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Judy Ridgway



July 2014:

FRESH PARSLEY HERB OIL

This simple but delicious recipe from Mother’s Garden in Spain is extremely versatile. You can use it to toss pasta, swirl into a bowl of soup or finish a dish of vegetables. It also makes a great marinade for meat, fish and vegetables for the barbecue – the olive oil tenderises the flesh as well as holding in the flavours of the herbs.

Ingredients:

  • Large bunch flat leaf parsley
  • 1 clove garlic, peeled and chopped
  • 150-200ml Mother’s Garden extra virgin olive oil
  • Salt

Method:

  1. Remove any tough stalks from the parsley and place in a bowl if you have a hand held blender or in the base of an ordinary blender.
  2. Add the garlic and salt and star to blend, gradually pouring in the oil as you go.
  3. The amount of oil will depend on how thick you want to finished herb oil to be – thicker for a marinade and thinner for a sauce.
  4. This recipe uses flat-leaf parsley, but Maggie Whitman at Mother’s Garden says that she has also used fresh coriander leaves in place of the parsley and it worked very well too.
  5. So why not experiment with tarragon, basil, chives, thyme or a mixture of any fresh herbs that you like.


PRAWN SALAD WITH HOT SESAME VINAIGRETTE

This makes an excellent main course salad. Choose a delicate olive oil from northern Spain or Liguria in northern Italy.

Ingredients:

  • Extra virgin olive oil
  • 15g rice or beanflour noodles
  • mixed salad leaves (green frilly lettuce, roquette, little gem lettuce and radicchio)
  • 1 carrot, peeled and cut into small thin sticks
  • 1 papaya, peeled, seeded and cut into diamond shapes
  • 225g large peeled prawns
  • 4 spring onions, chopped
  • slices of lemon zest cut into thin strips

Dressing :
  • 6 tbs extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 tbs light soy sauce
  • 2 tbs lemon juice
  • a few drops oriental sesame seed oil

Garnish :
  • 2 tbs toasted sesame seeds
  • sprigs of chervil, parsley or other fresh herbs

Method:

  1. Heat the extra virgin olive oil in a deep fat fryer and set the heat to about 180C.
  2. Plunge in the rice noodles. Remove as soon as they have crisped up. Keep on one side.
  3. Mix all the dressing ingredients together and keep on one side until required.
  4. Warm over a low heat before pouring on the salad.
  5. Tear the salad leaves into small pieces and toss with the rest of the salad ingredients.
  6. Just before serving, add the rice noodles to the salad, toss again and pile onto a large serving plate or onto four individual plates.
  7. Pour on the dressing, sprinkle with sesame seeds and herbs and serve at once. .

BROCCOLI WITH RED PEPPERS AND HAZELNUTS

I have to say that I am not very keen on broccoli but when I tried this way of serving it when I was Spain I changed my mind. Use a really fruity extra virgin olive oil from Andalucia.

Ingredients:

  • 2 small to medium size red peppers
  • 60ml extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 good size head of broccoli
  • 2 tablespoons chopped hazelnuts, toasted in a dry pan

Method:

  1. Cut each pepper into four pieces and remove the seeds.
  2. Pour the olive oil into a shallow pan and add the peppers.
  3. Cover with a lid and place on a medium heat.
  4. As soon as the oil starts to sizzle reduce the heat and cover with a lid.
  5. Cook over a low heat for about 30 minutes until tender.
  6. Cut into strip and leave in the pan juices.
  7. Meanwhile steam the broccoli in a steamer or in an ordinary pan with very little water for about 10 minutes until just tender.
  8. Transfer the broccoli to a serving dish and top with the pepper strips and their juices.
  9. Finish by sprinkling on the toasted nuts.


If you are interested in more recipes using extra virgin olive oil see “REMARKABLE RECIPES from the people who really know about extra virgin olive oil – the producers” for Kindle and for iTunes.


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