Caramelized Broccoli & Cauliflower Croquettes with Poached Eggs & Hollandaise

Caramelized Vegetable Croquettes

2 cups cooked, coarsely smashed Yukon Gold potatoes

1 cup broccoli florets, coarsely chopped

1 cup cauliflower florets, coarsely chopped

1 medium shallot, thinly sliced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons high quality olive oil such as Oro Bailen Picual for sauteing & frying

1/2 cup cherve (fresh goat cheese), creme fraiche, or sour cream

1/3 cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano

fresh ground pepper

2 large eggs beaten

2 cups panko bread crumbs

mixed baby greens (optional)

Hollandaise Sauce*

3 large room temperature egg yolks

1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 cup unsalted butter

1 teaspoon kosher salt

freshly cracked pepper (optional)

Heat the butter in a small sauce pan until very warm, about 180 degrees.  In the bowl of a food processor or in the jar of a blender, add the lemon juice, salt, pepper, and egg yolks.  Process briefly to blend everything.  With the motor running, slowly drizzle in the hot butter butter.  

*Raw egg warning

In a saute pan set over medium-high heat, add two tablespoons of extremely fresh, low FFA below .3, high phenol (above 300 ppm) fruity-green extra virgin olive such as Oro Bailen Picual.  Add the shallots, broccoli, and cauliflower and saute until golden brown, and slightly caramelized (about 20 minutes) add the garlic at the last minute.  

Add the coarsely mashed potatoes to a large bowl and add the goat cheese, pepper and salt.  Add the caramelized veggie mixture to the potatoes and mix gently, keeping the veggies in tact as much as possible.

Add the beaten egg to wide flat container or bowl, and add the Panko bread crumbs to another bowl. Season the egg with a little salt.

Once the potato mixture has cooled enough to handle, form six patties, about 4" wide and 1" thick.  Dip each patty in to the seasoned egg, and then in to the Panko bread crumbs making sure to gently press the crumbs on to the patty.  Set the patties on to a lined baking sheet and set aside.  

Heat 1/2" of Oro Bailen Picual in a wide heavy saute pan over medium-high heat until it reaches 325 on a deep fry thermometer.  Pan fry the patties until golden brown on both sides - set aside on a lined baking sheet.  

Poach 6 large eggs

To assemble, arrange the mixed baby greens on the plate.  Top with the warm veggie patty. Set a poached egg atop the veggie patty and ladle the Hollandaise over the top. 

Serves 6 

Avgelomono Soup with Olio Nuovo Baklouti Chili Agrumato Olive Oil Drizzle

Avgelomono is a comforting Greek chicken, lemon, egg, and rice soup (read penicillin).  It's one of my absolute favorite soups to enjoy on a chilly winter day.  I've taken a very standard interpretation of avgelomono and added a savory, spicy note of freshly made Baklouti Agrumato Olive Oil to the party.  After tasting the before and after, it would be easy to argue that the ingredients in this recipe were simply line-dancing until the Baklouti showed up at the party and started break-dancing. 

The green fruit of the peppers we crushed with olives in our mill marries perfectly with the bright lemon, creamy rice, and savory chicken here.  It almost begs the question of why the original Greek recipe doesn't include this phenomenal fused olive oil in the first place.

Ingredients
8 cups good quality chicken stock or broth
1 cup short grain starchy rice
2 large shallots, or 1 medium onion diced
1 bay leaf
2 large fresh eggs
1 pound chicken breast cut in 1" dice
1/3 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
1/3 cup + 2 tablespoons Fresh (olio nuovo) Agrumato Baklouti Chili Olive Oil
copious amounts of fresh cracked pepper
sea salt to taste

Directions
In a large stock pot, heat 2 tablespoons Baklouti Agrumato Olive Oil over medium heat.  Add the diced shallots and saute until soft, approximately 2 minutes.  Add the chicken stock, chicken breast, bay leaf, and rice to the pot and bring to a simmer for approximately 30 minutes, or until the rice is very tender, and the soup is slightly thickened.

In a heat proof bowl whisk together the eggs and lemon juice.  Add one cup of hot stock to the egg and lemon mixture whisking constantly.  Add the egg and lemon mixture back in to the stock pot while stirring constantly.  The soup will instantly thicken and become somewhat creamy.  Simmer for an additional minute over medium heat stirring constantly. 

Remove the bay leaf, taste and adjust the seasoning with additional pepper, and salt if desired. 

Serve each bowl with a healthy drizzle of Baklouti Agrumato Olive Oil 

Serves 6-8

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