This month all my recipes are from leading olive oil estates in Tuscany. This is to tie in with an interview I have given to the American website www.kitchencaravan.com. Check it out to learn more about how to taste olive oil: www.kitchencaravan.com/?q=cookingshow.

AUTUMN SQUASH SOUP WITH SEGGIANO OLIVE OIL

The town of Seggiano is set at the foot of Monte Amiato in southern Tuscany not far from Grosetto. Here the local olive variety is the Olivastra which gives an oil which is much more delicate in flavour than the majority of Tuscan olive oils. David and Perry Harrison grows these olives on their nearby farm and press them to make their own Seggiano olive oil. They also work with other farmers and producers in the region to put together a remarkable range of Seggiano products.

This soup makes a wonderfully warming and filling first course. It is soon devoured by the pickers who come to work in the groves and harvest the olives. Picking here really is done by hand and it is hard work. At the end of the day everyone is ravenous!

Ingredients for six people
1 small fresh squash, washed.
2 tablespoons Seggiano Olivastra extra virgin olive oil
2 small onions, peeled and diced
2 sticks of celery, washed and sliced
1-1½ litres chicken stock
salt and pepper
small bunch of chives, washed and finely chopped
a squeeze of lemon juice
more Seggiano Olivastra olive oil to taste

Method:
Remove the seeds from the squash and cut into cubes.
Gently heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a pan with a thick base and add the onions, celery and squash, stirring together. Turn the heat down very low and put on the lid.
Sweat the vegetables for 15-20 minutes, stirring every few minutes.
Heat the stock and add to the vegetables together with salt to taste. Simmer until the squash is tender.
Puree the mixture in a blender and return to the pan, adding freshly ground pepper and a squeeze of lemon juice. Serve garnished with the chopped chives and more Seggiano Olivastra olive oil.

POLLO ALLA MANTOVANA

This wonderfully fragrant chicken dish is said to come from the Gonzaza family in Italy and dates back to the 16th century. It was given to me by Teresa Raggi who makes an excellent, fruity extra virgin olive oil from Leccino, Canino and Frantoio olives grown on the family estate near Pisa in Tuscany. The Tenuta di Asciano is set on land which used to be the hunting grounds of the Medici not far from Pisa and that family is credited with planting the first olives on the site.
The oil, Colle di Bellavista, is typical of the region with its apple grassy aromas and attractive meadowsweet flavour tones with bitter almond skins and good pepper. The latter lingers into the sweet herby after-taste.

Ingredients for four people
2 large chicken breasts
fresh bay leaves, sage leaves and sprigs of rosemary
1 onion, peeled and chopped
2 pinches sea salt
Marinade:
1 glass Colle di Bellavista extra virgin olive oil
½ glass balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons pine nuts
2 tablespoons raisins
juice of half a lemon
1 teaspoon honey
salt to taste

Place the chicken in a pan and cover with water. Add all the remaining ingredients except those for the marinade and bring to the boil. Simmer for 1 ½ hours. Leave to cool in the broth.
When the chicken is cold, remove from the broth and strip it with your hands into thin strips and place them on a large dish in a flat layer.
Mix all the marinade ingredients and pour over the chicken making sure that all the meat is covered. Leave to stand for at least 2 hours before eating. Sprinkle with a few more pine nuts before serving with a fresh green salad.

FRESH PROVOLA CHEESE WITH BOTTARGA

This very simple but effective recipe comes from one of the most successful producers of extra virgin olive oil in Tuscany. Giorgio Franci is an olive oil genius and every year Frantoio Franci wins a handful of top awards in Italy’s most prestigious competitions for olive oil. Some of the oils, like Villa Magra, are pressed from a blend of Frantoio Corregiolo, Moraiolo and Leccino olives grown in the family groves near to Montenero d’Orcia in southern Tuscany. Others are pressed from the local Olivastra olive.

Ingredients for four people:
150 g lettuce
small bunch of basil
1 small bunch of fresh parsley
250g cherry tomatoes
300g fresh Provola cheese
40g bottarga or grey mullet roe
4 tablespoons Frantoio Franci extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper

Method:
Wash the lettuce and tear into pieces. Chop the basil and parsley. Wash and dry the tomatoes and cut them in half. Slice the Provola cheese.
In a small bowl mix the olive oil with the chopped herbs and salt and pepper.
Place the tomatoes and lettuce in a salad bowl and dress with the oil and herb mixture. Toss lightly together.
Slice the bottarga and add to the salad together with the Provola cheese and mix.