Fresh-Pressed Olive Oil Club

Pasta in Walnut Cream

This recipe was inspired by a pasta dish my Merry Band of Tasters and I enjoyed at Dal Sor Francesco, a restaurant in Vetralla near the Colli Etruschi mill that we try to visit every year. We arrived at the height of fresh walnut season and saw the nuts everywhere. Walnut sauce is actually a specialty of Liguria, a region in northern Italy, where it’s prepared in a pesto style. My version is a bit creamier but still takes only a few minutes to make.

Ingredients

  • 8 ounces fusilli or other spiral-shaped pasta
  • 1 cup shelled walnuts 
  • 1 garlic clove 
  • 1 cup half-and-half
  • 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano or Parmigiano-Reggiano
  • 1 teaspoon coarse sea salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • Optional garnish: freshly grated nutmeg

Directions

Step 1

Cook the pasta according to package directions. While it’s boiling, heat a large frying pan. When the pan is hot, add the walnuts and toast until fragrant, about 3 minutes. Reserve and coarsely chop 1/4 cup of the toasted walnuts. Add the rest of the walnuts and the garlic to a food processor and process until finely chopped, about 30 seconds. Add in the half-and-half, olive oil, and cheese, and pulse until you get a sauce. Transfer the sauce to the frying pan and heat to a simmer.

Step 2

Reserve 1/2 cup of pasta water and drain the rest. Add the pasta, salt, and pepper to the frying pan, and toss well. If the sauce is too thick, add pasta water, 1 tablespoon at a time (it shouldn’t be runny). Garnish with the reserved walnuts and a sprinkle of nutmeg, if desired.

Serves 4

Millefoglie Two Ways

Millefoglie, the Italian version of the French millefeuille, is extremely popular throughout the country. For chocolate lovers, I’m including a variation made with thin layers of chocolate in place of the puff pastry. Both get filled with a rich and creamy sweet cheese filling. The filling ingredients yield enough for either 8 pastry or 8 chocolate millefoglie; if you’re making both, double the quantities of the filling ingredients.

Ingredients

For the puff pastry layers:

  • All-purpose flour
  • 1 package frozen puff pastry, about 14 ounces, thawed as directed on the label

For the chocolate layers:

  • 12 ounces dark chocolate, coarsely chopped
  • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

For the cream filling:

  • 12 ounces mascarpone, room temperature
  • 8 ounces whole milk ricotta
  • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 2/3 cup confectioner’s sugar, plus more for dusting
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • Optional garnish: fresh berries

Directions

Step 1

For the puff pastry layers: Heat the oven to 425°F. Lightly flour a 18×15 piece of parchment paper and a rolling pin. Unfold the thawed dough on the parchment. Roll out the dough to a 16×12 rectangle. Cut the dough into 24 equal rectangles, about 2×4 each. Slip a cookie sheet under the parchment. Add a little space between the rectangles and refrigerate for 15 minutes. Remove from the fridge and bake until the pastries puff and turn golden, 15 to 20 minutes. Let cool to room temperature before assembling.

Step 2

For the chocolate layers: Draw a 16×12 rectangle on a long piece of parchment, flip it over, and place on a cookie sheet; set aside. Place the chocolate pieces and olive oil in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave at 40 percent power for 3 minutes; repeat if not fully melted, checking every minute. Stir until smooth. Pour the melted chocolate on the parchment and, using a long offset spatula, spread it out to the edges of the drawn border. Place in the fridge for 10 minutes to slightly firm it, then use a very sharp chef’s knife to cut it into 24 equal rectangles, about 2×4 each.

Step 3

For the cream filling: Whip all the ingredients in a mixer or food processor until smooth and thick. Transfer to a pastry bag fitted with a 1-inch round tip, or simply fill a quart-size freezer bag and snip off one of the corners to pipe.

Step 4

To assemble, pipe two rows of dots of cream on each of 8 pieces of chocolate or puff pastry, top each with another piece of chocolate or puff pastry, pipe again, then top with a third piece of chocolate or puff pastry. Use a small strainer to dust the tops with confectioner’s sugar. Garnish with berries
if desired.

Serves 8

Spinach and Squash Lasagna

This is a flavorful meatless take on traditional lasagna. Many markets now sell fresh lasagna sheets or boxes of “no-boil” dry lasagna sheets that soften while cooking, thanks to the moisture from other ingredients.

Ingredients

  • 5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided use, plus more for drizzling
  • 2 pounds whole squash or 1 3/4 pounds precut chunks
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • Fine sea salt
  • 3/4 pound fresh or 1 pound dry regular or no-boil lasagna sheets
  • 16 ounces whole milk ricotta
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 3/4 cups freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, divided use
  • Pinch of pepperoncini (crushed red pepper flakes), plus more to taste
  • 1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg, or to taste
  • 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh sage, about 3 large leaves
  • 2 garlic cloves, grated on a microplane
  • 1 pound fresh spinach, rinsed, patted dry, and coarsely chopped
  • 6 ounces fontina, grated, about 1 3/4 cups

Directions

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Place 1 tablespoon olive oil in a 9×13 baking dish and spread it over the bottom and sides with a pastry brush or clean fingers; set aside.

Step 2

Peel the squash as needed and cut into a small dice, about 1/4 inch in thickness. Toss with 2 tablespoons olive oil, 10 grinds of a pepper mill, and 1 teaspoon salt. Roast in a rimmed sheet pan for 20 minutes, just until a sharp knife pierces a few pieces with barely any resistance. Cool slightly and transfer to a large mixing bowl.

Step 3

Complete the following steps while the squash
is roasting. If using regular dried lasagna sheets, cook them according to package directions for
al dente, drain, rinse with cool water to stop the cooking process and make them easier to handle, and set aside.

Step 4

In a large bowl, mix the ricotta, eggs, 1 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano, pepperoncini, nutmeg, and sage; set aside.

Step 5

Heat a large frying pan. When hot, add 2 tablespoons olive oil and the garlic, then start adding spinach to the pan by the handful, adding more as each batch cooks down. Keep cooking until the liquid from the spinach evaporates, about 8 minutes (press the spinach against the sides of the pan with a large wooden spoon to release more liquid). Take the pan off the stove and let the spinach cool slightly, then roll it up in a clean kitchen towel to squeeze out any add remaining liquid. Add to the bowl with the squash and combine.

Step 6

Lower the oven temperature to 350°F. Place a layer of lasagna sheets in the prepared baking dish, spread on 1/3 of the cheese mixture, then 1/3 of the squash mixture; sprinkle on 1/2 cup fontina and 1/4 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano. Repeat that sequence twice more, then top with the rest of the fontina and a drizzle of olive oil.

Step 7

Bake for 45 minutes until the cheese is bubbly
(if you’d like it more browned, place under the broiler for 2 to 3 minutes). Let it cool slightly before cutting into squares, dressing each one with a drizzle of olive oil.

Serves 10

Graziella’s Pizza di Scarola

This escarole-stuffed pizza is one of the many delicious dishes that Graziella Di Mercurio cooked for us after our visit to the family mill, Frantoio Mercurius. I’ve included her dough recipe, but the results are just as flavorful when prepared with refrigerated store-bought pizza dough—you’ll need about 2 pounds.

Ingredients

For homemade dough:

  • 1 1/2 cups warm water, about 110°F
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 2 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
  • 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided use
  • 4 cups 00 pizza flour or bread flour
  • 2 teaspoons fine sea salt

For the filling:

  • 1 1/2 pounds escarole, about two heads
  • 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 2 tablespoons pine nuts
  • 5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided use
  • 4 shallots, thinly sliced
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced
  • 4 anchovies or 2 teaspoons anchovy paste
  • 4 ounces black olives, halved
  • 1 tablespoon capers
  • 1 teaspoon pepperoncini (crushed red pepper flakes)

Directions

Step 1

To make homemade dough, place the water, sugar, and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the kneading attachment and wait for the yeast to bloom (become foamy), about 5 minutes. Add 3 tablespoons olive oil, the flour, and salt, and turn the mixer on low to combine the ingredients and form a ball. If the dough looks shaggy, add water, just 1/2 tablespoon at a time to avoid its getting too wet. Once a ball forms, raise the speed one notch and knead for 5 minutes.

Step 2

Pour 1 tablespoon olive oil in a clean bowl, add the dough ball, and roll it to coat it with the oil. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and place in a draft-free spot to rise until double in volume, between 60 and 75 minutes.

Step 3

While the dough is rising, prepare the escarole filling. Trim the heads and rinse the leaves. Bring a large pot of water to a boil; add 1 teaspoon salt and the escarole and boil for 5 minutes. Transfer the escarole to a colander, drain, and squeeze
out any excess moisture with your hands or in a kitchen cloth.

Step 4

Heat a large sauté pan. When hot, dry-toast the pine nuts for 2 minutes until they turn golden, then transfer to a small bowl and set aside. Add
3 tablespoons olive oil to the pan along with
the shallots and garlic, and sauté for 2 minutes. Whisk in the anchovies, then add the escarole, and slow-cook over medium high heat for 10 minutes to extract more liquid. When the greens stop releasing liquid, fold in the pine nuts, olives, capers, and pepperoncini, then remove from the heat.

Step 5

When the dough has risen, pour 1 tablespoon olive oil in a 9×13 or 12-inch round baking pan and spread it over the bottom and sides with a pastry brush or clean fingers. Use a pastry cutter or sharp knife to cut the dough in two pieces, one slightly larger than the other. Use your hands to stretch out the larger half to a size slightly larger than your baking pan—the thinner the better (make two fists and use your knuckles on the underside of the dough). Press the dough into the bottom of the pan and about 1 inch up the sides. Add the escarole mixture, leaving a 1-inch border. Stretch out the rest of the dough and place it over the escarole to form the top crust. Press together the edges of the two dough sheets to seal them. Note: If any holes form in the dough, just pinch them together with your fingers.

Step 6

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the top is crusty and golden or an instant-read thermometer registers between 200° and 210°F. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Serves 8 to 10