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Recipes
Extra Virgin Olive
Oil scented with Fresh Herbs
Roast Potatoes
with Extra Virgin Olive Oil & Oregano
Baked Whole Fish
Dukkah
Walnut Cake with Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Extra
Virgin Olive Oil scented with Fresh Herbs
Ingredients
Extra Virgin Olive Oil.
Fresh herbs such as parsley, mint, basil, sage, oregano, rosemary,
coriander or fennel.
Method:
Wash and dry your fresh herbs thoroughly before introducing them
to oil.
In a clean and dry bottle, insert three springs of one of the fresh
herbs for each cup of oil to be stored. Fill the bottle with oil
and cap the bottle tightly. Store the bottle in a cool and dark
place for ten days, after which, remove the herb and the aromatic
oil is ready for use.
Combination suggestions:
Oil with rosemary matches well with lamb, roast potatoes, baked
vegetables such as aubergines, red pepper and zucchini.
Oil with oregano is great on salads, with fish or meat.
Oil with basil goes perfectly with uncooked vegetables, dunking
with bread, mixed with tomato sauces, or just on slices of tomato.
Note:
You can mix and match herbs together to design your own favourite
combinations.
Olive oil can be scented with orange or lemon peel,
add a few cloves or a stick of cinnamon also if desired. This oil
can should be stored in a cool dark place and used within two weeks.
Omelettes, biscuits, cakes, and all pulses match well.
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Baked whole Fish
Ingredients:
A whole fresh fish, preferably 2kg - 3kg (or even larger), gutted
and cleaned.
3 tablespoons finely chopped parsley
2 garlic gloves, peeled and finely chopped
.5 kg peeled, seeded and chopped tomatoes
2 medium onions, peeled and sliced into thin rings
.5 kg red (bell) peppers, sliced into rings
juice of 2 lemons
200 ml dry white wine
8 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
salt and pepper
Method:
Preheat the oven to a moderate setting.
Combine the garlic, onions, peppers and tomatoes and place them
in an oiled baking tray.
Wash and dry the fish.
Stuff the fish with the parsley and place it on the tray.
Season the fish with salt and pepper.
Mix the olive oil, wine and lemon juice and drizzle this over the
fish.
Bake the fish in the oven for about one hour.
Serve on a hot platter garnishing the fish with slices of tomato
and lemon and some parsley.
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Roast Potatoes with Extra Virgin Olive
Oil and Oregano
Ingredients:
1.5 kg potatoes
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon of salt
Pepper
Half a cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Juice of 2 lemons
1 cup water
Method:
Preheat the oven to a hot setting.
Peel the potatoes and cut lengthwise, into 4 or more pieces and
pat the pieces dry.
Place the potatoes in a baking tray and sprinkle with the oregano,
salt and pepper.
Mix the Extra Virgin Olive Oil, lemon juice and water and drizzle
it over the potatoes.
Bake in the oven, first on a high temperature for 20 minutes and
then turn the oven down to moderate heat for baking for another
50 minutes, until the potatoes are soft and a golden brown.
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Dukkah
There are many ingredient combinations for Dukkah - it's a middle eastern (Egyptian) dry mix of roasted nuts, spices and seeds that you combine, determined by what ingredients you have in your pantry. It's a mix that's eaten by dipping pieces of fresh bread first into extra virgin olive oil and then into the nut mixture. I sometimes use it to coat fish and meat before baking/barbecuing them. Please experiment with the ingredient quantities until you find the blend which best suits your palate........
Roast 8 heaped tablespoons of hazelnuts and 4 tablespoons of almonds in the oven. Allow to cool and then put them in a food processor along with:
1 tblspn cumin powder
1 tblspn ground coriander
1 tblspn ground dried oregano (from my garden)
2 tblspn sesame seeds
half tspn salt
half tspn cracked pepper
half tspn ground ginger
half tspn ground cinnamon
Blend all the ingredients together and then transfer to a clean jar with a tight-fitting lid. This should store well for up to three months - if it lasts that long!
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Walnut Cake with Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Preparation:
Oven: moderate (180C)
Oil a cake tin well (I use a 21cm round spring-form cake tin)
Ingredients:
500gm self-raising flour
1 cup of sultanas or raisins
250ml evoo – you can be brave and use a peppery oil, but not one that’s bitter
375gm sugar
250ml water
125ml brandy
1dstspn lemon rind
1tspn nutmeg
1.5 cups finely chopped walnuts
2tspn cinnamon
Method:
Sift flour and spices together. Wash & wipe the fruit and sift a little flour over them. Beat oil, add water, brandy and lemon rind. Fold in flour with spices, walnuts and fruit. Add mixture to cake tin and bake in oven for up to 1.5 hrs - skewer should come out clean. Remove from tin and when cool, dust with icing sugar and extra cinnamon. Serve with cream/marscapone.
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