Fresh-Pressed Olive Oil Club
Explore Recipes Entrees Page 8

Bell Pepper “Empanadas”

Posted on by The Olive Oil Hunter

This take on empanadas de queso is perfect when you want melted cheesy goodness but would rather skip the dough. Preferred in Chile is the very buttery queso chanco, a cheese that’s close in taste and texture to our Muenster. Though not traditional in empanadas, merquén adds a nice zest (you can substitute pimentón if it’s already on your spice shelf). To make this more of a meal, toss the shredded cheese with 1 cup of cooked brown rice or quinoa before stuffing into the peppers. Eat them with a knife and fork or with your hands, empanada style.

Ingredients

  • 8-ounce block Muenster cheese
  • 4 medium red, orange, or yellow bell peppers, about 5 ounces each
  • Extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon merquén, or more to taste

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Shred the cheese on a box grater or with the shredding blade of a food processor. Use a grapefruit or paring knife to carefully cut around and remove the stem of each bell pepper. To avoid cutting into the flesh, use an iced tea or grapefruit spoon to scrape out the ribs and any seeds. Generously drizzle each pepper inside and out with olive oil. Sprinkle a pinch of merquén inside each pepper, then fill with equal amounts of the shredded cheese. Bake upright on a parchment-lined rimmed sheet pan or, if they won’t stand upright, in a muffin tin for 30 minutes or until the peppers are tender and the cheese is bubbly. Let cool slightly. Drizzle with olive oil right before eating.

Serves 4

Ceviche de Porotos Negros (Black Bean Ceviche)

Posted on by The Olive Oil Hunter

I enjoyed this dish at the wonderful Cervecería Rural in Litueche. It’s a salad of black beans (red kidney beans make a great alternative) dressed in the style of a ceviche marinade. Some versions have all the ingredients tossed together, but Rural’s chef presented it as a beautifully composed salad.

Ingredients

For the dressing:

  • 1 jalapeño, halved and seeded
  • 1 garlic clove, peeled
  • 1/4 cup fresh cilantro with some stems
  • 1/2 cup fresh lime juice
  • 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • Coarse sea salt, to taste
  • Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

For the ceviche:

  • Two 15-ounce cans black beans, rinsed and drained
  • 1 red bell pepper, cored and seeded, cut into matchsticks
  • 1 green bell pepper, cored and seeded, cut into matchsticks
  • 1 small red onion, peeled and shaved on the slicing side of a box grater
  • 1 avocado, peeled, pitted, and cut into thin slices
  • 1 cup frisée or arugula
  • Kernels from one ear of freshly steamed corn
  • Extra virgin olive oil

Directions

Step 1

In a food processor, mince the jalapeño, garlic, and cilantro, then add the lime juice and olive oil and pulse until blended. Taste and season with salt and pepper as desired. Place the beans in a bowl and toss them with half the dressing; set aside for 30 minutes to marinate.

Step 2

When ready to serve, place equal amounts of the beans on 4 plates. Arrange these ingredients in a clockwise pattern over the beans: a few matchsticks of the bell peppers, a small mound of red onion, 3 to 4 slices of avocado, and a few leaves of frisée. Sprinkle a handful of corn kernels over each dish and then drizzle with the rest of the marinade and more olive oil.

Serves 4 as an appetizer

Roasted Chicken with Mango and Nut Salsa

Posted on by The Olive Oil Hunter

Roasted chicken is the little black dress of the table, welcome on the menu of a dinner party or a weeknight meal. The following bright-tasting salsa is also terrific with fish, a popular entrée in Chile, a country with over 2,000 miles of Pacific coastline. Dice the vegetables extra fine and serve the salsa with cold shrimp for a warm-weather appetizer.

Ingredients

For the salsa:

  • 3 ripe mangos, peeled, pitted, and diced
  • 1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded, and diced
  • 1 jalapeño, cored, seeded, and finely diced
  • 1/2 cup diced red onion (about 1/2 a small onion)
  • Zest of one lime
  • 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
  • 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 teaspoons honey
  • 1 teaspoon merquén or 1/2 teaspoon cayenne, or to taste
  • 1/2 cup toasted hazelnuts or shelled pistachios, roughly chopped
  • Coarse salt (optional; don’t use if nuts are salted)

For the chicken:

  • One 4-pound roasting
    chicken, giblets removed
  • Extra virgin olive oil
  • Coarse salt (kosher or sea)
  • Freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Step 1

Make the salsa: Combine the mangos, bell pepper, jalapeño, onion, lime zest and juice, olive oil, honey, and merquén. Stir gently with a rubber-bladed spatula. Add the nuts and a pinch of salt, if using, and stir to combine. Set aside while you roast the chicken.

Step 2

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Truss the chicken, if desired. Rub on all sides with olive oil and season generously, inside and out, with salt and pepper. Place on a wire rack over a rimmed baking sheet or roasting pan. Place in the oven. Roast until the chicken is golden brown and an instant-read meat thermometer reads 165°F when the probe is inserted in the deepest part of a thigh, about an hour and 15 minutes. Let the bird rest for 10 minutes before carving. Stir the salsa once more before serving with the chicken.

Serves 3 to 4

Flank Steak with Avocado Chimichurri

Posted on by The Olive Oil Hunter

To make this lean cut of beef tender, three steps are needed: a long marination, a fast grilling, and slicing against the grain—in the opposite direction of its meat fibers.

Ingredients

For the steak:

  • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
  • 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt (kosher or sea)
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
  • 2 pounds flank steak or hanger steak

For the chimichurri:

  • 1 bunch fresh flat-leaf parsley, rinsed, shaken dry, and trimmed (keep on the top half of the stems)
  • 1/2 bunch fresh cilantro, rinsed, shaken dry, and trimmed (keep on the top half of the stems)
  • 3 to 4 cloves garlic, peeled and coarsely chopped
  • 1 tablespoon fresh or 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1 teaspoon merquén or hot red pepper flakes
  • 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 3 to 4 tablespoons red wine vinegar
  • 3 to 4 tablespoons cold water
  • Coarse sea salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 avocado, peeled, pitted, and diced

Directions

Step 1

Make the marinade: Whisk together the olive oil, vinegar, salt, pepper, and garlic. Place the steak in a glass baking dish that will hold it and pour on the marinade, flipping the meat to coat both sides. Cover and place in the fridge for four hours or up to overnight.

Step 2

Two hours before serving, make the chimichurri: Place the parsley, cilantro, garlic, oregano, and merquén in a food processor and finely chop, running the machine in short bursts. With the motor running, add the olive oil in a thin stream, followed by 3 tablespoons vinegar and 3 tablespoons of water. Taste the chimichurri, adding another tablespoon of vinegar if you want it more tart and, if necessary, another tablespoon of water for a pourable consistency. Season with salt and pepper to taste; it should be highly seasoned. Set aside. Fold in the avocado chunks just before serving.

Step 3

Preheat your grill to medium-high. Remove the steak from the marinade and pat dry. Grill for 3 to 5 minutes per side, depending on thickness—it’s best medium-rare. Let the meat rest for 2 to 3 minutes, then thinly slice on the diagonal. Arrange on a platter and serve with the avocado chimichurri.

Serves 4 to 6