Conchigliette with Pork and Wild Mushroom Sugo and Black Truffle

Ingredients
1 pound ground pork, beef or even turkey, but preferably freshly-ground pork
2 cups finely diced wild mushrooms
1/2 cup grated Pecorino cheese
2 large shallots, sliced
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 medium carrots finely diced
1 stalk celery, finely diced
2 cups good quality red wine
1 cup crushed tomatoes
2" sprig fresh thyme
salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
1/4 cup peppery, UP Certified EVOO
1 tablespoon black truffle oil
1 pound dried conchigliette, cooked - you can use any other short cut pasta that will hold the sauce well such as rigatoni or mostaccioli.

Instructions
In a large, heavy bottom pot heat the olive oil over medium-high heat.  Add the pork and brown well, breaking the meat up in to the smallest pieces possible, for about 5 minutes.  Remove the meat to a bowl and reserve.  To the same pot add the mushrooms and saute until caramelized, about 5 minutes, scraping up any bits of browned meat, and stirring occasionally. 

Add the shallots, carrot, and celery and saute for another two minutes.  Add the garlic and saute for another minute.  Deglaze the pan with the red wine and reduce by half.  Add the tomatoes and thyme and reduce the heat to low and cover.  Cook at barely a simmer, covered, over low heat for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Add a a few tablespoons of stock or water to the sauce if it loses too much moisture.

Taste the sauce and adjust the seasoning with sea salt and freshly ground pepper. 

Add the just drained, al dente pasta to the pot with the sauce and continue to cook the pasta along with a  tablespoon or so of the pasta water.  Cook for a minute stirring to completely sauce the pasta.

Portion the pasta in to servings and top each with fresh grated Pecorino cheese, and a few drops of black truffle oil.  Serve immediately. 

Makes 6 servings

Epic Condiment

Forget the Italian sausage bagel dog in the bottom picture, and let's just focus on the red jewel-toned condiment at the top.  This is caramelized onion and roasted red pepper jam.  And as jams go, it's chunky, spreadable, and concentrated.  However, this is where the similarities stop.  This is a savory jam, or condiment, if that definition speaks to your culinary comfort level.  

This condiment is both savory and pungent with the addition of Cayenne (Fused) Agrumato Olive Oil.  However, it's not designed to be over the top.  Its function is to accentuate or elevate the food it's served with.  Now focus on that Italian sausage bagel dog - just as ordinary as can be until we slather it in the onion-pepper condiment, right? Yes!  I promise if you take the time to make this exceedingly easy savory jam, you will elevate your ho-hum chicken breast, pork shop, baguette, and, or eggs to new levels heretofore unknown.

Rachel's Caramelized Onion & Roasted Red Pepper Jam 

1 large yellow onion thinly sliced (about a cup packed)

1 large red pepper - roasted, seeded, peeled, and finely chopped 

2 tablespoons + 2 tablespoons UP Certified Oro Bailen Arebequina

1 tablespoon (+/- to taste) Cayenne (Fused) Agrumato Olive Oil 

1 teaspoon sea salt or kosher salt - to taste

fresh ground pepper to taste 

In a heavy bottomed saute pan (cast iron if available) heat 2 tablespoons of Oro Bailen Arbequina over medium heat.  Add the onion and season with salt.  Sweat down the onions gently until thet slowly become caramelized.  This will take about 20 minutes with constant stirring.  The goal here is to slowly bring out the sweet complex flavor of golden caramelized onions without charring them.  Charring will make them bitter.

During the last five minutes of cooking, add the chopped peppers, ground black pepper, and continue stirring and cooking.  Add the hot pepper-onion mixture to the bowl of a food processor along with one tablespoon (if desired) of Cayenne (Fused) Olive Oil, along with two additional tablespoons of Oro Bailen Arbequina.  Process to desired consistency - or like a smooth paste. Adjust seasoning with additional salt and pepper if desired. 

Spoon in to a jar and allow to cool.  Serve with vegetable crudites, crackers, pork, chicken, sausages, as a replacement for Sriracha, or catsup, with fries, over eggs, with roasted potatoes - essentially, with everything.   

Can be stored in a sealed jar, chilled for up to a week.  

Makes about 1 cup of savory jam  

Wild Mushroom-Spinach Manicotti with UP Certified Melgarejo Olive Oil-Tomato Bechamel

This creamy sauce eschews the saturated fat of butter for vastly healthier UP Certified Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

However, that's not the end of the story.  Here I used the inimitable Hojiblanca from Melgarejo Estate in Spain, which brings a spectacular flavor to the otherwise bland canvas that is bechamel sauce.

Pictured are Italian style crepes also known as manicotti, which are rolled around fresh sauteed spinach, caramelized wild mushrooms, shallots, and a trinity of cheeses.  Every aspect of this dish is positively affected by the use of high quality extra virgin olive oil.  It's a perfect example of how a good dish can be made spectacular by being mindful of the characteristics of the olive oil.

I've broken the recipe in to several parts. Feel free to use any or all of them for your own concept of this versatile dish known as manicotti.

Creamy Extra Virgin Olive Oil & Tomato Bechamel Sauce
3 tablespoons fruity, complex, green, fresh, UP extra virgin olive oil
2 medium shallots minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 tablespoons flour,
2 cups whole milk
1/2 cup tomato sauce
a dash of freshly grated nutmeg (optional)
1/2 cup grated Pecorino cheese
Sea salt to taste
Fresh cracked pepper

Heat the oil in a medium sauce pan over medium heat.  Add the shallots and saute until transclucent and tender.  Add the garlic and saute another minute.  Add the flour and stir to incorporate so that there are no lumps or dry spots left.  Slowly drizzle in the milk, whisking constantly.  Stir and bring to a bare simmer until thickened.  Add the cheese, and stir.  Add the tomato sauce and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.  Stir until thickened to buttermilk consistency.  Use this versatile sauce for pasta, lasagna, crepes, veggies, etc.

Savory or Sweet Extra Virgin Olive Oil Crepes
1 cup all purpose flour
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons UP Extra Virgin Olive Oil (or Lemon, Orange, or Tangerine Agrumato for sweet crepes)
1 pinch of salt
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup water

Add the liquid ingredients, olive oil, eggs, and salt to the jar of a blender, the bowl of a food processor, or alternately whisk together by hand.  Add the flour and process until completely blended with no lumps or dry spots of flour.

Allow to stand for 1/2 hour at room temperature.

Heat a 12" wide non-stick skillet over medium-low heat, and rub with olive oil.  Pour about 1/4 cup of the crepe batter in and rotate the pan to spread the batter in to a circle.  After about a minute, flip the crepe and cook for an additional minute on the other side.  Remove to a plate and continue until all the batter has been used.  Fill with sweet or savory fillings.

Makes 6 large crepes

Spinach, Cheese, and Wild Mushroom Filling

2 cups sliced wild mushrooms or Cremini mushrooms
3 cups baby spinach
2 shallots minced
1 clove garlic minced
2 tablespoons UP Certified Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/2 cup Fontina cheese grated
1/4 cup Pecorino cheese, grated
1/2 cup cherve (optional)
salt and pepper to taste

Heat the olive oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the mushrooms and saute until they begin to caramelize slightly.  Add the shallots and saute for a couple of minutes.  Add the garlic and saute for another minute.  Add the spinach and saute until wilted.  Stir in the Fontina, and other cheeses. Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper.  Makes a great filling for crepes or omelets.

Filling for 6 large crepes

To make the dish pictured above, preheat the oven to 375.  Grease a 13"x9" baking dish with olive oil.  Fill the crepes with the spinach filling.  Ladle 1 cup of tomato bechamel in to the bottom of the dish.  Arrange the stuffed crepes in a single layer over the sauce, and spread the rest of the sauce on top of the crepes.  Add a sprinkle of cheese to the top, if desired.

Bake the crepes for 25 minutes until the sauce is bubbling and slightly golden in spots.  Serve warm.