Olivo NZ

Lemon Infused Olive Oil Recipes

 

Lemon Yoghurt Muffins

I always make these moist, healthy muffins for our olive pickers. As we start picking at 8am, you need to make something easy and very quick. It is adapted from an Alison Holst recipe.

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup lemon infused olive oil

1 large egg

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup plain yoghurt

1/4 cup lemon juice

2 cups self raising flour

Heat oven to 200C (190C fanbake) with the rack just below the middle. Place the first 6 ingredients in a large bowl in the order listed and stir with a fork or whisk until thoroughly mixed. Sprinkle the flour over the mixture in the bowl and fold together until the flour is only just mixed in. Put the mixture into 12 regular or 24 mini muffin pans which have been oiled with lemon oil.

Bake for 10 -12 minutes or until the centres spring back when pressed and the muffins are lightly browned. Leave in the pans for 5 minutes and then carefully remove and finish cooling on a rack. Enjoy.

                                                                                                                                    

Lemon and Lavender Cake

The original of this recipe comes from Jonathan Hobden who adapted one of Diana Henry's wonderful recipes. It is a lovely quick cake to throw together with a beautiful soft texture and loads of flavour. You can play with the levels of lavender in the dish to suit your taste -Jonathan uses dried lavender buds that can be found in specialty food stores.

( Makes 8 muffin sized cakes )

Unsalted Butter and Icing Sugar ( for baking tin )

300g White Sugar

1 Tbsp dried lavender

175g Plain Flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

2 eggs

250g Greek Yogurt

65ml Olivo Lemon infused olive oil

60ml mild fruity Olive Oil ( our 2019 Tuscan is lovely)

Zest of 1 lemon

Juice of half a lemon

- Preheat oven to 180 degrees C, butter moulds then dust with icing sugar

- Place sugar and lavender into a food processor and blend together until completely incorporated. Transfer to a mixing bowl.

- Add remaining dry ingredients to sugar and lavender, mix and stir together

- In a separate bowl mix eggs, yogurt, olive oils, lemon juice and zest until it comes together.

- Gently fold the wet mix into flour and sugar mix until it just comes together.

- Spoon mix into molds and bake for around 20 minutes until an inserted knife comes out cleanly.

- Use a knife to ease cakes from the molds and place on a wire rack to cool

- Can be enjoyed with a range of sauces and creams- use additional lemon oil  or a light drizzle of Olivo Tuscan estate olive oil and creme anglaise.

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Vanilla ice-cream, one twist of your sea salt cellar and drizzled with lemon oil. Quick, easy and spectacular!


Drizzle lemon infused oil over smoked salmon with greens on the side for a quick starter to impress – to give a retro feel – it works well with avocado too.

 

For starters or canapes with drinks, drizzle Olivo lemon infused olive oil over

 

Quick Roasted Lemon Chicken with Lemon Couscous

 
1 fresh chicken
2 preserved lemons
Salt & pepper to taste
Couscous
Olivo lemon infused olive oil for drizzling
 
Place the seasoned fresh chicken in a roasting pan. Put the 2 preserved lemons (I use Lavender’s Green )in the cavity as stuffing. Drizzle over a small amount of Olivo lemon infused olive oil. Cook according to the instructions for size. While the chicken is resting, drizzle over more lemon infused oil and remove the preserved lemons, keeping them warm.
 
Prepare the couscous according to instructions, adding a dash of Olivo lemon infused olive oil to keep the grains separate. Chop the preserved lemon through the couscous for a delicious (and easy) lemony taste.. Serve with a green vegetable or salad.

 

Lemon Orzo Salad – thanks to Ruth Pretty
250g (1.25 cups) orzo
1 teaspoon salt
250g feta (crumbled)
Zest of 2 lemons
6 tablespoons roughly chopped mint leaves
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons sea salt
65ml (1/4 cup) Olivo lemon infused olive oil
 
Cook the orzo in boiling water until al dente. Drain and refresh under cold running water. When cool, transfer to serving bowl and combine with feta, lemon zest, mint and seasoning. Toss with lemon infused olive oil.

 

Lemon cake
Everyone loves lemon cake, and this is a fabulously lemony beauty.   Even better, it can all be done in a food processor in five minutes.
 
2 Eggs
2 cups Sugar
300g Piako lemon curd yogurt
225 g Olivo lemon-infused oil
1  Lemon, zested
1 tsp Vanilla bean paste (I use Heilala)
2 cups Plain flour (or 2 cups Self-raising flour and forget the baking powder)
1 tsp Baking powder
 
Beat sugar and eggs together. Add the yoghurt, oil, lemon zest and vanilla and mix thoroughly. Finally add the flour and baking powder.
 
Bake in a round tin (9 inch/23 cm diameter) at 180°C for about 1 hour or until a toothpick comes out clean. Turn out and when cool, dust with icing sugar. Serve with Lavender’s Green lemon curd on the side.
 
Gluten-free variation
 
My friend Mary Biggs of Lavender’s Green is gluten-free, so when I took this cake to her place for dinner recently I made it gluten-free by swapping plain for quinoa flour. It was deliciously moist and slightly nutty from the quinoa, and we liked it as much as the regular version.
 
Quinoa is a South American grain and I was pleased to find quinoa flour at Martinborough’s Pain & Kershaw store. Moore Wilson will stock it too, naturally.

 

Spaghetti – fresh or good dried
Italian parsley, chopped
Olivo lemon infused olive oil for drizzling
 
Heat a cast iron skillet, add the cooking olive oil and warm for 30 seconds. Add the scallops and sear until just warmed through – 30 – 40 seconds at most. Add lemon juice to the pan, stir. Remove from the heat and cover to keep warm.
 
Heat a pot of boiling water, add pasta and cook until al dente. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup of the pasta water and transfer pasta to a warm serving dish. Add the warm scallops and pasta water and toss well. Sprinkle with the parsley and lemon zest and drizzle liberally with the lemon infused olive oil. Serve at once. Serves 4.
 
Any piece of white fish drizzled with lemon oil after cooking is lifted to cordon bleu status for a simple meal

 
Pasta with zucchini, lemon, rocket and prosciutto
Toss prosciutto pieces with a handful of olives and thyme leaves in a bowl. Cook pasta according to instructions and add sliced zucchini at the end of the cooking time. Add to bowl with rocket, salt and pepper, toss and drizzle with lemon oil. Serve with grated parmesan

Olive Oil Cake with Lemon and Rosemary

The inspiration for this recipe came from my friend Lisa in London and acknowledges Fernandez and Wells who own six cafes there. It is an extravagant cake but gorgeous and not too much flour.

1 teaspoon olive oil for greasing

50g plain flour + 1 teaspoon for dusting the tin

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

125g ground almonds

200g castor sugar

250ml Olivo lemon infused olive oil

5 eggs, lightly beaten

1 1/2 tablespoons chopped rosemary - seems a lot but works well

Heat the oven to 160C. Oil and flour a 20cm round springform cake tin. Sift the flour, baking powder and almonds into a large mixing bowl, add the sugar and stir all together.

Add the lemon oil, eggs and rosemary to the mix and fold in until you have a smooth batter. Pour the batter into the prepared tin and bake for 45-50 minutes - the cake has a slight wobble when it comes out of the oven but sets when cooled. Leave in the tin until firm enough to put on a cake rack.

Slice and serve with fresh fruit. It keeps for several days wrapped in tin foil in a tin.

Grunty Lemon Hummus

My friend and excellent cook, Sue McLeary, created this for a Wellington on a Plate Hummus Festival several years ago. Its three layers of lemon make a fresh hummus, ideal for entertaining. You need to adjust the lemon juice if you have very juicy lemons and can add tahini if you want a heavier texture.

1 400g can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed

2 -3 lemons juiced

2 -4 garlic cloves crushed

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1/4 cup Olivo extra virgin olive oil

1/4 cup Olivo lemon infused olive oil

2 -3 preserved lemons; skin only, chopped finely

Fresh dill to taste

Sea salt and pepper to taste

Put chickpeas, garlic, cumin into a blender with the extra virgin olive oil and process, making a stiff paste.

Add lemon juice, lemon olive oil until a smooth puree with a good balance of lemon with other flavours is reached. A little warm water can be added for a smoother consistency.

Transfer the mixture from the blender into a bowl and stir in the chopped preserved lemon and fresh dill. You can add the preserved lemon to the blender but the texture of chopped preserved lemon is a bonus.

Add freshly ground pepper to taste, but only add salt when you have tasted the mixture as the preserved lemons can be salty. Serve with crackers.

 

Red cabbage, rocket and pomegranate salad

  • Vegetarian
  • Gluten Free

1 pomegranate
2 teaspoons dijon mustard
2 tablespoons pomegranate molasses
4 tablespoons Olivo lemon infused olive oil
½ small red cabbage, cored and very finely shredded
1 large carrot, shredded or coarsely grated
125g rocket

1. Holding the pomegranate over a large bowl to catch the juice, carefully remove the seeds and set them aside separately. Whisk the lemon olive oil, mustard and pomegranate molasses into the pomegranate juice.

2. Stir in the red cabbage, carrot, rocket, and pomegranate seeds Toss lightly together, then allow to sit for 15 minutes (or up to 24 hours), before transferring to a serving platter.

Preparation time: 20 minutes

Serves: 6