Fresh-Pressed Olive Oil Club
Pressing Report Page 8

Chicken Scarpariello

Posted on by The Olive Oil Hunter

This one-pot meal is hearty, tangy, and perfect for a Sunday night supper with family or friends. The name is Italian for “shoemaker’s chicken.” Some versions contain potatoes, but I prefer to leave them out or substitute mushrooms. If you are unable to find pickled cherry peppers at your local market, feel free to substitute pickled banana peppers. It’s the piquancy that matters.

Ingredients

  • 6 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
  • Coarse sea salt and freshly ground black pepper 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus more as needed
  • 4 Italian sausages, sweet or hot
  • 1 onion, halved and thinly sliced
  • 1 red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and thinly sliced
  • 1 green bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and thinly sliced
  • 8 ounces mushrooms, cleaned and sliced (optional)
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced
  • 6 red and green sweet or hot pickled cherry peppers, sliced
  • 1/4 cup pickled cherry pepper brine
  • 4 leaves fresh sage, minced
  • 1 1/2 cups homemade or low-sodium store-bought chicken broth

Directions

Step 1

Preheat your oven to 350°F.

Step 2

Trim any excess fat from the chicken thighs, then season generously with salt and pepper. Heat a large, deep frying pan or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. When hot, add the olive oil, then arrange the chicken thighs in the pan, skin side down, and sauté without moving until deeply browned, about 8 minutes. Turn over and brown the other side, 4 to 6 minutes. Remove from the pan and transfer to a plate. Add the sausages to the pan and sauté, turning frequently, until browned, about 4 minutes. Transfer the sausages to a cutting board and let cool. Slice each link into rounds.

Step 3

Reduce the heat under the pan to medium. Add the onions, bell peppers, mushrooms, and garlic and sauté until the vegetables soften, adding more olive oil if needed. Add the pickled cherry peppers, cherry pepper brine, and sage. Deglaze the pan with the broth, scraping up any brown bits from the bottom of the pan.

Step 4

Return the chicken thighs and sausages to the pan. Transfer the pan to the oven and cook for 30 to 35 minutes or until the chicken reaches 165°F on an instant-read thermometer. Serve immediately.

Serves 6

Crown Roast of Lamb

Posted on by The Olive Oil Hunter

This is an elegant yet easy dish that will wow your guests. A crown roast is simply two racks of lamb, 7 or 8 chops each, tied together at the ends to form a circle. You can do it yourself with butcher’s string or ask your butcher to assemble it for you. The meat is traditionally prepped in the French style, meaning the thin ends of the lamb bones are neatly trimmed of meat, fat, and membranes. When served as an appetizer, this creates a handle for what’s often called lollipop chops. As a main dish, it makes a dramatic presentation when ringed with the Creamy Mushroom Ragoût opposite. If presenting the roast whole, you can also fill the cavity with roasted potatoes that were cooked separately.

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
  • 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
  • 2 tablespoons very finely minced garlic
  • 1 tablespoon rosemary needles, fresh or dried 1 1/2 teaspoons fine sea salt
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper One crown roast of lamb, preferably grass-fed, French-trimmed

Directions

Step 1

In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, mustard, garlic, rosemary, salt, and pepper. Place the crown roast, meat side down, in a pie plate or bowl wide enough to hold it. Drizzle the marinade over the meaty part of the chops and let sit for 30 minutes.

Step 2

Preheat the heat to 425°F. Place a flat rack inside a large roasting pan and transfer the roast to the rack (still meat side down). Roast the lamb until an instant read thermometer registers between 130° and 134°F for medium rare, about 30 minutes (test after 25). Out of the oven, let it rest for 10 to 15 minutes before slicing.

Serves 4 to 6

Focaccia con Patate

Posted on by The Olive Oil Hunter

In Southern Italy, mashed potatoes are often worked into focaccia dough, but I like to use thin slices of potato as a topping. Fingerling potatoes yield perfectly sized discs, but you can also use creamer or new red potatoes. Getting the slices as thin as possible is more important than the diameter so that they’ll cook and crisp in the time it takes to bake the dough. Serve as an appetizer or even as a hearty side dish at holiday meals.

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
  • 2 cups warm water, between 105°F and 115°F
  • 1 tablespoon honey
  • 9 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided use
  • 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 5 cups all-purpose, bread, or 00 flour, plus more for kneading
  • 2 fingerling or small red potatoes
  • 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary needles or 1 teaspoon dried
  • 2 teaspoons very coarse sea salt

Directions

Step 1

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix the yeast, water, and honey for a few seconds. Turn off the mixer and allow the yeast to bloom (get foamy), about 5 to 8 minutes.

Step 2

Add 2 tablespoons olive oil, the fine salt, and flour and mix until a sticky dough forms. Switch to the dough hook and knead until smooth and elastic, about 7 minutes. The dough will still be somewhat sticky but should pull away from the sides of the bowl as you lift it. If it’s too sticky to handle, add more flour, 1 tablespoon at a time.

Note: If you don’t have a stand mixer with a dough hook, bloom the yeast, water, and honey in a large bowl. Add the olive oil and salt and then the flour, mixing with a large spatula and then with your hands. Turn the dough out on a lightly floured countertop, flour your hands, and knead until smooth, about 7 minutes.

Step 3

Pour 1 tablespoon olive oil into a clean, large bowl. With lightly floured hands, form the dough into a ball and roll it in the olive oil. Place the bowl in a warm spot in your kitchen and cover with a clean dish towel. Let rise until doubled in volume, about an hour. (If you poke it with a fingertip, it should spring back right away.)

Step 4

Pour 3 tablespoons olive oil into a 13×9 metal cake pan and rotate the pan to coat it well. Punch down the dough and turn it into the pan. Use your fingertips to press it out to the edges and into the corners of the pan. Use your fingertips or knuckles to make a pattern of indentations in the dough. Cover the pan with your kitchen towel and let it rest for 20 minutes while you preheat the oven
to 450°F.

Step 5

Use the fine slicing blade of your food processor or a mandoline to very thinly slice the potatoes. Toss in a bowl with 1 tablespoon olive oil and the rosemary.

Step 6

When the dough has risen and is ready to bake, go over the indentations if needed. Arrange the potato slices over the top, drizzle on the final 2 tablespoons olive oil, and sprinkle on the rosemary and coarse salt. Bake for 25 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through, until the focaccia is golden and pulls away from the sides of the pan and the potatoes are tender. Let cool for 5 minutes before serving.

Serves 10

Pallotte Cacio e Pepe

Posted on by The Olive Oil Hunter

Similar to arancini (rice balls) but even simpler to make, pallotte cacio e uova—cheese-and-egg balls—are a classic poor man’s dish from the Abruzzo region that was traditionally made from leftovers. The balls are usually deep-fried, but I prefer to sauté them for a lighter taste. Often served as a first course, they also make a great finger food: reduce the diameter of the balls to about 1 inch and serve on a platter with a bowl of the sauce for dipping. I’ve included a quick tomato sauce recipe, but you can use 3 cups of your favorite jarred sauce.

Ingredients

For the balls:

  • 4 ounces day-old bread
  • 1/3 cup milk
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
  • 4 ounces each freshly grated Parmigiano- Reggiano and Pecorino Romano, more for serving
  • 2 tablespoons minced fresh flat-leaf parsley
  • 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 3 tablespoons white or golden whole wheat flour

For the sauce:

  • 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 medium onion, finely diced
  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
  • One 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
  • 2 sprigs fresh basil
  • 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

For serving:

  • 4 ounces Parmigiano-Reggiano, freshly grated

Directions

Step 1

Remove any hard crusts from the bread and tear the soft insides into small pieces. Place them in a wide-bottomed bowl and pour on the milk; let sit for 10 minutes, until the milk is fully absorbed. Squeeze with your hands to distribute any remaining milk

Step 2

Grate the garlic with a Microplane grater right into the bowl with the bread, or finely chop by hand and then add. Add the eggs, cheeses, parsley, salt, and pepper and use your hands to thoroughly mix all the ingredients together. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes to firm up the mixture.

Step 3

While the mixture is chilling, make the sauce. Heat a large frying pan. When hot, add the olive oil and onions. Sauté for 5 minutes until softened, then move them to the side. Add the tomato paste and sauté until fragrant, about 3 minutes. Mix the onions into the paste, then add the crushed tomatoes. Fill the empty can by a third with water, slosh it around to get any remaining juices, and add to the pan with the salt, sugar, and pepper. Stir and bring to a simmer; cook for 20 minutes while you make the balls.

Step 4

Place the flour in a small bowl. Use a 1 1/2–inch ice cream scoop to make 12 balls. Dust your hands with flour (the balls will be sticky), then lightly roll each ball in the flour, placing them on a clean plate.

Step 5

Heat an 8- or 10-inch fry pan. When hot, add the olive oil and the balls without crowding them
(cook in two batches if necessary). Use a spoon to gently turn the balls until browned on all sides, then use a slotted spoon to transfer them to the sauce. Continue to simmer for 5 more minutes. Serve with the grated cheese.

Serves 4