gain or a whole host of bodily ailments – diabetes, heart disease, raised blood pressure etc.  Pretty much everyone knows now that the myth of low fat is just that, a myth.  Now, I’m not a doctor and I’m not a qualified nutritionist so I’m going to let others explain it (because I’m no scientist either).  ‘The monounsaturated oleic fat in olive oil appears to contribute much less to the fat we accumulate than other types of fat, such as saturated fats‘ according to Dr. Simon Poole and Judy Ridgway in The Olive Oil Diet.  And as Nancy Harmon Jenkins states in Virgin Territory: “MUFAS* work in human metabolism to regulate serum cholesterol, reducing dangerous low-density lipoproteins (called ‘bad’ cholesterol), and maintaining or even boosting high density lipoproteins, the so-called ‘good’ cholesterol.  Olive Oil contains anywhere from 55% to 83% monounsaturated oleic acid“.

What this means is that all olive oil – EVOO or your plain old bottle of refined Olive Oil –  can be regarded as a good source of the kind of healthy fats that help fend off cardiovascular disease.  Which makes a mockery of the UK’s ludicrous Traffic Light labelling system of Red, Orange, Green which gives EVOO a Red light (higher than Sunflower Oil) because of it’s saturated fat content – with no regard for the quality of that fat.  Ho, hum!

Here then are three more labels for you to look at:  The first cost £2.39 for 750ml  from Aldi, is a Product of Spain and rather sadly doesn’t separate out the mono-unsaturated, simply stating 91g of fat of which 13g is saturated (very similar to the Napolina)

 

The second, is a single olive variety – the Kalamata from Greece – in a classier bottle, glass rather than plastic, also from Aldi and cost £2.99 for 500ml.  It states total fats of 92g of which saturates are 14g.  If you’re interested a Tesco bottle of Sunflower Oil states 92g of fats of which 10.2g are saturates. 

And finally,  one of my favourite ‘local’ oils, Ilipa Olvera, from Tierra de Cadiz (Spain) which states a fabulous 100g of fat of which 77g are mono-unsaturates (and 9g polyunsaturates).

 

Next time, I’ll take a closer look at the whole of the label and give you some guidelines as to what is useful information, what is required by law, and what just sounds good!

I’m currently experimenting with making Digestive biscuits using EVOO and will feature the recipe once I’ve perfected it!

Happy, Healthy Olive Oil consuming, until next time,

Karen

Taster,  Tester, Consumer, Cook

Tweet: @TasteOliveOil

Facebook: The Olive Oil Taster

Instagram: theoliveoiltaster

Email: theoliveoiltaster@gmail.com

• MUFA = Mono Unsaturated Fatty Acids

Onion Quiche with EVOO Pastry

Tags

AOVE, baking, Cooking, Dr. Simon Poole, EVOO, Extra Virgin Olive Oil, health, Judy Ridgway, pastry, quiche, The Olive Oil Diet, vegetarian cooking

Before becoming an EVOO convert I usually bought pastry because it tasted good and I couldn’t be bothered making it.  Now however my favourite pastry is even easier than buying it; Judy Ridgway’s Shortcrust Pastry as featured in her book The Olive Oil Diet (co-authored with Dr. Simon Poole).  This is so ridiculously easy that it barely counts as a ‘recipe’ but here goes:

Place 225g self-raising flour and 75g plain flour into a bowl.  Pour in 100ml extra virgin olive oil and 100ml water.  Stir together with a spoon before bringing together with your hands to form a large, soft ball.  Cut the ball in half and wrap each portion in clingfilm.  I freeze one and chill the other in the fridge for an hour before using.  This makes about 475g of pastry.

Judy warns that this is ‘perhaps a little harder to work with’ than other pastry and I would say – don’t even bother looking for your rolling pin, flatten the pastry by hand, straight into the tin if you’re using it to line, or onto some greaseproof paper if you’re using the pastry as a topping.

I lined a 20cm flan tin with the pastry and baked blind for 10 minutes before cooling and filling with the onion mix as follows:

450g onions, peeled and sliced thinly

2tbsp EVOO

150ml single cream

1 egg, beaten

A big pinch of ground mixed spice (or cinnamon, nutmeg or dried tarragon)

Finely chopped fresh herbs if you’ve got some to use up (I used parsley)

1. Fry the onions gently for 25-30 minutes until very soft and a golden colour.  Remove from the heat.  Add the beaten egg to the cream then add the mixed spice, a little salt & pepper.
2. Put the onions into the flan case then pour on the cream/egg mixture and sprinkle with fresh herbs if using.
3. Bake at 180C/Gas mark 4 for about 30 minutes until the filling is set.
4. Serve warm or cold with a selection of salads.

I halved some tomatoes (the cheap salad tomatoes that don’t have much flavour work perfectly well), sprinkled with EVOO, a crushed clove of garlic and herbs and baked alongside the quiche.  You can pour some balsamic vinegar on the tomatoes once roasted if you like.

One of the things I love about this pastry – apart from it being super simple to make and healthy with all that lovely EVOO – is that once baked it goes crispy and even the slightly thicker bits (think rustic rather than high end patisserie here) are almost scone like – i.e. no soggy pastry anywhere in sight (which I loathe by the way).  If you know you’re going to be using all your pastry for savoury dishes you could maybe add a pinch of salt to the flour when making – up to you!

Que aproveche – Enjoy!

 

A little light reading

Tags

Alice Alech, baking, Books, cake, cancer, Cécile Le Galliard, chocolate, Cooking, Dr. Simon Poole, Earl Grey tea, EVOO, France, health, health benefits of EVOO, Judy Ridgway, reading, Tom Mueller, Wales

With summer holidays just around the corner many of us are busy planning our annual feast of reading and, whilst I’m not heading off to the sun this year, I’m no exception.  These three gems should keep me busy in the garden hammock or the sofa on rainy afternoons (well, I am staying in Wales for the summer so there’s a chance of at least one rainy day between now and September isn’t there?)

Although I’ve talked about The Olive Oil Diet by Judy Ridgway and Dr. Simon Poole  before and even posted recipes from the book, I haven’t finished reading it yet so that’s number one on my reading list.

The second book; Extra Virginity by investigative author Tom Mueller is subtitled: The sublime and scandalous world of olive oil.  Ooh, err.  It could get racy!

And the third, The 7 Wonders of Olive Oil is written by Alice Alech (blog: Provincial Provence) and Cécile Le Galliard (whose blog Jus d’olive is great for any French speakers out there) two olive oil enthusiasts living in different regions of France who came together via the internet through their shared passion for the liquid gold that is olive oil.  Just look at some of the chapter headings: stronger bones, cancer prevention and higher brain function – crikey it truly is a ‘wonder’ food.

All this reading is going to be exhausting so I’ll make sure to keep my strength up with lots of cups of Earl Grey tea and Judy’s Chocolate Cup Cakes – recipe and pics to follow!

Lemon EVOO Cake

Tags

American EVOO, baking, cake, Cooking, EVOO, freezer, lemon drizzle, North American Olive Oil Association, Spain

Whilst clearing our Spanish house in preparation for a major move we’ve come across (and eaten!) all sorts of delights from the freezer.  There was one particular gem though that I saved until last – half of a lemon olive oil cake that I made about a month ago.  This recipe has been adapted from the North American Olive Oil Association and I hope I’ve made clear my changes.  The original recipe can be found here:

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus additional for greasing the tin
• 1 large lemon
• 1 cup plain cake flour
• 5 large eggs, separated, reserving 1 white for another use (eggs should be at room temperature)
• 3/4 cup plus 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar (or 2 tbsp icing sugar if making drizzle)

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F (about 177C). Lightly grease loose-bottomed 9-inch cake tin with oil, then line the bottom with baking paper.
2. Finely grate enough lemon zest to measure 1 1/2 teaspoons and mix into the flour. Halve the lemon, squeezing out all the juice.
3. Separate the eggs saving one of the whites for another recipe.  Beat 5 yolks and 1/2 cup sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at high speed until thick and pale, about 3 minutes. Reduce the speed, add the olive oil and 1 1/2 tbsp of the reserved lemon juice, beating until just combined (mixture may appear separated). Using a wooden spoon, stir in the flour mixture (do not beat) until just combined.
4. Beat 4 egg whites with 1/2 teaspoon salt in another large bowl with clean beaters at medium-high speed until foamy, then add 1/4 cup sugar a little at a time, beating, and continue to beat until the egg whites just hold soft peaks, about 3 minutes.
5. Gently fold one third of the whites into the yolk mixture to lighten, then fold in the remaining whites gently but thoroughly.
6. Transfer the cake mixture into the prepared tin and gently tap against the work surface once or twice to release any air bubbles. The original recipe says to ‘Sprinkle top evenly with remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar’ but I would leave it plain. Bake until puffed and golden and a cake skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean, between 35- 45 minutes. Cool the cake in its tin on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then run a thin knife around the edge of the tin and remove the sides.
7. There are two options now:  Either continue to cool the cake to room temperature, if you’ve already sprinkled it with sugar before baking OR: prick the top of the cake all over with a toothpick or thin skewer and pour over a lemon drizzle icing; made by mixing the remaining juice from the lemon with about 2 tablespoons of icing sugar until smooth and pouring over the cake while still warm (then leave until completely cool)  Remove the bottom of the tin and the baking parchment and transfer the cake to a serving plate.  The cake freezes really well if not all eaten within a couple of days.

Happy EVOO eating.  Remember to share this post and let me know your comments either directly to this blog or via Twitter @TasteOliveOil or Facebook: The Olive Oil Taster.

Until next time,

Karen 

TOOT

 

 

Carrots & Chickpeas in Chermoula Sauce

Tags

AOVE, carrots, cauliflower, Chermoula, chickpeas, Cooking, EVOO, Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Nancy Harmon Jenkins, National Vegetarian Week 2017, Olive Oil, Salad, Spain, Summer, Vegetarian, Virgin Territory

We began National Vegetarian Week with a Nancy Harmon Recipe (see Chocolate Brownies here) and will end with another recipe from the fabulous Virgin Territory.  I tested this out first on my hubby and used a mixture of carrots and cauliflower, because I didn’t have enough of either and Nancy does say you can use other vegetables. Then, we were having a drinks evening and I tested this on my guests (made entirely with carrots, chopped more finely) and the result was equally satisfying both times – lots of oohs, aahs and compliments.  

Ingredients:

1kg carrots, washed or peeled

¼ cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Red wine or water

1 cup cooked chickpeas

1 cup cooked, chopped, spicy or bitter greens (optional, I opted not to)

Chermoula

3 garlic cloves, crushed with the flat blade of a knife

1 bunch cilantro (coriander)

1/3 cup finely minced flat-leaf parsley

1tsp harissa or to taste

1tsp sea salt

1tsp Spanish pimento dulce (mild sweet paprika)

1tsp ground toasted cumin seeds

½ tsp ground toasted coriander seeds

Pinch of saffron

½ cup of Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon/red wine vinegar – or more to taste

Ground hot red chilli pepper (optional)

Method:

To make the carrots: Chop the carrots into irregular 2” chunks and put into a saucepan over a medium heat with the ¼ cup of EVOO. Stir and cook until the carrots start to brown on the edges. Nancy says to cover the carrots with red wine or water and cook partially covered until just tender – 10-15 minutes. I added enough red wine to cover the bottom of the pan, put the lid on and kept an eye on them, topping up the wine as needed for 10 minutes but that’s because I couldn’t bear the thought of then draining away the red wine!  

To make the chermoula: Chop the garlic, coriander and parsley together to make a very fine mince. Transfer to a bowl and stir in the harissa, salt (I used a little less than ½ tsp), paprika, cumin and coriander (I just used ground rather than grinding my own). Crumble the saffron into the mixture and beat in the oil and lemon (I used apple vinegar as it’s all I had apart from balsamic which I thought would be too strong). Taste and adjust the seasoning adding more harissa or some chilli pepper if liked but be careful not to overpower the flavour of carrots.  

Assembly: Nancy says to drain the carrots and while still hot pour the chermoula over. Stir gently and set aside to marinate for at least 30 minutes before adding the cooked chickpeas and spicy greens if using. However, I didn’t drain the carrots, as explained earlier, but added the chickpeas to the pan and then stirred in the chermoula and left to cool before serving. It tasted absolutely delicious and the chickpeas had also soaked up some of the chermoula flavours. It’s up to you which method you choose. If you find an easier method that tastes as good, do let me know though, I’m all for ease of preparation! (And yes, I used precooked chickpeas – although in Spain they come in a glass jar and are much more like home cooked)

I hope you’ve enjoyed receiving these daily EVOO recipes as much as I’ve enjoyed testing, tasting and sharing them.  Please do comment and send me pics if you’ve tried any of them.  Next week, we’re back to normal – only one blog – which is a relief, it’s hard this virtual work you know!  Coming soon I’ve got a review of three wonderful AOVE’s (Extra Virgin in Spanish!) from Ya En Tu Casa, a magnificent deli in Vejer where you can be enthused by the fabulous owners Claudia and Diego, sample various products and they’ll even ship them home for you.  Watch this space!

Hasta pronto chicos,

Karen

 

 

 

A Veggie Spanish Breakfast

Tags

Andalucia, AOVE, baguette, Barbate, Barcelona, Breakfast, cafe con leche, Cooking, EVOO, garlic, holidays, honey, National Vegetarian Week 2017, Olive Oil, Spain, toast, tomatoes, Tostado con tomate y aceite de oliva, Vegetarian

Whilst there are many different variations on this basic dish of bread with tomato and olive oil, known as Tostado con tomate y aceite de oliva in the region of Andalucía where we’ve been living (pa am tomàquet in Barcelona), I’m amazed that it isn’t more widely enjoyed in the UK as the ingredients are all readily available and it’s healthy, refreshing and infinitely adaptable. We do have a bit of a thing perhaps about sweet breakfasts but there’s even an answer to that in the nearby coastal town of Barbate. But I’ll get to that in a minute. 

The basic recipe calls for bread – rolls, ciabatta style, baguette, white, wholemeal, pretty much any bread you want except sliced loaf bread, although I think fresh flat  soft rolls are best. Cut the roll in half and toast on the cut side only.
Serve warm with a bottle of good quality Extra Virgin Olive Oil and a small bowl of very finely chopped fresh tomato (I use a mezzaluna and ripe, red tomatoes at room temperature) for diners to make up their own proportions. You can sprinkle the tomatoes with fresh or dried oregano if you like.  Usually the bread is stabbed all over with a knife, lashings of EVOO drizzled over, followed by the tomato and sea salt. Being a bit of a girlie, I tear mine into two-bite sized pieces before adding the EVOO etc. as described above. Usually this is served with a strong café con leche (espresso with hot milk) and maybe a freshly squeezed orange juice. Ah, can’t you just smell ‘holidays’? 

Variations include simply rubbing the toasted bread with a peeled and cut garlic clove and half a tomato before sprinkling with EVOO. And, although I’d heard it’s popular I’ve never seen this served anywhere except Barbate (where General Franco used to spend his holidays apparently!) – extra virgin olive oil and HONEY! Seriously, give this a try it’s genuinely really good – especially if you need a sweet hit first thing in the morning, and the EVOO will still be good for you!

 

Mayo Magic

Tags

Cooking, EVOO, Italy, mayonnaise, Mediterranean Diet, National Vegetarian Week 2017, Olive Oil, roasted vegetables, Vegetarian

There are thousands of recipes for mayonnaise and many of you will have your own favourite.  I confess though I’ve never really been tempted to make mayo as we don’t use it very often.  However, as part of the Olive Oil Sommelier course in Italy, Mauro ran a session on food pairing with EVOO and whipped up this mayonnaise in a matter of minutes.  It’s truly the simplest thing to make and this recipe is absolutely delicious.  I’m sure it’s also an old family recipe, handed down from generation to generation – just not my family though! 

Ingredients:

1 egg

½ lemon

A generous pinch of salt

2 drops of white vinegar

A lightly flavoured EVOO or mixture of 2 oils to produce the flavour you want

Method:

Using a stick hand blender whisk all the ingredients together, adding the EVOO slowly until emulsified and the thickness you like. 

Did I mention this was easy?!

At this point you can add whatever else you fancy – crushed garlic, black pepper, chopped capers, finely chopped salad onions, grated lemon zest …..

This is great in a sandwich with thickly cut fresh bread, a selection of lettuce leaves (including rocket) and roasted veggies such as red peppers, tomatoes, onions and garlic.

Lunch anyone?

Send me your favourite mayonnaise recipe and I can give it a go.  Confession time – I used the Oriole that I featured in my blog recently and the flavour was a little overpowering for mayo, fortunately as I was tasting as I went along (not as often as I should have done though!) I managed to rescue it by adding some Olivia oil (also featured here) which is much milder and fruitier.  The finished result was fabulous.  Don’t be afraid to mix your oils guys.

Until tomorrow, happy EVOOing (new word?)

Karen

theoliveoiltaster@gmail.com