Harvest Festivals

Upcoming Harvest Festivals 

Autumn is upon us, and we’ll bring our oils to two festivals here in Northern California.  They’re both great chances to have a fun outing, as well as an opportunity to taste our oils and popular balsamic.  The first is next weekend at the locally famous Bishop’s Pumpkin Farm near Sacramento, and the second, a longstanding 2-day Olive Festival is in Fremont two weekends later.  Please come and enjoy the days!

The 5th Annual Golden Autumn Wine Festival combines quality wines, pleasant entertainment, and a soothing country setting.
       Sunday September 22 from 11 to 3:30
       Bishop’s Pumpkin Farm
       12 wineries and 8 specialty vendors (including us)
       Tickets available at http://www.bishopspumpkinfarm.com/ ,all benefits go to Yuba-Sutter-Colusa United Way.

 The 18th Annual Mission Olive Festival is a family event, with a wide variety of foods, live music, entertainment, kids’ activities, beer & wine, and more
       Saturday and Sunday, October 5th & 6th from 10 to 5
       In the old olive grove behind the historic Old Mission San Jose
       Directions and a great description of the event:  https://web.fremontbusiness.com/events/18th-Annual-Olive-Festival-2870/details
       Free admission, presented by the Mission San Jose Chamber of Commerce

Spanish Flatbread with Manchego Cheese, Mushrooms & Dates

Watch Albert preparing this recipe: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWTe5n1rcEk&t=4s

Ingredients

  • 1 premade pizza dough
  • 10 slices manchego cheese
  • 6 button mushrooms
  • 6 dates
  • 2 tbsp Apollo ¨Mistral¨ organic extra virgin olive oil
  • pinch sea salt
  • pinch black pepper
  • handful fresh parsley
  • 1 sprig fresh rosemary

Instructions

  1. Roll out a premade pizza dough into a circular or square design that is about 1/8 of an inch thick, transfer the dough into a baking tray lined with parchment paper and pierce the dough all over with a fork
  2. Cut about 10 slices that are 1/8 to a 1/4 inch of thickness from a block of Manchego cheese, add the slices of cheese on top of the dough
  3. Thinly slice 6 button mushrooms that have been washed & patted dry and evenly distribute the cut mushrooms over the cheese
  4. Grab 6 dates, remove the pits and roughly chop them, evenly divide the cut dates over the mushrooms
  5. Drizzle some extra virgin olive oil all over the ingredients and season everything with sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper
  6. Roughly chop a handful of fresh parsley and 1 sprig of rosemary, evenly divide the fresh herbs over the flatbread
  7. Add the flatbread into a preheated oven, bake + broil option 210 C – 425 F, after 14 to 16 minutes remove from the oven and transfer to a cutting board
  8. Cut the flatbread into 2 inch x 6 inch pieces and serve, enjoy!

How Long Does My Olive Oil Stay Fresh

A frequent question we get is “How long will your oils last after opening?” The short answer is “Certainly long enough, if you enjoy the oil regularly.” Which, of course, we hope you will!

The more informative answer is “How long any olive oil lasts depends on a number of variables. Surprisingly, the most oxidative influence comes not from air or temperature, but from light. That’s why our oils are in bottles with opaque labels. Also of great importance for retaining freshness is the unusually high levels of antioxidant polyphenols in our oils, due to the unique milling equipment we have. Regarding heat, recent Greek research on EVOO in opaque containers (tin and bag-in-a-box) indicated that at 98°F extra virgin quality can last more than 100 days, and that it lasts about 120 days at 71 degrees after opening. From that, you can rest assured that summer transport temperatures aren’t critical, but keeping the bottles away from kitchen heat and enjoying the raw flavors within 3 months is a good idea.

Spanish Salad with Oranges, Anchovies & Tuna

From Albert Bevia:
Visit any top-tier restaurant in the Spanish Mediterranean coast and you will find this Spanish Salad with Oranges, Anchovies & Tuna. It´s loaded with amazing flavors, beyond easy to make and done within a couple of minutes. This is the kind of salad that truly speaks the Spanish Mediterranean culture.  My favorite part about this salad, besides the simplicty of it, is the explosion of flavors it has. It´s sweet & savory, plus the combination of textures between the oranges, anchovies and tuna is absolutely brilliant.

Spanish Salad with Oranges, Anchovies & Tuna

Watch Albert preparing this recipe: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IkBZKZjdY_c

Ingredients

  • handful mixed greens bagged lettuce
  • 1/2 onion
  • 1 orange
  • 10 black pitted Spanish olives
  • 1 tin Spanish anchovies
  • 1 tin Spanish tuna
  • pinch sea salt
  • pinch black pepper
  • 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Instructions

  1. Add a handful of mixed greens bagged lettuce into a plate, my mix had spinach, red leaf lettuce & arugula
  2. Thinly slice 1/2 of a brown onion and add on top of the salad
  3. Peel 1 orange and cut into thin slices, add about 5 slices on top the salad
  4. Slice 10 black pitted Spanish olives in half and add over the salad
  5. Season everything with fine sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper
  6. Drain 1 tin of Spanish anchovies and decorate over the salad, I like to add mine in a circular design
  7. Drain 1 tin of Spanish tuna and add on top of the salad, I like to add mine in the middle
  8. Drizzle the entire salad with about 2 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil and serve at once, enjoy!

The Story of our Balsamic Vinegar

The Apollo Balsamic vinegar is a real one-of-a-kind, artisanal product based on a delicious Late Harvest Riesling made by Diana in 1984, and aged in the winery cellar for the past 35 years. Through a unique process of reduction and acidification, we are able to produce about 600 bottles of Balsamic annually – for a few more years, anyway…   Unlike most balsamics on the market, the Apollo Balsamic has the complex age-carmelized grape sweetness with a hint of oak barrel aging, and just the right amount of vinegar acidity to balance those concentrated flavors.  Like authentic Italian balsamics, the Apollo Balsamic is best used sparingly as a condiment to enrich various dishes – such as fresh strawberries, salad greens, steak, cooked vegetables, or even ice cream.  

Manchego Cheese Empanadas with Strawberries & Rosemary

From Albert Bevia:


Spain is famously known for their empanadas and these Manchego Cheese Empanadas with Strawberries & Rosemary have to be one of the best ones ever. These empanadas are sweet & savory and they have an incredible combination of flavors. This recipe is super easy to make, uses minimal ingredients and the empanadas are done in about 30 minutes from start to finish. Perfect for a tapas party or serve next to a salad for a complete meal. For this recipe I used premade store bought pizza dough, just to make things easier.

Watch Albert preparing this recipe: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvlgBRhtfbE&t=12s

Ingredients

  • 1 premade pizza dough
  • 1 block manchego cheese
  • 6 fresh strawberries
  • 1 sprig fresh rosemary
  • pinch sea salt
  • pinch black pepper
  • 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Instructions

  1. Wash and pat dry 6 fresh strawberries, cut the end off each strawberry, then cut each one in half, cut each half in half and roughly chop it, add the cut strawberries into a large bowl
  2. Wash and pat dry 1 large sprig of rosemary, remove the needles from the stem and roughly chop the rosemary needles, add them into the bowl with the strawberries
  3. Season everything with sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper, mix together until well combined and set aside
  4. Thinly slice about a 1/4 block of queso Manchego, remove the rind and cut each slice into 4 pieces
  5. Roll out one premade pizza dough, using a circular cutter (mine was 3 1/2 inches in diameter) cut out some small circles of dough from the pizza dough, you should end up with about 6
  6. Sprinkle some all-purpose flour into a flat surface, dust each circle of dough on the flour, add a couple pieces of the Manchego cheese to each dough and then some of the strawberry mixture (about 2 tbsp), fold each dough together and using a fork pierce the outer edges on both sides to ensure all the ingredients stay inside (don´t over-stuff your empanadas otherwise they will explode while baking)
  7. Add the empanadas to a baking tray lined with parchment paper and brush each one with some extra virgin olive oil, add into a preheated oven, bake + broil option 210 C -410 F, after 15 to 16 minutes remove from the oven and let them rest for 5 minutes, enjoy!

Bottles

As some of you may have already noticed, some of our bottles look a little different lately. Unfortunately, our bottle supplier has unexpectedly run out of stock, and the next production of our distinctive bottles in Italy isn’t scheduled until October. We had to find a different bottle to use in the meantime until our shipment arrives in November. This bottle lacks the beautiful curves, but has the same opaque label and easy pour spout.

Come for a Tour of Apollo’s Orchards and Mill

This past weekend, we enjoyed hosting a wonderful group in a customized tour of our orchards and

mill, with a little tasting of our Miller’s Favorite oil and our popular Balsamic. It was a wonderful experience to share our values and methods of producing raw, organic, award-winning oils with the highest polyphenol counts you can find. This picture of Gianni explaining the uniqueness of our mill was attached to a ‘thank you’ email sent by one of the tour group. Whenever you or your friends plan to be in our area, please do consider calling Gianni at 530-692-1562 to arrange a tour.

Spring Salad with Goat Cheese and Strawberries

Recipe Corner

From Albert Bevia:
Spring has sprung! To celebrate the season we´re making a Spring Salad with Goat Cheese and Strawberries. This is the kind of salad you order at a restaurant, pay big bucks and it leaves you in 7th heaven. Here is the thing, you can make this salad at home for much cheaper and it´s effortless to put together. This salad is loaded with different flavors and textures, it´s sweet, it´s savory, it´s absolutely delicious. Simple ingredients, easy to make and ready within minutes. Remember to use a high-quality extra virgin olive oil, this is what really brings all the flavors together.

Spring Salad with Goat Cheese and Strawberries

Watch Albert preparing this recipe: https://youtu.be/2KihzWjB7Qg

Ingredients

  • handful fresh bagged spinach
  • 1/2 red onion
  • 5 fresh strawberries
  • 2 oz goat cheese
  • 8 walnuts
  • 2 tbsp unsalted sunflower seeds
  • balsamic vinegar glaze
  • Sierra extra virgin olive oil
  • pinch sea salt
  • pinch black pepper

Instructions

  1. Add a handful of fresh spinach into a shallow bowl, finely dice 1/2 of a red onion and add on top of the spinach, rinse 5 large fresh strawberries under cold water and roughly chop them, add the cut strawberries with the onions and spinach, season everything generously with fine sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper
  2. Grab 2 ounces of goat cheese and crumble all over the salad, grab 8 walnuts and crumble all over the salad as well, evenly divide 2 tbsp of sunflower seeds and add a good drizzle of balsamic glaze, top it all off with some Sierra extra virgin olive oil, enjoy!

Introducing Miller’s Favorite

Introducing Miller’s Favorite

This year we introduced a new offering to our Gold Series category called Miller’s Favorite. This oil is a traditional Tuscan oil made from the Frantoio, Leccino, and Moraiolo olives. As the name states this was our favorite oil this year. It is a robust oil with strong pungency and medium bitterness. Its fruity overtones include hints of artichoke, cinnamon, green almond and green tea. Not everybody can taste these overtones but they add a complexity that make this oil particularly satisfying that everybody can enjoy. We made a very small batch of this oil and we will probably run our before December.

One happy customer’s review of the Miller’s Favorite

The best olive oil in America
I’ve sampled countless olive oils from around the world. This and the rest of Apollo’s lineup are the pinnacle of olive oil production. Every attribute about it is perfect. It is green, pungent, and hosts a depth of flavors. It makes the majority of other olive oils taste like seed oil. The only other oil I’ve had that comes close is the oil I sampled from a micro producer in Central Italy using ancient Roman trees. I can say without any reservation that Apollo makes the best olive oil in America.
Gordon B.

Recipe Co