Fresh-Pressed Olive Oil Club
Explore Recipes Sides & Salads Page 28

Tuna and White Bean Salad

Posted on by The Olive Oil Hunter

This Mediterranean dish combines two great brain foods, olive oil and omega-3-rich tuna, and gets a protein and fiber boost from the beans.

Ingredients

  • 3 cups cooked white beans, such as cannellini or Great Northern beans, drained and rinsed if canned 
  • 1 cup diced celery hearts plus a few celery leaves for garnish 
  • 1 red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and diced 
  • 1 small red onion, finely sliced crosswise 
  • 1 clove garlic, finely minced
  • 15 to 20 pitted brine-cured kalamata olives, halved
  • 2 tablespoons minced flat-leaf parsley
  • 4 to 5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice or red wine vinegar, or more to taste
  • Sea salt and coarsely ground black pepper 
  • Head of romaine lettuce
  • 12 ounces tuna, either fresh and seared or the highest-quality canned, flaked

Directions

Step 1

In a mixing bowl, combine the beans, celery hearts, bell pepper, onion, garlic, olives, and parsley.

Step 2

Add the olive oil, lemon juice or vinegar, and salt and pepper to taste. Mix gently with a rubber spatula. Taste and adjust the seasonings, adding more olive oil, lemon juice or vinegar, salt, and pepper as needed. 

Step 3

Rinse the romaine lettuce leaves, slice them into ribbons, and arrange in four salad bowls.

Step 4

Top with equal amounts of the salad mixture and the flaked tuna. Garnish with celery leaves and serve. 

Yields 4 servings.

Calabrian Pumpkin Soup

Posted on by The Olive Oil Hunter

Simple but sublime is the pumpkin soup my Merry Band of Tasters and I were served when visiting the Librandi family, one of Calabria’s outstanding olive oil producers. “Mama” Librandi shared the recipe with me.

Ingredients

  • 1 3-pound pumpkin or butternut squash, peeled, with seeds and membranes removed 
  • 2 medium Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled
  • 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus more for serving
  • 2 tablespoons water 
  • Sea salt
  • Croutons for garnish (see the “Healthy Ingredient Spotlight” below) 

Directions

Step 1

Using a sturdy knife, cut the pumpkin or butternut squash into roughly 1.5” cubes. Do the same with the potatoes.

Step 2

In a medium saucepan, combine the pumpkin, potatoes, the 3 tablespoons of olive oil, and the water. Cover and cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until tender—50 to 60 minutes.

Step 3

Transfer to a blender jar and purée until smooth (don’t fill the blender more than half full—work in batches if necessary). Salt to taste.

Step 4

Divide the soup between warmed soup bowls. Drizzle generously with additional olive oil, and garnish with croutons. 

Yields 6 appetizer or 4 main course servings

Cheesy Smashed Potatoes with Mojo Colorado

Posted on by The Olive Oil Hunter

Mojo colorado is a classic red chile sauce from Spain’s Canary Islands. Great on smashed potatoes, it’s also wonderful as an accompaniment to anything you cook on the grill—meat, fish, or veggies.

Ingredients

For the mojo colorado:

  • 1 red bell pepper
  • 2 tablespoons pimentón
  • 1 small, fresh, hot red chile, stemmed, seeded, and roughly chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
  • 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
  • 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher or sea salt or to taste
  • 1/4 cup water

For the potatoes:

  • 8 medium Yukon Gold potatoes, skin on
  • 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
  • Coarse kosher or sea salt
  • 1/2 cup coarsely grated Manchego cheese
  • 1/2 teaspoon pimentón

Directions

Step 1

Make the mojo colorado: Char the bell pepper over a gas burner or under a broiler until it is blackened and blistered on all sides. Peel, stem, seed, and tear it into several pieces. Place in a blender jar with the other sauce ingredients, and blend until smooth. Add more salt if needed or water to thin. Set aside.

Step 2

Bake the potatoes: Preheat the oven to 375°F. (If you used your broiler to roast the pepper, let the oven cool to 375° before continuing the recipe.) Use 1 tablespoon of olive oil to coat a baking dish large enough to accommodate the potatoes. Bake the potatoes until they are soft when pierced with a knife or a bamboo skewer, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Remove from the oven and gently smash each potato with the back of a large spoon. Drizzle with the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil, then season with salt. Top with the grated Manchego cheese and dust with pimentón. Return to the oven for 15 minutes.

Step 3

Drizzle with the mojo colorado before serving.

Yields 4 to 6 side-dish servings.

Garden Pasta Alla Hermes

Posted on by The Olive Oil Hunter

My Merry Band of Tasters and I were treated to this recipe at the Di Mercurio family’s farm in Italy after an olive harvest, and master miller Duccio Morozzo and I liked it so much we decided to recreate it back in his Roman kitchen.

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
  • 1/2 red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and diced
  • 1/2 small eggplant, stemmed, peeled, and diced
  • 1/2 small zucchini, stemmed and diced
  • 1 small red onion, peeled and diced
  • Coarse sea salt
  • 8 ounces dry rigatoni
  • 3 cups tomato purée or crushed tomatoes
  • Parmigiano-Reggiano for serving
  • Crushed red pepper flakes for serving
  • Basil leaves for garnish

Directions

Step 1

Pour the 1/4 cup of olive oil into a cold saucepan. Add the bell pepper, eggplant, zucchini, onion, and a pinch or two of salt. Sauté the vegetables until they’re soft and cooked through, 10 to 12 minutes. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, add the pasta, and cook until al dente according to the package directions.

Step 2

Stir the tomato purée into the vegetables and simmer over medium-low heat for 5 minutes.

Step 3

Purée the sauce with a stick blender until it’s fairly smooth. Season with additional salt, if desired. Drain the rigatoni and add to the sauce. Gently stir to combine. Transfer to a warmed shallow bowl and serve with grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, red pepper flakes, and extra olive oil for drizzling. Garnish with basil as desired.

Yields 4 lunch or 2 dinner servings.