Fire Roasted Poblanos Stuffed with Chipotle Macaroni & Cheese

Fire roasted Poblano peppers stuffed with chipotle macaroni and cheese atop a fragrant spicy red Baklouti Agrumato Olive Oil chili sauce, topped with a fresh sweet corn, heirloom tomato, and black bean salsa.

A Snap Shot of Summer

This is summer. Fresh sweet basil not an hour out of the garden, pureed and mixed into semolina flour with farm-fresh eggs. In short order I rolled it, cut it, and flash cooked it. I sauced this amazingly fragrant pasta with equally fresh, candy-sweet heirloom tomatoes simply passed through a food mill, and then sauteed with a little garlic in a throat catching 645-PPM Phenol (antioxidant) Content UP Coratina Extra Virgin Olive Oil. The importance of this, is that it would be nothing short of sacrilegious to douse such freshness with an olive oil which was crushed months, let alone years ago. The organic, Ultra Premium extra virgin olive oil I chose to pair with this dish was crushed less than 45 days ago in the Southern Hemisphere. As a single-cultivar Coratina EVOO, it had notes of green fruit such as apple peel, fennel, and artichoke on the finish. The intense pungency and fleeting bitterness played nicely with the confectionery characteristics of my heirloom tomatoes. Fresh extra virgin olive oil, pasta, basil, and tomatoes on the same plate together is the very embodiment of summer. This synergistic trinity pays homage to my sun drenched summer kitchen garden. These flavors cannot truly be held captive, they must be appreciated in the moment that is now, at their peak.

Fresh Basil Pasta Dough 
1 1/2 cups fresh sweet basil leaves only, washed and dried
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
3 large eggs
1 pinch salt
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1 cups semolina flour
1 cup of all purpose flour + more for dusting

Directions

In the bowl of a food processor, add the basil leaves. Processes the leaves in to a fine paste. Add the eggs and salt, lemon juice and process again.

Add the flour to the bowl of the processor and pulse until the dough comes together and forms a ball that moves around the bowl with the blade. Remove and knead by hand until a the dough is smooth. Form in to a ball and cover and allow to rest for one hour.

Alternatively, place the flour in a mound on the board and create a well in the center of the mound, like a volcano. Add the basil/egg mixture to the center and begin to incorporate the flour from the top and edges until fully incorporated. Knead by hand until the dough is smooth. Form in to a ball and cover and allow to rest for one hour.

Divide the dough in to six equal portions. Keep the portions covered and roll them out one at at time to desired thickness - I rolled my pasta sheets to no. 6 on my pasta machine. Use a little extra flour if necessary to keep the dough from sticking. After rolling the sheets, cut by hand or use a machine to cut the noodles.

Cook the pasta in rapidly boiling, well salted water for 1 1/2 minutes. Drain, sauce, and serve.

Makes one pound of pasta.

Croque-monsieur +++

Croque-monsieur with thinly sliced, house cured and smoked Duroc loin, honey-mead vinegar mustard, slathered with Guyere and black truffle bechamel.

Mashed Golden Cauliflower with Ultra Premium Alonso Estate Koroneiki & Roasted Garlic

4 cups fresh cauliflower cut in small pieces - florets only
3 cups lightly salted water or chicken stock
1/3 cup creme fraiche
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons fresh, herbaceous-green fruity UP extra virgin olive oil (such as Alonso Estate Koroneiki Extra Virgin Olive Oil)
1/3 + 2 tablespoons cup Pecorino Romano, grated
3 large cloves whole garlic (optionally roasted)
2 tablespoons fresh chives, finely minced or snipped
2 teaspoons sea salt
fresh ground pepper to taste

Place the florets and water or chicken stock to a simmer in a medium pot.  If you are not using roasted garlic, add your fresh garlic cloves to the pot as well, simmer for 6 minutes and drain thoroughly. 

Place the still hot, drained florets in a large bowl with the creme fraiche, olive oil, roasted garlic, Pecorino, salt, and pepper. 

With an immersion blender (stick blender), processes the ingredients until just pureed or to desired consistency.  To finish, drizzle with additional grated Pecorino, a drizzle of olive oil, and chives.

Serves 4-6

Venison & Wild Mushroom Empanadas with Olive Oil Pastry Dough

Venison & Wild Mushroom Filling

1/2 pound ground venison

1/2 pound assorted wild mushrooms, cleaned and coarsely chopped

2 shallots minced

1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves

2 large cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup red wine

3 tablespoons Utra Premium Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 large egg, beaten

1/4 cup bread crumbs

1/4 cup grated Pecorino Romano

freshly ground pepper to taste

sea salt to taste

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Saute the shallot for two minutes until translucent. Add the garlic and saute for another minute.  

Add in the mushrooms and thyme and saute until most of the moisture has evaporated and the mushrooms begin to caramelize.  Add in the ground venison and saute again over medium heat until the meat begins to brown and the moisture has been cooked off.

Add in the wine to deglaze the pan.  Reduce, over medium low heat until most of the moisture is cooked off. 

Add the filling to a bowl, season with salt and pepper to taste and set aside to cool.  Once the mixture is has cooled somewhat, add the beaten egg, cheese, and bread crumbs - stirring to combine.  Set aside and proceed with making the empanada dough

Extra Virgin Olive Oil Empanada Dough

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 pinch salt
1/2 cup Ultra Premium Extra Virgin Olive Oil
5 tablespoons ice water

1 large egg, beaten

Combine the flour and salt in a mixing bowl.  Slowly drizzle in the olive oil, mixing with a fork to form a crumbly mixture with pea sized lumps of flour.

Slowly drizzle in the ice cold water, mixing as it's poured.  Dump the mixture on to a large sheet of parchment paper, and with floured hands, begin to form the dough in to a large flat disk.  Knead gently, incorporating any loose scraps.  Place another sheet of parchment paper on top of the disk and roll the dough out to 1/8" thick.  

Empanada Assembly

Preheat the oven to 375 F.

Cut out circles approximately 4" in diameter from the dough.  Place a heaping tablespoon of filling on one side of each circle, being careful not to allow the  filling to touch the edges of the dough.  Moisten one edge of each side using beaten egg, and fold the other side of the dough over the filling to create a half moon shape.  Firmly press down on the edges of dough to seal.  Use a fluted pastry wheel or sharp knife to cut excess dough from the edges.  You can also crimp the edges with the tines of a fork  

Line a  baking sheet with parchment paper and place the empanadas on the sheet with a small amount of space between.  Brush with beaten egg and bake for 20 minutes until golden brown.  Serve warm, or at room temperature. You can also wrap them in paper and freeze for later!  

Makes 10 empanadas

Wood Fired Pizza with Garam Masala Tomato Curry, Cumin-Dusted Heirloom Purple Potatoes & Baby Beet Greens

Spot Prawn Cakes with Cilantro-Caper Aioli

Spot Prawn Cakes
1 pound raw, wild shrimp or Spot Prawns, peeled and deveined, finely chopped
1 small red bell pepper, finely minced
3 medium green onions, finely minced
1/3 cup finely minced cilantro leaves
2 medium garlic cloves, finely minced
1 large egg, beaten
1 cup + 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
2 teaspoons sea salt

Ultra Premium, High Phenol, Low FFA, High Oleic Extra Virgin Olive Oil such as Peruvian Picual for frying

Directions
Heat 1" of UP olive oil in a heavy, wide frying pan over medium-high heat to 350 degrees on a deep fry thermometer.

In a medium bowl, mix together all of the ingredients, reserving 1 cup of panko bread crumbs for breading the shrimp cakes.  Place the panko crumbs in wide dish.  Portion the cakes evenly in to four patties and coat thoroughly with the reserved panko bread crumbs.

Fry the shrimp cakes for 3 minutes per side, until the bread crumbs are golden brown and the shrimp cakes are cooked through.

Cilantro-Caper Aioli
1/2 cup high-oleic, certified GMO-Free, expeller pressed safflower oil
1 cup UP extra virgin olive oil 
2 garlic cloves
1/2 cup chopped cilantro leaves
2 tablespoons capers in brine, drained thoroughly
1 tablespoon fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 teaspoon sea salt
2 large egg yolks
1 tablespoon water

Directions
Place the egg yolks, water, salt, capers, garlic, and lemon juice in the bowl of a blender of food processor.  Pulse to finely chop the cilantro and capers. 

Mix the olive oil with the safflower oil.  With the motor running, drizzle the oil mixture in slowly, being careful not to pour too quickly. 

Simple Baby Greens Salad
4 cups baby greens, for serving
2 tablespoons UP extra virgin olive oil (i.e. super fresh, high oleic, low FFA, high phenol) 
1 tablespoon Honey Ginger White Balsamic

Directions
Whisk together the olive oil and balsamic.  Toss the baby greens with the vinaigrette and serve the shrimp cakes over the baby greens with a dollop of the aioli.

Serves 4

Timpano