Olives...both ways

Saturday, December 15, 2012


Oh My God it is Saturday already. Another week has gone by so quickly!
What a week it has been!
I learned (in theory off course)  the hows, whys and what-nots of red and white vinification - in normal speak this means the process of turning fruity, sweet grape juice into wine.

I tasted (and spited) about 10 wines from Alsace, Champagne, Bourgundy and Greece.
Photo by C.Tsatsaris
I attempted my first décantage, an experience that I will always remember not only because it happened on 12/12/12 but also because I spilled most of the wine on the burning candle that produced a lovely sizzle and a lots of laughs from my fellow sommeliers-to-be! 

After such a busy week I completely forgot to go to the market for the required ingredients for yesterday's French Fridays with Dorie recipe, Chicken, Apples and Cream a la Normande . Don't despair! You can find out how my fellow Doristas prepared it here - it sounds really yummy and I will definitely cook it sometime in the future.


For now you have to settle with what I am going to offer you today.
Two lovely recipes featuring two great products of my country, olives and olive oil. They are not the elaborate food creations you expect to find on the internet around this season. They won't fill  up your festive tables but believe me simplicity sometimes is much appreciated especially when you are up to your head with baking pies and roasting hams and turkeys and pheasants and you just need a simple, tasty nibble to keep your guests occupied while your run back and forth topping up glasses and setting more plates on the table. Both recipes can be made well in advance and stored in the fridge until they are needed!!!

The first recipe was featured a couple of weeks ago on French Fridays with Dorie.... Herded Olives Marinated in Thyme, Rosemary and Orange Peel. I made them and let them stay and macerate in their glass jar for a few weeks so that they could be infused by the aromas of the marinated olive oil even more.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Olives Marinated in Thyme, Rosemary and Orange Peel
Adapted from Around my French Table by Dorie Greenspan 
Ingredients
Olives, green or black as plain as possible
Fresh rosemary springs, leaves removed and chopped
Fresh thyme springs, leaves removed and chopped
Coriander seeds
Black peppercorns
Green peppercorns
Extra Virgin Olive Oil (maybe a bit more to top up the jar with the olives)
Garlic cloves, green part removed and filleted
Bay leaves
Orange zest
Procedure
Toast the spices (black and green peppercorns, coriander) in a hot pan long enough to release their aromas. Put them into a small bowl  remove the pan from the heat and wait a bit for it to cool down. Gently warm up the Extra Virgin Olive Oil. When I say warm it I mean warm it not burn it. Put the pan in very low heat and be patient - the result is definitely going to reward you as the herbs and spices you are going to add in will be able to release their flavours and aromas without being shocked from the heat of the oil. When the oil is thus warmed, add all the remaining ingredients (rosemary, thyme, the toasted spices, bay leaves, garlic, orange zest) and heat them through for no more that two minutes - we don't want to sauté them!!

Put the olives in a clean glass jar (sterilised if possible) and pour in the warmed oil and herb mixture. Mix everything around. You have to let the jar stand until the olives and the oil inside reach room temperature before you refrigerate it. I kept mine in the fridge for about a week before I was tempted to taste my creation. I was  taken aback by the intensity of the aromas of the herb infused olive oil and the taste it gave to the olives. I went ahead and made enough to fill an even bigger jar and I now use to oil to flavour my salads and roast fish or chicken!
The next recipe I am going to share with you is sinfully delicious and seriously addictive!

I cannot say for sure if it is a pesto, a spread or a dip! I would call it a bit of everything because you can easily spread it on a piece of toasted bread and enjoy it with a glass of fresh white wine or toss it in a plateful of warm pasta with a few shaves of Parmesan on top and be transported to a sunny terrace by the sea forgetting that your driveway is buried under 50 cm of snow!


 ~~~~~~~~~~~~
Fresh Peppermint, Walnut and Olive Pesto - Dip
Adapted from a recipe by an award winning Greek Chef Christoforos Peskias publiced in Βιβλιοθήκη Γεύσης της Καθημερινής - Σπιτικές Κονσέρβες
Yield: about 2 cups
Ingredients
2 - 3 cups (tightly packed) leaves of fresh peppermint, washed and thoroughly dried
2 -3 garlic cloves, peeled, green part removed
200 ml Extra Virgin Olive Oil
100 gr walnuts, chopped
200 gr Kalamata olives, pitted and chopped
Procedure
Blend the mint leaves with the garlic and olive oil until they form a smooth green paste. Add the chopped walnuts and blend again for 4 - 5 seconds, you want the walnuts to get even more chopped but not really mashed up so that their presence could add a bit of bite to the whole mixture.
Empty the contents of the blender into a large enough bowl and add the chopped Kalamata olives. Mix them all together and you are ready to serve!









Creamy Cauliflower Soup {FFwD}

Saturday, December 8, 2012

Cauliflower Soup....
Creamy Cauliflower Soup...
Creamy Cauliflower Soup "sans" Cream....

How do you sell Cauliflower soup to a house full of people known for their epic aversion to the vegetable.
I said "You should try it, the recipe is French" and hoped that the francophiles among them will yield to the soup's refined flavours... "The French also eat snails and frogs" they replied...
"The recipe is from the same book last Friday's beef daube came from. Wasn't that the best braised meat you've had in a long time" I countered hoping that the power of association is strong enough to make them want to take the plunge into the soup! "That was beef stewed in wine for hours how does it relate to boiled cauliflower? DO you see any similarities because I don't" came the reply and in all fairness I get the point!

"It is creamy and velvety and it doesn't really taste like cauliflower at all" I found myself screaming from the kitchen as they walk away with a piece of bread and a slice of cheese on the plate...

"But I put bacon in it" I finally say exasperating.... "mmmm OK, I guess I'll give it a try! After all everything tastes better with bacon!!!"

OK, I might have exaggerated a bit here, but more or less this is how it went down in the kitchen today. Cauliflower is not glamorous and not the easiest dish to sell, especially when it it quite sunny outside and no one is suffering from a stuffy nose and is in need of a soothing pottage.

I for one, love cauliflower, in any version! Boiled and mashed up with a bit of lemon and herbs, roasted, oozing with cheese from the oven, even as a substitute for rice - the famous cauli-rice for those of you conversant in "Paleo talk". There was no way this pot of velvety, fragrant, white magic would go to waste. The challenge was to get the rest to try just a bit (I would never dare think of converting them to cauli-lovers) and in the end I managed just that. M-i-L had about half a bowl and declared it "quite good". Honestly I think there's going to be a long time until another head of cauliflower sees the insides of this kitchen! 

This is how I tweaked Dorie's recipe for the Creamy Cauliflower Soup sans Cream
 Serves 8
Adapted from Dorie Greenspan "Around my French Table"
Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 large yellow onions, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
200 gr sticky bacon, cut into small cubes
The leaves of 2 thyme springs
1 cauliflower head, washed, and cut into florets
7 cups of chicken stock
Procedure
Heat the olive oil into a large stock pot. Add the onions, garlic, half of the bacon cubes, thyme, salt and pepper. Stir well and then lower the heat, cover the pot and cook for about 20 minutes stirring often. 
Add the cauliflower into the pot and pour in the chicken stock. Increase heat until the liquid is starting to boil then reduce heat, cover and let it simmer gently for about 20 minutes (the cauliflower has to be very tender).
In the meantime, heat a small pan and add the remaining bacon. Fry it for 10 - 15 minutes in low heat until it becomes crispy. 
When the soup is ready, purée it with an immersion blender until it becomes very smooth and velvety! Ladle into warm bowls and sprinkle them with bacon bits and thyme leaves. 

To see how other members of our group enjoyed this recipe visit the French Fridays with Dorie website. 


Banana, Macadamia & Coconut Cake for The Home Bakers

Saturday, December 1, 2012



I baked this Banana, Macadamia & Coconut Cake last weekend! It was a busy weekend but I was in the mood for baking. I organised everything and had the cake baked by noon, took a couple of pictures, went to a tasting event for sparkling wines and Champagnes and completely forgot about the cake and the post I had to write for The Home Bakers group.

Don't be jealous about the wine tasting event...there is a huge catch in the whole training to become a Sommelier business - yes you get to taste a lot of good (or not) wine but you have to spit it...publicly...in front of a lot of people...without spilling anything on yourself! It is not as glamorous as it sounds!! And the spiting without spilling part takes a lot of practice and can leave you really heartbroken when the wine is really good but your course instructor is looking over your shoulder, counting and monitoring said spitting (super gross - I'm stopping now!!)

Anyway back to The Home Bakers and our 11th bake (I missed the 10th) from Lou Seibert Pappas book Coffee Cakes. This one was chosen by Kit from I Lost in Austen. A great choice as it turned out. The bananas really show and keep the cake moist, sweet and balanced. You should definitely give it a try. It is very easy to prepare and if you are not a fun of macadamia nuts you can easily substitute them with walnuts, almonds or whatever else you fancy, better yet, you can make it completely nut-free and just sprinkle the top with sugar and cinnamon! You can find the recipe here.