This finger food is very popular in Abruzzo. It is traditionally grilled over a fornacella, a shallow trough of charcoal just wide enough to cook 4 inches of skewered meat. (We use a hibachi or grill pan.) The garlic is my addition.
Ingredients
1 or 2 cloves of garlic, peeled
1 branch of fresh rosemary
6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Coarse salt (kosher or sea) and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1 1/2 pounds lamb shoulder, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
Hot red pepper flakes (optional)
Directions
Step 1
Soak 16 bamboo skewers (8 inches long, including the handle) in water to cover for 30 minutes. Bruise the garlic and rosemary branch with the flat of a knife on a cutting board and place in a small bowl with the olive oil and a few grinds of black pepper. Set the oil aside while you prepare the lamb.
Step 2
Tightly thread cubes of lamb onto the skewers to make uniform-looking kebabs, each bearing 4 inches of meat cubes. (Leave only 1 inch of the tip of the skewer exposed.) Using the rosemary branch, brush the lamb with some of the olive oil to coat lightly.
Step 3
Sear the lamb skewers over a medium-hot grill (alternatively, use a grill pan). Cook about 2 minutes, or until the lamb is browned and a little crusty. Turn and cook for 1 to 2 minutes more. Remove from the heat and place on a serving plate.
Step 4
Brush the lamb skewers with more of the olive oil, then season with salt and red pepper flakes, if using. Serve hot with a glass of red wine, such as Montepulciano d’Abruzzo, and country-style bread drizzled with olive oil.
Bold textures and avors distinguish this salad from its warm-weather version.
Ingredients
6 ounces country-style bread, torn into bite-size pieces
1 tablespoon nely grated lemon zest
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil, divided use
Coarse salt (kosher or sea) and freshly ground black pepper
1 small shallot, finely chopped
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 head radicchio, torn into bite-size pieces
1 fennel bulb, trimmed and thinly sliced
1 cup fresh at-leaf parsley leaves with tender stems
1/2 cup green olives, pitted, halved
3 ounces Parmigiano-Reggiano, thinly shaved
3 ounces hard salami, thinly sliced
Directions
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 400°F. Toss the bread with lemon zest and 1/4 cup of olive oil on a rimmed baking sheet; season with salt and pepper. Bake, tossing occasionally, until crisp on the outside but still chewy in the center, 8 to 10 minutes. Let cool.
Step 2
Whisk the shallot, lemon juice, vinegar, and oregano in a large bowl; season with salt and pepper. Whisk in the remaining 1/4 cup of olive oil.
Step 3
Add the radicchio, fennel, parsley, olives, cheese, salami, and bread to the dressing; toss to combine.
Serves 4 — Recipe adapted from Bon Appetit, April 2014
Yale’s Olive Oil and Health symposium drew a deeply invested group to New Haven this month—chefs, growers, importers, scientists, and associations of producers, entrepreneurs, and business people—to celebrate this amazing fruit juice and begin mapping out a new olive institute at the Yale School of Public Health.
Olive oil is the cornerstone of Mediterranean nutrition, and speaker after speaker cited its vital role in better health outcomes throughout that region.
“There is no greater crisis in public health today than diet, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases,” Sten Vermund, dean of the Yale School of Public Health (YSPH), told the gathering in Winslow Auditorium in his opening remarks for the two-day event that began on October 3, 2018.
An olive oil institute at the Yale School of Public Health would include research in chemistry and metabolomics to develop assays and datasets to enhance further health research. “We are extremely excited about the interest from around the world in participating in an interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary institute that will fill such an important void, said Professor Vasilis Vasiliou, chair of the YSPH’s Department of Environmental and Health Sciences.
Health benefits
Olive oils high in oleocanthal have high profiles for bitter taste receptors and have a peppery effect at the back of the throat. This pungency is associated with many health benefits—a reduced risk for cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, and other neurodegenerative diseases and added protection against viruses, said Catherine Peyrot des Gachons of the Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia.
In addition to prevention of neurodegenerative diseases, Amal Kaddoumi, a professor at the Harrison School of Pharmacy at Auburn University in Alabama, has found that EVOO increases the activity of the drug donepezil, which is used to treat the progression of dementia.
Mary Flynn, an associate professor at the Miriam Hospital and Brown University in Rhode Island, has studied the effects of a plant-based olive oil diet since the 1980s. Albeit small in sample size, numerous comparative studies among cancer patients consistently show improved weight loss compared to National Cancer Institute diet plans, and when the patients are given the opportunity to self-select which diet to follow for the final period of the study, they largely choose the olive oil diet. Her data reflect improved weight, insulin, blood pressure, and triglyceride levels.
By shifting to more plant-based meals on this diet, Flynn also finds that the money saved on groceries ($14.36 per week) not only reduces food insecurity but also results in weight loss and reduced blood glucose. “Most Americans eat too much protein and that turns to fat,” said Flynn. With the decrease in fasting blood glucose, people don’t get hungry.”
“We have a population in dire need of dietary correction,” said Joseph Profaci of the North American Olive Oil Association in New Jersey. “If 20 percent adhered to the Mediterranean diet, we’d save $20 billion from 10 major health outcomes,” he said. Currently, only 40 percent of American households regularly use olive oil.
The group that convened formed a planning group to work toward developing the mission, vision, and structure of the YSPH olive institute.
Cauliflower is the “little black dress” of the Southern Italian table; it can be dressed up or down and is compatible with an array of ingredients. For eye-popping color, add strips of roasted and peeled red pepper.
Ingredients
1 large head of cauliflower, trimmed
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided use, plus more for serving
Coarse salt (kosher or sea) and freshly ground
black pepper, to taste
1/4 cup chopped fresh at-leaf parsley
16 pitted green olives, such as Cerignola, chopped
3 tablespoons brined capers, drained
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, or more to taste
Directions
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 400°F. Slice the cauliower into quarters, then slice each quarter into 6 or 8 pieces. Transfer to a large mixing bowl. Add the garlic and 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Season lightly with salt and pepper and toss to coat.
Step 2
Tip the cauliower onto a large rimmed baking sheet. Arrange in a single layer, ensuring the at sides of the florets make contact with the pan. Roast for 15 minutes. Turn with a spatula and roast for 10 to 15 minutes more, or until the cauliower is lightly browned (caramelized) and tender. Let cool.
Step 3
Return the cauliower to the mixing bowl. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil as well as the parsley, olives, capers, lemon juice, and red pepper akes. Toss gently. Taste for seasoning, adding more salt, pepper, and red pepper akes, if needed. Transfer to an attractive platter or serving bowl. Serve at room temperature with additional olive oil on the side.
Serves 6 — Recipe adapted from The Food of Southern Italy by Carlo Middione (William Morrow, 1987)
