Fresh-Pressed Olive Oil Club
Pressing Report Page 41

Frittata with Arugula

Posted on by The Olive Oil Hunter

This infinitely customizable recipe is good for breakfast, lunch, or dinner—warm or at room temperature. The following version is vegetarian, but you can add cooked sausage, diced ham, or crispy bacon to the mix. Serve with toasted country-style bread if you’re not watching your carbs.

Ingredients

  • 5 ounces fresh baby arugula (about 4 big handfuls), washed and dried
  • 2 tablespoons white or red wine vinegar
  • 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for oiling the pie plate and for drizzling
  • Coarse salt (kosher or sea) and freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 cup grated mozzarella or Monterey Jack, divided use
  • 1 scallion, trimmed, white and green parts thinly sliced
  • 1/2 red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and diced
  • 6 large eggs, beaten

Directions

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Step 2

Place the arugula in a medium mixing bowl and fluff with your fingers. Add the vinegar and 1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil; toss gently to mix. Season lightly with salt and pepper and toss again. Set aside.

Step 3

Oil a 9-inch glass pie plate with olive oil. Scatter 3/4 cup of the cheese evenly over the bottom of the pie plate. Top with the scallions and bell pepper. Slowly pour the eggs over the vegetables and cheese.

Step 4

Bake the frittata until the eggs are just set and have begun to pull away from the sides of the pie plate, about 25 minutes. Sprinkle the remainder of the cheese evenly over the top of the frittata; the heat
from the eggs will melt it. Let the frittata rest for 5 to 7 minutes before cutting into 6 wedges.

Step 5

To serve, place a wedge of frittata on each plate; pile some of the arugula salad on the side Serve extra virgin olive oil on the side for drizzling.

Serves 4 to 6 — Recipe courtesy of the Fresh-Pressed Olive Oil Club

Avocado Corn Salad

Posted on by The Olive Oil Hunter

This vibrant salad, which features several of Chile’s iconic ingredients, is a great companion to barbecued meats. Stir in cooked pasta (shells or rotini), and it can serve as a colorful and healthful main course.

Ingredients

For the salad:

  • 1 pound grape or cherry tomatoes, red, yellow, or a mix, halved
  • 3 ears of cooked sweet corn (grilled or boiled), shucked and sliced off the cob
  • 2 avocados peeled, pitted, and diced
  • 1 small red onion, peeled, quartered lengthwise, and thinly sliced
  • 1 cup cooked black beans, drained and rinsed if canned (optional)
  • 1/4 cup roughly chopped cilantro leaves
  • Butter lettuce leaves, such as Little Gem, for serving (optional)

For the dressing:

  • 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/4 cup fresh lime juice (from 1 to 2 limes), or more to taste
  • 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
  • 1 to 2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely minced
  • 1 teaspoon coarse salt (kosher or sea), or more to taste
  • 1 teaspoon merquén (see Notes below) or chili powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Directions

Step 1

Make the salad: In a large mixing bowl, place the tomatoes, corn, avocados, onion, black beans (if using), and cilantro; stir gently with a rubber spatula to combine.

Step 2

Make the dressing: In a jar with a tight-fitting lid, combine the olive oil, lime juice, vinegar, garlic, salt, merquén (see Notes below), and black pepper. Shake vigorously to emulsify. Taste, adding more lime juice or salt; the dressing should be highly seasoned. Drizzle over the salad, mixing gently with a rubber spatula.

Step 3

If using, arrange the lettuce leaves in a single layer on a platter. Tip the avocado and corn salad over the leaves. Or simply transfer the salad to an attractive serving bowl. Serve immediately.

Notes: Merquén is a spice blend unique to Chile, one we have come to love: It consists of smoked and dried goat’s horn chiles, salt, cumin, and toasted ground coriander. Find it at well-stocked spice stores or online. The salad can be made up to several hours ahead, covered, and refrigerated. But prepare and add the avocado just before serving.

Serves 6 — Recipe courtesy of the Fresh-Pressed Olive Oil Club

Chili-Rubbed Skirt Steak

Posted on by The Olive Oil Hunter

Red meat is a staple in Chilean homes, with asados (barbecues) being a popular form of entertainment for families. Here, beefy-tasting skirt steak is marinated for several hours, then quickly grilled (preferably to medium-rare for maximum tenderness). Before serving, anoint it with additional fresh-pressed olive oil—Mother Nature’s perfect sauce. Pour a Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon.

Ingredients

  • Four 8-ounce portions (2 pounds) of trimmed skirt steak
  • 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
  • 2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar, plus more for drizzling
  • 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely chopped
  • 2 teaspoons pure chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
  • Coarse salt (kosher or sea) and freshly ground black pepper to taste
  • Vegetable oil for oiling the grill grate
  • Chopped fresh chives, flat-leaf parsley, or cilantro leaves, for serving

Directions

Step 1

Make the marinade: In a large bowl, combine the olive oil, 2 tablespoons of balsamic, the garlic, 1 teaspoon of salt, 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper, the remainder of the spices, and the lemon juice.

Step 2

Arrange the steaks in a glass baking pan just large enough to hold them. Pour the marinade over the steaks, and turn to coat. Cover and refrigerate for 2 to 4 hours.

Step 3

Remove the steaks from the marinade and discard the marinade. Pat the steaks dry with paper towels and season on both sides with salt and pepper.

Step 4

Set up your grill for direct grilling and heat to high. (Alternatively, cook the steaks on your stovetop using a cast iron grill pan or skillet.) Brush and oil the grill grate with vegetable oil.

Step 5

Arrange the steaks on the grill grate. Grill until done to your liking, 3 to 5 minutes per side, depending on the thickness of the meat.

Step 6

Let the steaks rest on a cutting board for 3 minutes, then slice crosswise on a sharp diagonal. Transfer the meat and any accumulated juices to a platter. Drizzle with olive oil and a few dribbles of balsamic vinegar. Top with the chives, parsley, or cilantro.

Serves 4 generously — Recipe adapted from vinepair.com

Does eating a Mediterranean diet protect against memory loss and dementia?

Posted on by The Olive Oil Hunter

Adapted from an article from the American Academy of Neurology, May 6, 2021

Eating a Mediterranean diet that is rich in fish, vegetables, and olive oil may protect your brain from protein buildup and shrinkage that can lead to Alzheimer’s disease, according to a new study. The research is published in the May 5, 2021, online issue of Neurology.

The study looked at abnormal proteins called amyloid and tau. Amyloid is a protein that forms into plaques, while tau is a protein that forms into tangles. Both are found in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s disease but may also be found in the brains of older people with normal cognition.

The Mediterranean diet includes high intake of vegetables, legumes, fruits, cereals, fish, and monounsaturated fatty acids such as olive oil, and low intake of saturated fatty acids, dairy products, and meat.

“Our study suggests that eating a diet that’s high in unsaturated fats, fish, fruits and vegetables, and low in dairy and red meat may actually protect your brain from the protein buildup that can lead to memory loss and dementia,” said study author Tommaso Ballarini, PhD, of the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) in Bonn, Germany. “These results add to the body of evidence that show what you eat may influence your memory skills later on.”

The study involved 512 people. Of those, 169 were cognitively normal, while 343 were identified as being at higher risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. Researchers looked at how closely people followed the Mediterranean diet based on their answers to a questionnaire asking how much they ate of 148 items over the previous month. People who often ate healthy foods typical of the Mediterranean diet, like fish, vegetables, and fruit, and only occasionally ate foods not typical of the Mediterranean diet like red meat, received the highest scores, for a maximum score of nine.

Cognitive skills were assessed with an extensive test set for Alzheimer’s disease progression that looked at five different functions, including language, memory, and executive function. All the participants had brain scans to determine their brain volume. In addition, the spinal fluid of 226 study participants was tested for amyloid and tau protein biomarkers.

Researchers then looked at how closely someone followed the Mediterranean diet, and the relationship to their brain volume, tau and amyloid biomarkers, and cognitive skills. After adjusting for factors like age, sex, and education, researchers found that in the area of the brain most closely associated with Alzheimer’s disease, each point lower people scored on the Mediterranean diet scale equated to almost one year of brain aging.

When looking at amyloid and tau in people’s spinal fluid, those who did not follow the diet closely had higher levels of biomarkers of amyloid and tau pathology than those who did. When it came to a test of memory, people who did not follow the diet closely scored worse than those who did.

“More research is needed to show the mechanism by which a Mediterranean diet protects the brain from protein buildup and loss of brain function, but findings suggest that people may reduce their risk for developing Alzheimer’s by incorporating more elements of the Mediterranean diet into their daily diets,” Ballarini said.

Reference: Ballarini T, van Len DM, Brunner J, et al. Mediterranean diet, Alzheimer disease biomarkers and brain atrophy in old age. Neurology. 2021; doi.org/10.1212/WNL.0000000000012067