Recipes
A small collection of delicious dips, snacks and sauces using DRY ROCK
extra virgin olive oil
EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL FOR DIPPING
1. Pour yourself a bowl of DRY ROCK extra virgin olive
oil and a small bowl each of dukkah* and salt.
Thinly slice crusty bread and dip the bread in the oil and then the dukkah
or salt.
Try other small bowls of oil with flavourings : add a squeeze of lemon
juice and a sliver of lemon peel or a dash of balsamic vinegar.
Have a bowl of olives on the table.
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*Dukkah |
Middle Eastern |
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Delicious for dipping but also good as a topping
for baked dishes, sprinkled over boiled eggs or rubbed into chicken
or meat for cooking.
8 tabs sesame seeds
4 - 8 tabs coriander seeds (depending on taste)
3 tabs cumin seeds
50 g hazelnuts or walnuts
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
Roast each ingredient separately in a low oven (160C) until they
smell toasted. They need to be separate as they have different roasting
times.
Rub most of the brown skin off the hazelnuts.
Pound the seeds using a mortar and pestle or whiz them carefully
in a spice or coffee grinder. Don’t over-grind the sesame
seeds or hazelnuts or they’ll become an oily paste.
Dukkah is a crushed dry mixture.
Combine nuts and seeds with salt and pepper and keep in an airtight
jar in the fridge. |
2. Thinly slice a bulb of Florence fennel, pour a small
bowl of DRY ROCK extra virgin olive oil and one of sea salt. Dip the fennel
in the oil and then the salt. The aniseed, salt and oil combination is
out of this world. (Courtesy of Paul Cotogni’s mum).
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HUMUS |
Middle Eastern |
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| Humus is a healthy, delicious dip or used as a spread
on sandwiches with salad greens and thin slices of beef or chicken.
DRY ROCK extra virgin olive oil is drizzled over for serving.
extra virgin olive oil , 1-2 tabs
1 cup dried chickpeas
3/4 c tahini - shake jar well before pouring into measuring cup
juice of 2 1/2 - 3 lemons
2 tsp salt
1 clove garlic, crushed
paprika
Place chick peas in a large bowl. Cover generously with water and
soak overnight. Drain, rinse and drain again.
Put the chickpeas in a pan, cover with water and bring to the boil.
Skim off foam, cover, turn heat down to very low, and simmer for
about 50 minutes or until the chick peas are very tender.
Remove from heat and with a blender or food processor blend the
chick peas with the tahini, lemon juice, salt, garlic and water
until you have a creamy paste.
OR
If you don’t have a blender : first mix the tahini, lemon
juice, salt and crushed garlic. Add the water, bit by bit, stirring
after each addition until the paste is smooth. Puree the chick peas
separately and mix in well.
Spoon humus onto a large platter, spread it flat and garnish with
paprika and parsley and olives. Drizzle liberally with DRY ROCK
extra virgin olive oil. Serve with pita bread and raw sliced vegetables.
Makes 5-7 servings and freezes well.
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BABA GHANOUJ |
Middle Eastern |
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| Baba Ghanouj is a great vegetarian dish which can
be used as a dip, spread on fresh bread or used as a side dish with
cold meats and vegetables. Be generous with the lemon juice, for
the taste should be refreshingly tangy. DRY ROCK extra virgin olive
oil is drizzled on for serving.
extra virgin olive oil, 1-2 tabs
2 large eggplants
1-2 cloves garlic, crushed
250 ml (1 cup) tahini - sesame seed paste - stir jar before measuring
juice of 3 lemons
50 ml (1/4 cup) water
10 ml (2 tsp) salt
1/4 cup chopped parsley
Pierce the eggplants in several places and bake in a 200C (400F)
for 1 hour. Cool.
In a bowl: Crush the garlic and place in a large bowl. Cut the eggplants
in half, scoop out the flesh and puree or mash with a fork. Add
to garlic. In a small bowl, combine tahini with lemon juice. Stir
well. Add water and salt, and stir again. Spoon over the mashed
eggplant and mix well or use a blender. Adjust seasonings.
In a food processor: Firstly, process the tahini, garlic, lemon
juice, salt, and water until melded together. Add the eggplant and
barely mash with a few pulses. Adjust seasonings.
Refrigerate.
To serve, spoon Baba Ghanouj onto a serving dish and garnish with
chopped parsley. Drizzle liberally with DRY ROCK extra virgin olive
oil.
Makes 8-10 servings |
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MELITZANE SALATA |
Greek |
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| Melitzane is the Greek word for Eggplant and an
English friend in Greece used to remind herself of the word by calling
them Mellie-Janes. This eggplant side dish or spread is very like
Baba Ghanouj except that instead of tahini it uses extra virgin
olive oil - DRY ROCK of course.
extra virgin olive oil, about one cup
2 large eggplants
1-2 cloves garlic, crushed salt
optional: half a cup of white breadcrumbs
Pierce the eggplants in several places and bake in a 200C (400F)
for 1 hour or until the skin is blackened and the flesh is mushy.
Cut the eggplants in half, scoop out the flesh and mash or blend
it with the garlic, salt and breadcrumbs. Continue to mix or run
the blender/ food processor as you dribble in olive oil, as for
mayonnaise. Stop when the sauce is thick and glossy. |
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SKORDALIA |
Greek |
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| This is a version of a traditional Greek garlic
sauce to be served as an accompaniment to any barbecue or grill,
with fish or in soups. Sometimes fish stock is added at the end
instead of the water and the ground almonds can be omitted. DRY
ROCK extra virgin olive oil makes it delicious.
extra virgin olive oil, 1 cup
4 cloves of raw garlic (use more if you want to roast them first
as this makes the taste milder) sea salt 1/2 c cooked potato 1/2
c ground almonds 1 tab wine vinegar 1/2 c water
Mash the garlic and salt in a mortar till pureed, or use a food processor.
Pound in the potato or process till very smooth
Add almonds. Keep pounding or processing and add the vinegar.
Dribble and mix in olive oil, as for mayonnaise, till sauce is thick
and glossy. Add 1/2 c warm water if too thick. |
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ROAST ASPARAGUS |
New Zealand |
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| Asparagus season begins shortly after the year’s
DRY ROCK extra virgin olive oil been pressed and bottled. Roasted
asparagus with the freshest olive oil makes your taste buds stand
up and sing, and the greener the oil the better. This year our oil
is more golden, but there’s a hint of pepper which goes just
right.
DRY ROCK extra virgin olive oil new season’s asparagus all
similar size juice of one or two lemons sea salt and black pepper
optional : dukkah*, hard-boiled eggs
Wash the asparagus and then hold them each by the tip and tail and
bend so the woody end snaps off.
Lay them on an oven tray and drizzle with a little olive oil. Roast
in a moderate 180C oven for between 8 and 15 minutes depending on
the width of the asparagus. Check to see they’re tender but
not too soft.
Remove from the oven, add lemon juice, rock salt and black pepper,
finally drizzle over DRY ROCK extra virgin olive oil.
For a variation, sprinkle on some dukkah and mashed hard-boiled
egg. |
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SIMPLE SALADS with DRY ROCK extra virgin olive oil |
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| 1. GREEN SALAD
Simply throw some DRY ROCK extra virgin olive oil into your salad
bowl and add some balsamic vinegar or lemon juice (the ratio is
3 tabs oil to 1 tab vinegar/lemon - double or triple it as you will).
Season with sea salt and black pepper. With a good oil, the salad
dressing is perfect like that but some may prefer the addition of
a little finely chopped onion, a tsp of dijon mustard and a pinch
of sugar. Mix it well with a fork. Cross your salad servers over
the vinaigrette and throw your washed salad greens and some chopped
herbs on top of them until you’re ready to toss them and serve.
Optional extra : popped pumpkin seeds (I buy the dark green organic
ones.) Heat a heavy iron pan, put in the seeds and wait till they
brown and pop! |
2. GREEK SALAD
Slice three or four tomatoes, a chunk of cucumber and a red onion.
Arrange in layers on a flat dish or toss into a bowl. Cut chunks of
tasty feta and crumble or arrange over the top along with a handful
of fresh Greek marjoram or oregano (dried will do.) Drizzle liberally
with DRY ROCK extra virgin olive oil, sprinkle with sea salt and pepper.
Eat with plenty of crusty bread.
A nice variation is to use slices of florence fennel instead of the
cucumber.
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