Recipes

RECIPES

RECIPE INDEX:
>Olive Oil Cake with Vanilla Yogurt
>Easy 'Go to' Pasta
>Raw Brownies
>Kale Salad
>Roasted Miniature Peppers
>An entire menu plan!!: Grilled Lamb Kofta Kebabs with Pistachios, Mixed salad, hummus, and herb-galic couscous. (BYOB Sept 27-Thx Tracy!! )
>Fingerling Potatoes with Balsamic Vinegar (Oct 3)
>Watermelon Salad (Sept 12)
>Southwestern Blend Pasta Salad w Chicken & Corn (Sept 12)
>Grilled Peach & Prosciutto (Sept 12)
>Chocolate Pasta with Blueberry Reduction Sauce (Sept 12)
>Fagioli all'Uccelletto (Sept 12)
>Simple Lemony Ricotta Sauce over Lemon Parsley Mafaldine (Sept 12)
>Strawberry Caprese (Aug 12)
>Mom's Poppyseed Pound Cake (Aug 12)
>Lemon & Coconut Marinade (Jul 12)
>Vanilla Cream Sauce (Jul 12)
>Turkish Barley, Cucumber Yogurt Salad (Jul 12)
>Salmon w Perian Lime EVOO (Jun 12)

Olive Oil Cake with Vanilla Yogurt and Caramelized Pears (or Apples)
This recipe makes two 8-inch round cakes. Serve both and double the amount of pears and yogurt or wrap and freeze one for up to three months.
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups fruity extra virgin olive oil, plus more for brushing (try CA Sevillano or Greek Koroneiki)
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
3/4 tsp fine-grain sea salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 cups whole milk
3 large eggs
2 cups granulated cane sugar
Grated zest of 1 orange (optional)
1 cup low-fat plain or vanilla Greek yogurt
Carmalized Pears or Apples
Flaky sea salt, for sprinkling
1. Heat over to 350. Brush two 8 inh round cake pans with oil. Dust with flour and remove excess. 2 In a medium bowl, whisk flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. In another medium bowl, mix oil and milk. In a large bowl, whisk eggs and sugar, then whisk in zest. 3 Add flour and oil mixtures in three parts, beginning and ending with flour. Mix to combine. (Batter will be quite loose). 4 Pour into prepared pans wnad bake on middle rack, rotating halfway through, until cakes are golden brown and spring back when pressed, 35-40 minutes. 5. Let cool in pans, then run a knife between cake and insde edge of pan before removing. 6 For serving, whisk yogurt and vanilla in a small bowl. Smooth over top of cake and top with carmalized fruit. Sprinkle with flaky sea salt.
For Carmalized Pears (enough for 1 cake)
1/4 cup granulated cane sugar
1/2 cup apple cider
3 Bosc pears, quarted and cored
Warm sugar and 1 TBS water in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once sugar begins to carmaelize, add cider, swirling to combine, and then add pears, cut side down. Cook over medium-low heat, turning occasionally, until tender and golden, 30-40 minutes, adding water 1 TBS at a time when pan looks dry.
Source: wholeliving.com

Super Easy "Go To" Pasta
1 lb cooked pasta (try Tri-Colore Wheels or Tomato-Basil Linguini)
1/4 cup each of Garlic, Basil, Lemon Olive Oil
4 oz drained slince olives
12 cherry tomotoes
2 TBL Pecorino Romano or Parmesan cheese
Cook pasta for 10-12 min, drain, and place in a large bowl. Toss pasta in olive oils. Chop tomatoes in half and add to pasta. ADd slice olives. Top with cheese. Serve warm or chilled. (Optional) add small broccoli pieces or grilled chicken.

Balsamic Roasted Fingerling Potatoes
Inspired by the Roasted Balsamic Potatoes, Onions and Broccoli recipe on a bag of baby potatoes.
Prep time: 15 min | Cook time: 40 min | Total time: 55 min
Yield: 4 servings
1 1/2-2 lbs. fingerling potatoes

1 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 teaspoons chopped fresh chives

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat the oven to 400°F.
Halve the fingerling potatoes (if some are especially small, you can leave them whole; you want them all to be about the same size in order to roast evenly).
In a large bowl, toss the potatoes with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, thyme, salt and pepper. Spread the potatoes onto a rimmed baking sheet. Roast 30-40 minutes until cooked through and crispy on the outside, stirring occasionally.
Garnish potatoes with chives before serving.

Note: Thanks for sharing your inspiriting Dennis!

Fagioli all'Uccelletto

2 c Italian butter beans (soak for 2 hours and cooked til tender)
2 c tomato sauce
pinch of sage
4 cloves of garlic
1/4 c olive oil
3-4 Italian sausages sliced or diced
1. Fry sausages separately, and reserve. In a frying pan, add the olive oil, and sauté the garlic. Add the tomato sauce and fresh sage.
2. Let cook for approx 20 min. Add the Italian butter beans and cook another 20 min.
3. Add sausage
Recipe by Irene Iacopi from It's Italia

Grilled Peach & Prosciutto

Sweet and Simple. And delicious.
2 fresh peaches
4 slices proscuitto
1/4 c Spanish Hojiblanco extra virgin olive oil
Cut fresh peaches into quarters. Wrap in proscuitto and hold with a toothpick. Grill for 1/5 minutes. Drizzle olive oil. Serve immediately.
NOTE: Thank you to one of our customers who discovered the perfect complimentary olive oil: Spanish Hojiblanco

Roasted Miniature Peppers
18 miniature peppers (use red, yellow, and orange)
3 1/2 TBS olive oil (recommend basil or hojiblanco)
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 cup breadcrumb mix (8 oz artisan bread, 2 cloves garlic, chopped) 1/4 cup each of cilantro and grated parmigiano-reggiano/ 1/2 tsp sea salt. Pulse in food processor until crumbs are fluffy with no largre chunks.)
Preheat oven to 375
Halve peppers lengthwise, remove core and seeds but leave stems intact. In a large mixing bowl, toss the pepers with about 1 1/2 TBS of olive oil until coated. Lay the peppers, cut side up, on a rimmed baking sheet. Sprinkle a little salt on each. Drizzle the remaining olive oil over the breadcrubms, then toss to mix. Sprinkle about 1 TBS crumbs over each pepper. Place in the overn and bake about 15 minnutes, or until crumbs are golden.

Source: SF Chronicle, Oct. 14, 2012

Raw Brownies
2 cups whole walnuts
2 1/2 cups Medjool dates, pitted
1 cup raw cacao
1 cup raw unsalted almonds, roughly chopped
1/4 tsp sea salt
1. Place walnuts in food processor and blend on high until the nuts are finely ground. 2. Add cacao and salt. Pulse to combine. 3. Add the dates one at a time through the feed tube of the food processor while it's running. It should look like cake crumbs that when pressed will easily stick together. Add more dates if not. 4 In a large bowl or pan, combine the walnut-cacao mix with the chopped almonds. Press into a lined cake pan or mold. Place in freezer or fridge until ready to serve. 4. Drizzle with your favorite balsamic vinegar.

Kale Salad
Serves 8: Our favorite salad! It's even better the next day.
1/2 cup EVOO (med bodied, such as Frantoio)
1/4 cup lemon juice
3 cloves garlic, mashed
1/2 coarse salt
Pinch red pepper flakes
2 bunches kale - ribs removed and leaves sliced into 1/4 in shreds
1/2 cup finely grated Grana Padano or Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
2 TBS whole wheat breadcrumbs, toasted
1. In a large bowl, whisk together oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt, and pepper flakes. Add kale and toss to coat. Let sit at room temperature to 10-30 minutes (this softens kale). 2. add greated cheese and breadcrumbs and toass. 3. Garnish with shaved cheese befoe serving. Cover and refrigerate leftovers for up to two days.
Source: wholeliving.com

Grilled Lamb Kofta Kebabs with Pistachios
Serve with Mixed Salad, hummus, and herb-garlic couscous (Serves 4)
1 lb ground lamb
2 TB fresh thyme leaves
1 TB ground chili pepper
1 TB ground cumin
1 TB ground coriander
4 TB Sumac (or substitute finely grated zest of 1 lemon)
Handful of shelled pistachio nuts, finely chopped
Sea Salt / black pepper to taste

1. Mix all ingredients together until evenly distributed
2. Divide meat mixture into 4 equal pieces. With damp hands, mold meat around 4 skewers. Grill kebabs until go den on all sides and cooked through. (Alternative: make meat balls and cook in a skillet)

Mixed Salad
Few handfuls of mixed salad greens
1/2 red onion, peeled and finely sliced
1 lemon
1 small bunch of mint, leaves picked
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1. Take sliced onion, marinate with lemon juice, and a few pinches of salt. Leave for 15 min. to soften.
2. Toss salad greens and mint leaves together.
3. Just before serving, add onions to salad, drizzle w/ olive oil to preference and add salt and pepper to taste.

Herb-Garlic Couscous
1 cup water
1 cup couscous
1 TB pine nuts
1 TB raisins or currants
1 handful mint, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
1. Boil 1 cup of water, then turn heat off and add couscous. Cover and let steam 5 min.
2. Add rest of ingredients, cover and keep warm until serving time.

To Serve: Mound couscous on plate, top with lamb (removed from skewers) and arrange salad on top. Serve with hummus if desired.

This fabulous meal is compliments of Tracy Damiano who joined our first BYOB Happy Hour in Sept. She outdid herself and was rewarded with a 100 ml bottle of her choice of oil or vinegar. Thanks Tracy!

Watermelon Salad

1 yellow watermelon
1/4 c white balsamic vinegar
4 red radish
Toasted Pistachios
Gran Padana Cheese
Micro arugula or chopped arugula
Coarse sea salt and pepper
1. Cut rind off of watermelon and cut in circular slices
2. drizzle plate with white balsamic and place watermelon slices
3. thinly slice radishes and layer on watermelon
4. Crumble cheese
5. bunch lettuce on top and sprinkle with sea salt
NOTE: Thanks to Lisa, another creative customer, who adapted this salad from Aperto.

Chocolate Pasta w Blueberry Reduction Sauce

12 oz Pappardelle's Chocolate Pasta
1 c blueberries
1/4 cup wild blueberry (or any berry) balsamic
1/2 c dark choco balsamic
1/4 c delicate fruity olive oil
1 c whipped cream
Add pasta to boiling water; cook 8-10 minutes. Heat balsamic consistently stirring to thicken. Add blueberries and heat through.
Coat pasta with chocolate & olive oil thoroughly.
Serve blueberry reduction on top of pasta. Add a dollop (or two) of whipped cream.
NOTE: Thank you Phoebe for this amazing dessert pasta! Now when people ask "What do you do with chocolate pasta??" I can refer them to your creative ideas. yum!

Lemony Ricotta Sauce over Lemon Parsley Mafaldine Pasta

1 lb Pappardelle's Lemon Parsley Pasta
1 c high quality ricotta
2 Tsp extra virgin olive oil (suggest basil or lemon)
1 lemon, zested and juiced
1 c basil leaves washed & torn into small pieces
1. Cook pasta about 8 min in rapidly boiling water. Drain, but reserve 1/4 c of cooking liquid.
2. In a large servicing bowl mix the ricotta w the olive oil, lemon zest and juice. Add drained pasta on top of ricotta mixture and stir well. Sprinkle with basil leaves and sea salt. Serve immediately. If pasta becomes dry, add reserve liquid.
NOTE: We served this at our 2nd Party and it was gone before I even had a taste. I heard it was fantastic! jp

Mom's Poppyseed Pound Cake

1 box yellow cake mix (or from scratch)
1 box vanilla pudding mix (ok - it's a recipe from the 60s!)
4 eggs
1 cup olive oil (lemon preferred)
3/4 cream sherry (what is that??)
Mix all ingredients well and pour into angel food pan (or 9x9 pan)
Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

Southwestern Blend Pasta Salad w Chicken & Fresh Corn

1 lb Pappardelle's Southwestern Blend Pasta
2 Tsp olive oil
2 c diced cooked chicken
6 fresh plum tomatoes, chopped
2 c fresh corn kernels
1 15oz can black or pinto beans, drained
1 12 oz bottle mild green or red taco sauce
1 fresh jalapeño, seeded, deveined, chopped
1 c chopped fresh cilantro
1. Cook pasta about 8-10 min in rapidly boiling water; drain & rinse
2. Transfer pasta to large bowl; add oil and toss to coat. Mix in chicken, green onions, tomatoes, corn, beans, taco sauce, jalapeño and cilantro. Season salad generously with salt and paper.
NOTE: Another Über popular dish served at one of our partys.

Strawberry Caprese

2 c sliced strawberries
1 bunch chopped basil
1 c bocconicini (mozzarella balls)
1/2 c chopped walnuts
Combine all and dress with olive oil, balsamic and salt salt.
Recipe by Erin Cleeson. Found in edible San Francisco magazine.

Lemon and Coconut Marinade

2 TBL Lemon EVOO
2 TBL Coconut White Balsamic
1 TBL Mango Chutney
1 fresh peach chopped
chopped garlic
cilantro
fresh grated ginger
salt and peper
Marinate HALIBUT for 3 hours
Grill and squeeze 1/2 lime ib top

Thanks for sharing Julie!! Who says her husband was amazed!

Turkish Barley, Cucumber & Yogurt Salad

This salad is part of the first course, called meza. It is refreshing, healthy, delicious and a favorite! Broccoli can be used in place of the cucumber.
1 cup pearled barley (If time allows soak barley overnight in water)
1 cucumber
3 or 4 scallions, chopped
1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (we recommend our Turkish Memecik)
1 cup Greek yogurt
2 tsp Aleppo chili
1 tsp Greek oregano
1 tsp sumac
Freshly ground black pepper
Lemon juice to taste

Directions:
1. Rinse the barley and put it in a saucepan with water to cover by at least 2 inches. Add a large pinch of salt and cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until the barley is tender, about 20 minutes from the time the water boils. Drain and spread on a plate to cool (if you’re in a hurry, you can rinse under cold water for a minute or so).
2. Cut cucumber into bite-sized chunks. Optional: put cucumber in a colander or strainer, and sprinkle with about a tablespoon of salt. Let sit for 20 minutes or so, then rinse and drain well. The Turks would grate the cucumber, but I like the texture of the diced veggie.
3. Toss together the first 5 ingredients in a salad bowl. Whisk the next 4 ingredients. Toss this dressing with the cucumber mixture, then taste and adjust the seasoning adding lemon juice. Sprinkle extra sumac on top for color and taste.
Source: The Spice Tin

Vanilla Cream Sauce for Chocolate Pasta

1/2 Vanilla Bean cut open and remove seeds
1 1/2 cup whole mild - use whole bean and seeds
Heat over medium heat until milk begins to steam and let stand for 20 minutes.
In the meantime, beat 5 egg yolks with 1/4 cup sugar and a pinch of salt.
Slowly whisk egg yolk mixture in milk and heat on low. About 8-10 minutes or until mixture sticks to spoon.
Strain in a fine strainer, set aside in fridge.
Stir often before serving over cooled or warm chocolate pasta.

Thank you Lise Lipton! Lise adds that even though this is sauce takes time and careful attention, it is sure to be a romantic evening winner!

Salmon with Persian Lime Olive Oil

5-6 oz of Salmon per person, skin removed, pin bones removed
Persian Lime Olive Oil
Pink Himalayan Salt
Cracked black pepper

Directions:
1. Pat Salmon with a paper towel so that it is completely dry before beginning to marinate.
2. Pour Persian Olive Oil over the Salmon, approximately 1 T. per piece. 3. Sprinkle on a dash of salt and the cracked pepper.
4. Allow to rest for 5-10 minutes while you prepare your hot pan. I like to use my cast iron skillet for salmon.
5. To obtain a really nice sear, you want the pan to be very hot, almost to the smoking point. When the pan is hot, place the salmon in the pan. You should hear a nice sizzle.
6. Let cook for about 5 min.
7. When the salmon is ready to flip, it will release easily from the pan. Flip and cook for another 5 min or so, depending on how you like your salmon done.

I put the finished salmon on a bed of salad dressed with a variation of Joan Green’s Vinaigrette. I added 1 teaspoon of dijon mustard and 1 sliced shallot. The salad was mixed greens with red peppers, cherry tomatoes, and walnuts.

Source: Wise Woman Food