Olive U Naturally

Infamous Kale Salad

admin — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 01:49:42 +0000

Recipe from customer Lois Z:

3 Bunches Kale, torn into bite-sized pieces

Shredded Carrots

Meyer Lemon Olive Oil

Espresso Balsamic

Zatar (Middle Eastern spice that is a blend of sumac, thyme leaves, white sesame seeds and salt)

Salad Pizzazz (Packaged salad nuts, honey toasted delights and/or orange infused cranberries

Mix kale and carrots in salad bowl. Toss with remaining 4 ingredients to taste.

Chipotle Grill Marinade

admin — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 21:46:59 +0000

For Beef, Pork, Chicken or Vegetables

1/2 Cup Chipotle Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1/4 Cup fresh squeezed lime juice

2 cloves minced garlic

2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. pepper

Place all ingredients in zip lock bag or plastic container with up to two pounds of your favorite meat, poultry and/or vegies. Refrigerate and marinate for 1-2 hours. Grill and enjoy!

Olive Tapenade/Italian Sandwich Spread

admin — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 02:29:57 +0000

Serve this make-ahead appetizer spread in a colorful bowl and let guests spoon over Italian baguette bread, thinly sliced and toasted.

1 7 oz. jar Kalamata olives, pitted

1 7 oz. jar green olives stuffed with pimiento

1 16 oz. jar giardiniera (pickled vegetables found in grocery section near the olives)

3 large cloves garlic

1½ tablespoons fresh oregano

2 tablespoons fresh flat-leaf parsley

2 tablespoons fresh basil

¼ cup 18-Year Balsamic Vinegar

¾ cup Koroneiki or Leccino Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Buzz garlic in food processor. Add herbs and buzz a few more times. Drain olives and giardiniera, add to processor and, if serving as appetizer for bruschetta, buzz until coarsely chopped. If using as spread on bread for Italian-style sandwiches, process until a course puree. Stir in vinegar and olive oil. Serve at room temperature.

Salmon with Tangerine Balsamic Glaze

admin — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 18:27:05 +0000

2 lbs. fresh salmon filet, skin removed

2 ½ T. Blood Orange Extra Virgin Olive Oil

3 T. Tangerine Balsamic Vinegar

2 T freshly grated ginger root

1 T minced garlic

Freshly ground black pepper

Sea salt

Preheat oven to 400°. Coat bottom of a 9×13 glass or ceramic baking dish with 1 T. Blood Orange EVOO.

Place salmon in baking dish and rub the remaining Blood Orange EVOO into the salmon to coat. Rub the Tangerine Balsamic Vinegar into the salmon.

Sprinkle with grated ginger, garlic and crushed black pepper.

Bake approximately 20 minutes until just flaky. Serve with sea salt to taste.

Pork Tenderloin with Molasses, Bacon and Porcini Vinaigrette

admin — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 18:18:15 +0000

6 T. Porcini Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2 lbs. pork tenderloin

Salt and pepper

1/2 lb. bacon, cooked and crumbled for garnish

1 T finely chopped garlic

1 tsp. finely chopped fresh rosemary

1/3 C. 18-Year Traditional or Fig Balsamic Vinegar

2 T. dark molasses

1 T. fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped

Preheat oven to 350°. Season pork with salt and pepper. Brown pork in 3 T. Porcini EVOO for 3-5 minutes until brown. Roast in oven until internal temperature reaches 165°. Transfer to a serving platter and keep warm. Pour cooking juices from the pan over sliced meat.

Cook bacon in pan until crisp. Drain all but 2 T. of bacon grease. Add garlic and sauté until light brown. Add rosemary. Remove from heat and add balsamic and molasses. To finish sauce, return pan to heat and stir in remaining juices from meat. Stir in parsley and remaining 3 T. Porcini EVOO.

Marinated Grilled Shrimp

admin — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 18:04:21 +0000

1 lb. large shrimp (size 16/20 or larger), shells on

½ C Persian Lime Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2 T. minced red onion

1 teaspoon minced garlic

2 T chopped cilantro

2 T lemon juice

4 bamboo skewers, soaked

Salt and freshly ground pepper

Cut along the back about ¼ inch deep through the shell of each shrimp to remove the vein. Put shrimp in zip lock bag.

In small bowl, whisk together citrus oil, onion, garlic, cilantro, and lemon juice. Pour marinade over shrimp and seal bag. Refrigerate 1-4 hours.

Preheat grill or broiler. When ready to grill, thread the shrimp on skewers and discard marinade. Season with salt and pepper to taste and grill or broil, turning once, until just done, 2-3 minutes.

Serve warm or at room temperature.

Steak and Pineapple Skewers

admin — Sat, 18 Jun 2011 19:34:20 +0000

Kabobs are always fun and festive, whether served to your family or when you have friends over for a BBQ. You can have kabobs ready ahead of time or guests may participate in the fun of threading their own arrangement on the skewers. The marinade is a winner with our Basil Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

1½ lbs. sirloin or ribeye steak (approximately 1″ thick)

1 fresh pineapple

1 bunch fresh basil, torn into small pieces

1/3 cup low sodium soy sauce

1/3 cup + 1 Tbsp of our Basil Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 clove garlic, minced

Fresh ground pepper

8 wooden or metal skewers (if using wood, soak in warm water for 30 minutes prior to grilling)

1. In a large container (preferably with a lid), mix together the soy sauce, 1/3 cup olive oil, garlic and a substantial amount of pepper. This is your marinade.

2. Cube beef into 1″ cubes and toss into marinade. Leave to marinate for 1 hour or as long as 24 hours.

3. Cut pineapple into chunks.

4. Toss pineapple with basil, 1 Tbsp oil and loads of fresh pepper. Let that sit for 30 minutes or so.

5. Thread steak and pineapple, alternating between the two, onto skewers.

6. Grill on a BBQ for 10-15 minutes (for medium rare), turning often to sear all sides.

Adapted from The Guilty Kitchen

Mom’s Zucchini Bread

admin — Sat, 04 Jun 2011 23:34:04 +0000

What a wonderful way to use that garden zucchini. Orange Olive Oil adds delicious flavor and goodness.

Mix for 2 minutes:
3 eggs
2 C sugar
1 C orange EVOO
1 T vanilla

Stir in for 1 minute:
2-3 small zucchini, approximately 1 lb., finely shredded*

Sift together and mix in until thoroughly mixed:
3 C flour
1 t. salt
1 t. baking soda
1/4 t. baking powder
1 T cinnamon

Scrape bowl and mix until well blended:
1 C nuts
1 C dried cranberries, raisins or golden raisins

Pour into 2 well greased 3 1/2 x 4 1/2 x 1/2-inch loaf pans. Bake at 350° for 1 hour.

Makes 24 nice slices.

*Small zucchini are dry enough. But if using large zucchini, halve and scoop out seeds with spoon and then dry by squeezing shreds in paper towels so bread isn’t soggy from too much moisture.

Choosing the Right Oil

admin — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 20:12:26 +0000

Choosing the right oil when they all look the same and the label is the only information you have.

It is difficult to compare taste unless you have the opportunity to open several containers of oil at the same time, not something a consumer usually does. The style of marketing olive oil is changing to meet consumer pressure for educated choice, and the opportunity now exists to taste a range extra virgin olive oil, know the crush date and complete chemistry. All are factors influencing choice.

The oil season begins in early October in the Northern Hemisphere and April in the Southern Hemisphere extending to late February in the Northern Hemisphere and June in the Southern Hemisphere.

Over ninety-five percent of the production takes place in the very broad geographic region known as the Mediterranean basin, a large area that extends from Syria in the east to Spain and Morocco in the west. Spain is by far the world’s largest producer of olives and olive oil. Each producing country has different producing regions, varieties, and preferences for harvest time and style, no two seasons in any area are identical. Many varieties alternate in productivity; a year of high productivity is followed by a year of rest.

There are as many different olive oil flavor profiles as there are olive groves with layers of variables superimposed on layers of sub-variable and any one or combination can have a profound effect on the flavor and overall characteristics of the oil. The highly perishable nature of olive oil ,which begins to soften the day it is produced and heads steadily down in intensity and brightness , which can only be slowed by rapid harvest to milling to storage lends difficulty to the production of uniform, consistent, readily available, high-quality olive oil.

Large multinational corporations like Unilever (Bertolli), Hormel (Carapelli), Borgess (Star), Nestle (Sasso), and Monini have such huge markets to supply that there is no single variety, country, or style capable of supplying the virtual river of olive oil that is required. “Produced in Italy” a tired marketing ploy to absolute labeling necessity is an attempt to convince consumers that the product they purchase is consistent and uniform year to year. Companies requiring such enormous quantities of a single flavor profile have no choice but to mix many different styles and varieties to achieve this end. The battle of quantity versus quality is very much a factor. The inevitable sacrifice of variable and unique to the modern twin gods of volume and continuity is unavoidable if the goal is to market olive oil on this massive scale.

Each producing country has a dominant variety or cultivar historically suited to its terrain, and is representative of the general “style” of the country. These styles are often closely contested from region to region within a country. A reasonably experienced taster can pick out the dominant style or cultivar of each of the large producing countries. The dominant cultivars in Spain are the Picual, Hojiblanca, and Arbequina. Italy has is the Coratina, Tunisia the Chemlali, Greece the Koroneiki, and Turkey favors the Ayvalik. Look for oils by variety as well as region and country. The number of high quality oils available from small regional mills is increasing daily as more consumers and producers wake up to the fantastic possibilities that exist.

There is no substitute for individual experience. Try as many extra virgin olive oils as you can; they represent extraordinary examples of unique quality and value impossible to duplicate in the traditional supermarket brands.

Ginger-Orange Grilled Pork Tenderloin

admin — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 01:14:32 +0000

The tasty ginger-orange oil sauce turns an ordinary pork tenderloin into an unbelievably delicious main course for company! And it’s so easy with just a few ingredients!

1 2-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated

Zest of one orange

1/4 cup of our Blood Orange Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1/4 teas. salt

1/4 teas. sugar

2 pork tenderloins, a little over a pound each

One orange and some parsley for garnish (opt.)

Preheat a grill to medium high. To make ginger-orange oil sauce whisk together the first five ingredients. Season the pork with salt and pepper and rub with 1 tablespoon of the ginger-orange oil. Lightly brush the grill grates with olive oil. Grill the pork, turning as needed, until well marked and a thermometer inserted into the center register 145°, 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board and let rest 5 minutes. Then cut into 1/4″ slices and arrange on serving platter garnished with orange slices and parsley. Drizzle with the remaining ginger-orange oil. Serves 6.