Fresh-Pressed Olive Oil Club
Explore Recipes Sauces & Dressings Page 10

The Ultimate Guacamole

Posted on by The Olive Oil Hunter

This guacamole gets a jolt of flavor from cumin. You can intensify the heat by leaving in some of the jalapeño seeds.

Ingredients

  • 2 garlic cloves, peeled
  • 1 small jalapeño
  • 1 small onion
  • 1 cup of cilantro, leaves and some stems
  • 3 large ripe avocados
  • 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, or more to taste
  • 1 lime, halved
  • 1 teaspoon cumin (wild if possible), toasted and ground
  • Freshly ground black peppercorns
  • Coarse sea salt

Directions

Mince the garlic and set it aside for 10 minutes to allow its healthful compound allicin to develop. Wearing gloves to keep the jalapeño’s powerful oils off your skin, slice the pepper in half lengthwise and use a small spoon to scrape out the ribs and seeds, and then cut it into a small dice. On a large cutting board, chop the onion into a large dice and keep chopping as you add in the garlic, jalapeños, and cilantro to meld them together. Halve the avocados and use a spoon to scoop all the flesh into a large bowl. Add the olive oil, coarsely mash the avocado with a fork, and then fold in the onion mixture. Squeeze in the juice of a lime half and fold in the cumin, a few twists of your peppercorn grinder, and a sprinkle of salt. Taste and adjust the seasonings, adding more olive oil, lime juice, black pepper, and/or salt as desired.

Yields 4-6 appetizer servings. ​

Composed Pear Salad With Port Vinaigrette

Posted on by The Olive Oil Hunter

This dish is made for the fall, when pears are bountiful across the US. It’s also an effortless way to put together a composed salad for a brunch, a lunch or even a meatless supper with a combination of ingredients that is a little surprising…and totally delicious. While you can use poached pears or even grill pear halves just as you would bell peppers, for an elegant meal in minutes, pick a pear variety that tastes best au naturel (see the Healthy Ingredient Spotlight below to get familiar with varieties besides Bartlett). The vinaigrette is great on everything, so if you have extra, enjoy it on steamed veggies or even as a marinade for chicken breasts.

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup good-quality red wine vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons port wine
  • 1 tablespoon honey, preferably eucalyptus honey
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt or more to taste
  • 1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
  • 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 6 cups salad greens, such as mesclun or a mix of frisée, arugula and mâche, torn if needed
  • 2 ripe, unpeeled pears, such as Bartlett, Anjou, Comice or Starkrimson, halved and cored
  • 4 tablespoons Gorgonzola Dolce or another creamy and mild blue cheese
  • 1/3 cup hazelnuts, toasted and chopped
  • 1/3 cup pomegranate seeds 

Directions

To make the vinaigrette, add the vinegar, port, honey, salt and pepper to a blender. Turn on the machine and slowly trickle in the olive oil through the cap in the lid, processing until emulsified. Divide the salad greens among four plates. Center a pear half, cut side up, over the greens on each plate, and fill the center of each pear with a spoonful of the cheese. Drizzle a tablespoon of the vinaigrette over the pears and greens, then sprinkle on equal amounts of the nuts and pomegranate seeds.

Yields 4 servings

Grilled Skirt Steak with Salsa Verde

Posted on by The Olive Oil Hunter

If you love to grill like I do, you probably don’t limit yourself to summer BBQs. Here’s a perfect dish for a crisp fall evening.

Ingredients

For the salsa verde:
  • 1-1/2 cups packed flat-leaf parsley 
  • 2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/4 cup capers, drained
  • 1 to 2 anchovy fillets (optional) 
  • 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
  • 2 medium cloves garlic, minced (about 2 teaspoons) 
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice 
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest 
  • Kosher salt 
  • Freshly ground black pepper 

For the steak: ​

  • One 2-pound skirt steak
  • Kosher salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper 

Directions

Step 1

To make the salsa verde, roughly chop the parsley and place it, along with the olive oil, capers, anchovies (if using), vinegar, garlic and lemon juice and zest, in the work bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Pulse until the parsley is well chopped, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Transfer to a gravy boat or a small bowl and set aside. 

Step 2

Set up your grill or grill pan for indirect grilling, and heat it to medium-high. Generously season both sides of the steak with salt and pepper. Grill for about 3 minutes per side, or until done to your liking. Let rest for 2 minutes before carving thinly against the grain. Serve with the salsa verde.

Quick kitchen hack: Carving the right way is key with certain cuts of meat, like skirt or flank steak. Whether you see it described as “on the diagonal,” “on a bias” or “against the grain,” it means the same thing—slicing in the direction opposite the meat’s muscle fibers. So, if you’re looking at your steak and the fibers are running vertically from top to bottom, you want to slice horizontally or across from side to side. The reason is simple: This creates a more tender chew.

Pork Tenderloin With Pineapple Salsa

Posted on by The Olive Oil Hunter

The acidity of the pineapple salsa works really well with the grilled pork. The salsa gets a flavor boost from aji amarillo, literally translated as “yellow pepper.” Amarillo is a fruity, medium-heat chile that’s popular in South America but rarely seen in US stores. You can buy it in paste form on Amazon—Inca’s Food is a great brand and also makes the terrific but much hotter aji panca.

Ingredients

For the salsa:

  • 1/2 fresh pineapple, peeled, cored and cut into ¼” dice 
  • 1 cup diced yellow, red and/or orange bell pepper 
  • 2 scallions, white and green parts, trimmed and thinly sliced
  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro 
  • 1 or 2 red or green jalapeños (depending on how much heat you want), stemmed, seeded and finely diced 
  • 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, with a fruity profile if possible
  • 1 tablespoon (or more to taste) rice wine vinegar 
  • 4 teaspoons aji amarillo paste
  • 1 to 2 teaspoons honey 

For the Pork:

  • 2 pork tenderloins, each about 1-1/4 pounds
  • Extra virgin olive oil
  • Garlic salt 
  • Freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Step One

Place all the salsa ingredients in a medium bowl and stir gently with a rubber spatula. Cover and refrigerate. The salsa can be made up to 4 hours ahead. Note: If fresh pineapple is unavailable, you can use frozen, no-sugar-added pineapple chunks, thawed and cut into dice.

Step Two

When you’re ready to cook, light your grill and set it up for direct grilling. Preheat to medium high. Brush and oil the grill grate.

Step Three

Prep each tenderloin by removing any silverskin, the strip of tough connective tissue that runs the length of the tenderloin. Use the tip of a fillet knife to lift up one end, which you can then hold on to as you move the blade under the rest of the strip to separate it from the meat; discard. Rub each tenderloin on all sides with olive oil. Season with the garlic salt and black pepper. 

Step Four

Arrange the tenderloins on the grill grate and grill for about 3 minutes per side (12 minutes total) until an instant-read meat thermometer reaches 145°F. (The pork will still be slightly pink.) Transfer to a cutting board and let rest for 5 minutes. Slice into medallions and shingle on a platter. Serve the pineapple salsa on the side. 

Note: As an alternative, you can sear the tenderloins in olive oil in an oven-safe skillet until they’re nicely browned, then transfer the skillet to a 350°F oven to finish for about 15 minutes.

Yields 6 to 8 servings