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Explore Recipes Page 14

Zorongollo

Posted on by The Olive Oil Hunter

This colorful salad, popular in Cáceres in western Spain, makes a great starter, light lunch, or midnight snack. Do not confuse it with zarangollo, a dish from Murcia that features stewed zucchini and scrambled eggs.

Ingredients

  • 3 red, yellow, or orange bell peppers, or a mix
  • 4 Roma tomatoes
  • 1 small head of garlic, the top removed
  • Extra virgin olive oil
  • Coarse salt (kosher or sea) and freshly ground black pepper
  • Best quality sherry or red wine vinegar
  • A few leaves of Bibb, Boston, or romaine lettuce, washed and dried (optional)
  • 1/2 small sweet onion, peeled and sliced lengthwise into thin strips
  • 2 hard-cooked eggs, peeled and quartered lengthwise
  • 2 to 4 slices crusty bread, sliced on a diagonal and toasted

Directions

Step 1

Heat the oven to 400°F. Arrange the peppers and tomatoes, cut sides down, on a rimmed sheet pan. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and season with salt and pepper, then loosely wrap the garlic in a square of aluminum foil (to keep it from burning), drizzle the garlic with olive oil, and place in a corner of the pan. Roast for 30 minutes, or until the vegetables soften. Let cool.

Step 2

Working over a shallow bowl, peel and seed the peppers and tomatoes. Reserve the juices.

Step 3

Cut the peppers into strips; dice the tomatoes. Combine, adding the reserved juices. Unwrap the garlic and squeeze 2 or 3 softened garlic cloves into the pepper-and-tomato mixture. Season with salt and pepper and mash lightly with the back of a wooden spoon. Drizzle with a liberal amount of olive oil and vinegar to taste.

Step 4

Divide the lettuce leaves, if using, between two chilled shallow bowls. Top with the pepper-and- tomato mixture and the onions, then add an egg to each bowl, along with a piece or two of toasted bread (also drizzled with olive oil) and the remainder of the roasted garlic (2 or 3 cloves per plate). Serve chilled or at room temperature.

Serves 2

Composed Salad with Apple Balsamic Vinaigrette

Posted on by The Olive Oil Hunter

Sounds complicated and even more exotic in its original French—“salade composée”—but a composed salad is nothing more than an artful way to arrange your ingredients rather than tossing them together. Salade Niçoise and Cobb salad are two that are typically presented this way, but a composed salad can be made of any ingredients you choose—and it’s a great way to showcase fresh seasonal vegetables and even fruits. The following ingredients and directions are merely guidelines—let your imagination be your guide and remember that unusual combos can be delicious. Whatever you choose should have a flavorful dressing, so I’m including the recipe for one of my favorite vinaigrettes. It uses apple balsamic vinegar, a great change from classic balsamic of Modena.

Ingredients

For the vinaigrette:

  • 1⁄4 cup Apple Balsamic Vinegar
  • 1⁄4 teaspoon dried basil leaves, crushed 
  • 1 small shallot, minced 
  • 1 garlic clove, minced 
  • Pinch red pepper flakes
  • 1⁄2 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

For the platter, choose any combination:

  • Protein: pick 1 or 2, such as sliced chicken, hard-boiled egg halves, or strips of prosciutto
  • Cheese: pick 1 or 2 such as cubes of fresh mozzarella or aged Parmigiano-Reggiano, or thin rounds of goat cheese
  • Greens: pick 1 lettuce or another leafy green, like arugula or baby spinach
  • Vegetables: pick 3 or 4, raw, steamed, or grilled, such as asparagus, cherry tomatoes, and string beans
  • Fruit and nuts: pick 1 or more, such as grapes, apple or pear slices, raisins or another dried fruit, avocado, and almonds or walnuts 
  • Legumes: pick 1, such as cooked beans or chickpeas

Directions

Step 1

Make the vinaigrette: In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the vinegar, basil, shallot, garlic, and red pepper flakes. Gradually whisk in the olive oil until the dressing is emulsified. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Step 2

Compose your salad: Rinse and pat dry all raw ingredients. Cut all ingredients into bite-size pieces or thin slices. Lettuces and other greens can be sliced into ribbons. Choose a large platter and place one ingredient at a time, going from left to right. 

Step 3

Place the vinaigrette on the side so each person can add as much or as little as they want.

Yields 4 servings

Bikini Sandwiches

Posted on by The Olive Oil Hunter

Back in the 1950s, the Barcelona nightclub La Sala Bikini started serving croque monsieur, the French grilled ham and cheese sandwich. Because the Spanish dictator Francisco Franco didn’t allow French (or English) words in the lexicon, it was simply called the home sandwich, but patrons soon referred to it as the Bikini. Delicious when made with quintessential Spanish foods, it can also be personalized with other ingredients you have on hand.

Ingredients

  • 4 large slices of crusty bread
  • Extra virgin olive oil
  • 4 ounces Manchego, Ibérico cheese, or provolone, very thinly sliced
  • 4 ounces Ibérico chorizo or jamón, thinly sliced
  • jarred piquillo peppers, drained, seeded, and slivered
  • Spanish orange blossom honey

Directions

Brush one side of each bread slice with olive oil and build the sandwiches on two of the slices, layering on half the cheese, the meat, the peppers, and the rest of the cheese. Drizzle on some honey and then top with the remaining bread slices. Brush the outsides of the bread liberally with olive oil. Grill the sandwiches in a panini press or on a heated griddle until the cheese melts. If using a griddle, press down the sandwiches with a cast iron pan or other heavy pan for 5 minutes, flip and repeat. Transfer the sandwiches to a cutting board and cut into slices.

Serves 2 (4 as tapas)

Lamb Merguez Meatballs

Posted on by The Olive Oil Hunter

Highly spiced lamb merguez is traditionally a dish from North Africa, just across the Mediterranean from Spain. To add a Spanish influence, orange zest is included with the other aromatics, and the finished meatballs are drizzled with a citrus sauce.

Ingredients

For the spice mix:

  • 2 teaspoons cumin seeds
  • 2 teaspoons fennel seeds
  • 2 teaspoons coriander seeds
  • 4 teaspoons pimentón
  • 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

For the herb-lemon sauce:

  • 2 tablespoons of the spice mix
  • 4 cloves garlic, peeled and coarsely chopped
  • 1 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves, packed
  • 1/2 cup fresh mint leaves
  • 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon lemon zest
  • 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • Coarse salt (kosher or sea), to taste

For the meatballs:

  • Rest of the spice mix
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided use
  • 2 teaspoons orange zest
  • 4 cloves garlic, peeled and coarsely chopped
  • 1/4 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, coarsely chopped
  • 1 teaspoon coarse sea or kosher salt, or to taste
  • 2 pounds ground lamb

Directions

Step 1

Heat a small skillet over medium-low heat. When warm, add the cumin, fennel, and coriander seeds and toast until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer the seeds to a spice or coffee grinder and grind to a powder. Transfer to a large bowl, then add the pimentón, cayenne, and black pepper, and mix.

Step 2

Make the sauce: Place 2 tablespoons of the mix in the work bowl of a food processor along with
the garlic, parsley, mint, lemon juice, and zest; process until a paste forms. With the food processor running, add the olive oil and process until emulsified. Taste and season with salt if desired.

Step 3

Make the meatballs: To the large bowl with the spice mix, add the cinnamon and 2 tablespoons of olive oil, whisking well. Fold in the orange zest, garlic, parsley, and salt. Then add the ground lamb and use your hands (you may want to run them under cold water first) to distribute the seasonings evenly. Chill for 30 minutes to make the meatballs easier to form, then shape them into 1 1/2- to 2-inch balls.

Step 4

Heat a large frying pan over medium heat. When hot, add the remaining 4 tablespoons olive oil and one even layer of meatballs (you may need to sauté in batches). Use tongs to brown them on all sides, rotating until cooked through, about 10 minutes. Drizzle with the sauce and serve.

Serves 4 (8 as tapas)