Olive oil infuses melted chocolate with a fresh, slightly herby taste that intensifies the rich flavor of dark chocolate. You can dip fruit and other treats in this sauce, create melt-in-your-mouth chocolate bark with it, or simply drizzle it over your favorite ice cream or Belgian waffles.
Ingredients
8 ounces dark chocolate discs or pieces, preferably 72% cacao, such as Guittard’s Coucher du Soleil
2 tablespoons mild extra virgin olive oil
Directions
Step 1
Melt 6 ounces of the chocolate in a glass bowl placed over simmering (not boiling) water, stirring with a silicone whisk or spatula until fully melted.
Step 2
Carefully remove the bowl from the heat and place on a towel on your counter. A few pieces at a time, add in the rest of the chocolate. This tempers it, or brings it down in temperature, so that the finished treat is silky. (If you have an instant-read thermometer, the chocolate on the stove should reach 118 degrees and go down to 90 after you add in the rest.) Stir in the olive oil until blended.
Yields about 1 cup of melted chocolate.
To dip: Prep an assortment of sweet fruits, like whole berries, pineapple triangles, and banana slices; cake squares; and/or pretzels and potato chips. Line a cookie sheet with waxed paper, and using a dinner fork, dip your chosen treats, one piece at a time, in the melted chocolate and then place on the waxed paper. Place the sheet in a cool spot for about two hours to allow the chocolate to harden, and then transfer your treats to a platter or tin. (Of course, you can also dip and eat right away, fondue style!)
To create a custom chocolate bark: Line a cookie sheet with waxed paper. Pour all the tempered chocolate on the wax paper and use an offset spatula to smooth it out to a 12-by-8-inch rectangle. Sprinkle with your choice of toppings in a random pattern—a great combination is 2 tablespoons each golden raisins, pistachios, and crispy chocolate pearls like Valrhona’s Les Perles Craquantes. Let the chocolate harden in a cool spot for two or more hours or, for a firmer bark, in the fridge for 30 minutes, and then break into random-sized pieces and store in a cookie tin.
If you have family or friends staying over, a leek and cheese frittata is the perfect breakfast food—and my recipe gives a delicious result without requiring you to slave away in the kitchen! You’ll see that it has only a pinch of salt, to cut back on sodium, a health goal for almost all of us.
Ingredients
6 eggs
2 ounces Parmesan cheese, grated
1 teaspoon butter, softened
2 tablespoons milk
2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
1 large leek (the white and some of the tender green part), sliced
Pinch of coarse salt
Directions
Step 1
In a bowl, whisk the eggs, cheese, butter, and milk. Heat a frying pan, add the oil, and sauté the leek slices until softened, adding the salt as they cook. Pour the egg mixture into the saucepan, and cook over medium heat until firm.
Step 2
Cover the pan with a lid, remove from heat, and let stand for 10 minutes. You can serve it hot or at room temperature. If you’d like to prepare it ahead by an hour or so, leave the lid on.
My wife, Meghan, and I love to make breakfast when we’re not traveling on behalf of the Fresh-Pressed Olive Oil Club. Eggs scrambled with peppers is one of our favorite meals, and we’ll have it for brunch or even supper if the day has gotten away from us. Peppers and feta are delicious additions—experiment with various cheeses and veggies to make this dish your own.
Ingredients
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
1/2 red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and diced
1/2 green bell pepper (or hot pepper if you’re adventurous), stemmed, seeded, and diced
4 large eggs, beaten
Coarse kosher or sea salt
2 ounces crumbled feta cheese
Freshly ground black pepper, for serving
Directions
Step 1
Heat a nonstick skillet over medium heat and add 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add the peppers to the pan and sauté until tender, 4 to 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium-low.
Step 2
Add a pinch of salt to the eggs, then pour into the skillet. Use a rubber spatula to move the eggs around, cooking them slowly until curds form. (Do not let the eggs brown.) Transfer the eggs to two plates. Top with the feta and drizzle with additional olive oil.
Rice is the perfect vehicle for a wide range of flavors, both sweet and savory. I’m a fan of the subtle aroma of jasmine rice, but any long grain will work. Dried apricots and cranberries are evocative of the season and give this pilaf a sweet-tart taste, but feel free to use whatever dried fruits you like, instead of or even in addition to. When sprinkled on the finished dish, the fresh orange zest gives it a wonderful perfume. I love to use a Microplane grater because it makes such a fine zest, and it’s so easy to move over the entire surface of the peel to get all the goodness.
Ingredients
1 medium onion, diced
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 cup jasmine or basmati rice
2-1/4 cups chicken broth, homemade or low-sodium canned
1/2 cup dried apricots, chopped fine
1/3 cup dried cranberries, chopped fine
3 tablespoons sliced almonds, toasted
2 tablespoons chopped Italian flat-leaf parsley
Freshly ground pepper to taste
1 tablespoon or more orange zest
Pinch of cinnamon, optional
Directions
In a covered saucepan over medium-low heat, sauté the onion in the olive oil until translucent. Add the rice, stirring to coat it in the oil. (This helps keep the grains distinct in the finished dish.) Stir in the broth and increase the heat to medium. Bring to a low boil, cover, and cook until the rice is tender and most of the liquid is absorbed, about 20 minutes. Stir in the apricots and cranberries and remove the pan from the heat. Put the cover back on, wait another 5 minutes, and then fluff the rice with a fork. Stir in the almonds, parsley, and freshly ground pepper. Transfer to a serving bowl and grate the orange zest right over the top. Sprinkle with cinnamon if desired.
