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The MedDiet Wins Again!

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The MedDiet Wins Again!

US News and World Report evaluated 24 different diets and the Mediterranean Diet came in first, hands down for the sixth straight year. It won in several categories including the best family-friendly diet. One main reason is that it’s fairly diverse. The foundation is whole foods composed of fresh fruits and vegetables. It allows carbs, which are part of many traditional diets and provide that feeling of ‘comfort’ that makes eating enjoyable. More importantly, this also makes it more possible to follow consistently, which results in better success. Scientific research over decades has linked it with reduced ailments, such as heart disease, obesity, inflammation, and diabetes. Extra virgin olive oil is the main healthy fat used in the diet that adds great flavor to all foods.

Spanish Montaditos with Black Olive Tapenade and Anchovies

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From Albert Brevia:

TIPS & TRICKS to make this recipe: The rock star of this dish is the black olive tapenade. Folks, don´t buy the premade stuff, it is so easy to make at home, it´s like literally done within minutes. Plus when you make it at home you get to add fresh ingredients and no preservatives. The only thing you do need is a food processor. Watch the video below on How to Make Spanish Montaditos with Black Olive Tapenade and Anchovies or check out the recipe card below, which you can print. Salud!

Spanish Montaditos with Black Olive Tapenade and Anchovies

Watch Albert preparing this recipe: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGFnk7i9Bak&feature=emb_imp_woyt

Ingredients

  • -1 cup black Spanish olives
  • -2 tbsp capers
  • -2 cloves garlic
  • -1/2 tsp thyme
  • -1/2 tsp oregano
  • -1/4 tsp sea salt
  • -1/8 tsp black pepper
  • -1 tsp lemon juice
  • -1/4 cup Apollo Sierra Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • -1 baguette
  • -1 tin Spanish anchovies
  • -1 tomato
  • -fresh parsley

Instructions

  1. Add 1 cup of pitted black Spanish olives to a sieve, shake off any excess liquid and add the olives to a food processor, add 2 tablespoons of capers to the sieve, shake off any excess liquid and add to the food processor, cut 2 cloves of garlic in half and add to the food processor, season everything with 1/2 teaspoon of dried thyme, 1/2 teaspoon of dried oregano, 1/4 teaspoon of sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper, squeeze in 1 teaspoon of fresh lemon juice and add a 1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil, pulse everything for about 1 minute, then take off the lid and using a spatula scrape down the sides and pulse for another minute, set aside
  2. Cut a baguette into slices that are 1-inch thick, add the slices of bread to a baking tray and into a preheated oven bake+broil 210 C – 410 F for 2 minutes, then flip each bread and toast for an additional 2 minutes and remove from the oven, meanwhile cut a tomato in half and thinly slice it
  3. To assemble each montadito evenly spread the black olive tapenade onto 10 pieces of bread, top each one off with a slice of tomato, lightly season the tomato with freshly cracked black pepper, add 2 Spanish anchovies on top of each tomato and garnish with fresh parsley, enjoy!

To learn more about these oils and to purchase visit www.apollooliveoil.com.

Spanish Poor Man´s Rice | Arroz a lo Pobre

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From Albert: This recipe dates back a couple hundred years and comes from ¨La Cocina Pobre¨, the poor kitchen. As peasants would create rice dishes just like this one, that where affordable, healthy and filled your body with so much goodness.

TIPS & TRICKS to Make this Recipe: For this recipe I used long grain rice. But you can also use short grain, basmati or even arborio rice. Just make sure to check the package instruction so your rice to liquid ratios are correct.
Watch Albert prepare this recipe:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qeMJcuxlZ04

Spanish Poor Man´s Rice | Arroz a lo Pobre

Ingredients

  • 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 35 ml
  • 1 small onion
  • 4 cloves garlic
  • 1 red bell pepper
  • 1 green bell pepper
  • 1 carrot
  • 2 tomatoes
  • 15.5 oz can chickpeas 440 grams
  • 1 tsp sweet smoked Spanish paprika 2.30 grams
  • 1/2 tsp dried thyme .5 grams
  • 2 cups vegetable broth 480 ml
  • 1 cup long grain rice 190 grams
  • 1 sprig fresh rosemary
  • 2 hard boiled eggs
  • handful fresh parsley
  • pinch sea salt
  • dash black pepper

Instructions

  1. Add the broth into a sauce pan, along with the sprig of rosemary, heat with a medium heat
  2. At the same time, heat a large fry pan with a medium heat
  3. Meanwhile, finely chop the onion, roughly chop the garlic, finely chop the red & green bell peppers, finely chop the carrot (peeled) and finely grate the tomatoes
  4. Add in the olive oil into the hot pan, along with all the chopped vegetables (except for the grated tomatoes), mix the vegetables around so they´re coated in the olive oil, saute for 4 to 5 minutes, then add in the paprika and thyme, quickly mix together, then add in the grated tomato and simmer
  5. Meanwhile, rinse the rice and drain the chickpeas and rinse as well
  6. After 3 to 4 minutes and the grated tomato has slightly thickened, add in the rice, chickpeas and season with sea salt & black pepper, mix together until well mixed
  7. Remove the sprig of rosemary from the hot broth and pour the broth into the fry pan, give it one final mix, then place a lid over the pan and lower to a low-medium heat
  8. After about 15 minutes and there is no broth left, remove from the heat, using a fork fluff the rice, then transfer into serving dishes, garnish with sliced hard boiled eggs and fresh parsley, enjoy!

Striving For The Best!

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Striving For The Best!

Here at Apollo, we’re always striving to improve the quality of our olive oil.  Last year, TEM, the Italian manufacturer of our unique milling equipment (located in Florence, Italy), developed a much more efficient and effective way to extract the valuable nutrients from the olives.  So, we jumped at the chance, and sent our centrifugal decanter drum back to Italy for the ingenious design change.

This season we’ve been using the completely upgraded and retooled decanter, and experiencing stunning results. Not only have the yields increased, but much more importantly, the oil emerging from the decanter is much cleaner, greatly improving the quality of the last milling step, filtering for clarity.  The whole process produces oils higher in polyphenols, and with much less oxidation. 

Our pursuit of higher quality oil never ends!

Recipe Suggestion from a Customer

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Recipe Suggestion from a Customer

A customer of ours wrote us to say that he had the happy problem of having too many tomatoes from his garden this year. He then found a wonderful recipe for pickled green tomatoes from the daughter of an Italian mom who she helped cook as a teenager. Here is the link https://carlaazevedocooking.wordpress.com/2016/11/25/italys-secret-condiment-pickled-green-tomatoes/. Be sure to follow the link if you are interested in learning about pickled vegetables and seeing the yummy pictures on how to use them on sandwiches.

Pesto Change-O!

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Pesto is Magic!

Pesto brings a splash of excitement to almost any dish. Use it as a spread on sandwiches, put a dollop on baked potatoes, or smear it on salmon, steak or chicken. The traditional recipe is 2 cups fresh basil leaves (no stems), 2 tablespoons pine nuts, 2 large cloves garlic, ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil, ½ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese. The magic of pesto is that you can easily interchange ingredients to bring in something unexpected. You can substitute cilantro or parsley for the basil or just add a splash of them to the basil. You can do the same by using walnuts or pecans instead of the pine nuts. Or you can come up with your own combination to add a surprise to the common place.

You can use any of our oils to make pesto. The Mistral would make a more delicate pesto, however, Gianni likes the Sierra, Miller’s Favorite, or the Barouni for a nice lively pesto.

Spicy Chickpea Stew with Kale

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From Albert Bevia:
This Spicy Chickpea Stew with Kale is what delicious home cooking is all about. It´s packed with flavors, made with simple heart-healthy ingredients and done in about 30 minutes. Serve it next to a crunchy baguette to mop up all the goodness.

TIPS & TRICKS to make this Recipe: What gives this stew that spicy kick is the hot smoked Spanish paprika. It´s not too spicy, just enough for the perfect balance of goodness. If you want a little more heat, you can also add in a pinch of chili powder.

Spicy Chickpea Stew with Kale

Watch Albert preparing this recipe: https://youtu.be/indx8idNqJc

Ingredients

  • 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 35 ml
  • 1 onion
  • 2 carrots
  • 2 celery sticks
  • 6 cloves garlic
  • 2 tomatoes
  • 2 cans chickpeas 15.5 oz / 440 grams each
  • 1 tsp sweet smoked Spanish paprika 2.50 grams
  • 1/2 tsp hot smoked Spanish paprika 1.25 grams
  • 1 tbsp sherry vinegar 15 ml
  • 2 1/2 cups vegetable broth 600 ml
  • 4 oz fresh kale 100 grams
  • 2 bay leafs
  • 2 tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley 8 grams
  • pinch sea salt
  • dash black pepper

Instructions

  1. Drain the cans of chickpeas into a colander, rinse under cold water and reserve about 10 chickpeas, roughly chop the onion, thinly slice the carrots, thinly slice the celery sticks and roughly chop 4 cloves of garlic
  2. Heat a stock pot with a medium heat and add in a generous 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  3. After 1 minute add in 2 whole cloves of garlic (peeled), mix continuously and sautee until lightly browned, then remove from the stock pot, transfer into a mortar and set aside
  4. Using the same pan with the same heat, add in all the chopped vegetables, mix continuously, after 3 minutes and the vegetables are lightly sauteed, add in 1 tsp sweet smoked Spanish paprika, 1/2 tsp hot smoked Spanish paprika and 1 tbsp sherry vinegar, quickly mix together, then add in the 2 tomatoes finely grated and season with sea salt & black pepper, mix together and simmer
  5. Once the tomato has slightly thickened, about 3 minutes, add in the drained chickpeas, 2 1/2 cups vegetable broth and 2 bay leaves, raise to a high heat, once it comes to a boil place a lid on the pan and lower to a low medium heat
  6. Meanwhile, add the reserved 10 chickpeas into the mortar with the sauteed garlic, 2 tbsp finely chopped parsley and a kiss of sea salt, using a pestle pound down until you form a paste, roughly chop the kale and rinse under cold water
  7. After simmering the stew for 10 minutes remove the lid, add in the garlic paste and the kale, mix together and simmer until the kale is wilted, 1 to 2 minutes, then remove from the heat
  8. Transfer into shallow bowls and serve next to a crunchy baguette, enjoy!

Baking with Extra Virgin Olive Oil

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Baking with Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Replacing butter with extra virgin olive oil in your baking can bring a new depth and complexity to your favorite recipes. In general you use 25% less olive oil than butter with the substitution. The reason is that butter contains 25% milk solids and so to get the same fat content in your recipe you use 25% less olive oil. In most cases you would want to use a delicate olive oil for baking like our Mistral. Olive oil in baking increases moistness and adds a surprise savoriness that softens and complements the sweetness of desserts.

20 Minute Cherry Tomato & Garlic Pasta

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From Albert Bevia:
This is the perfect pasta dish for a busy weeknight dinner, when you don´t have a lot of time, yet it´s bold enough for a relaxed weekend lunch, next to a bottle of Spanish wine. Either way, this is what simple and delicious home cooking is all about.

TIPS & TRICKS to make this Recipe: What gives this pasta dish that incredible depth of flavors is the white wine. If wine is not your thing, you can use broth with a hint of lemon juice. I also used an entire head of garlic. If that is too much garlic for you, you can just use a couple of cloves.

20 Minute Cherry Tomato & Garlic Pasta

Watch Albert preparing this recipe: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WUmDmal-m1A

Ingredients

  • 8 oz spaghetti 225 grams
  • 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 head garlic
  • 20 cherry tomatoes
  • 1 tsp dried oregano 1 gram
  • 1/2 cup white wine 120 ml
  • 10 basil leaves
  • 1/4 cup grated Manchego cheese 30 grams
  • pinch sea salt
  • dash black pepper

Instructions

  1. Fill a stock pot half ways with cold water, season generously with sea salt and heat with a high heat
  2. Meanwhile, remove the skins from the cloves of garlic and roughly chop the garlic, wash the cherry tomatoes and cut each one in half lengthwise and roughly chop 10 fresh basil leaves
  3. Heat a large fry pan with a medium heat and add in 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  4. After a couple minutes add in the chopped garlic, mix continuously, after 1 minute and the garlic is fragrant, add in the cherry tomatoes, continue to mix together, after 3 minutes and the cherry tomatoes are lightly sauteed, add in 1 tsp dried oregano and season with sea salt & black pepper, gently mix together, then add in 1/2 cup white wine and the chopped basil, simmer on a medium heat
  5. Once the water comes to a boil in the stock pot, add in the spaghetti, cook until al dente (check package instructions)
  6. Once the spaghetti is cooked, drain it into a colander, turn off the heat in the pan with the cherry tomatoes, add the pasta into the pan and gently mix together until well mixed
  7. Transfer into shallow bowls, sprinkle with grated Manchego cheese and some fresh basil leaves, serve at once, enjoy!

EVOO Linked with Lower Risk of Premature Death

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EVOO Linked with Lower Risk of Premature Death

A recent study from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health found a higher consumption of olive oil may lower risk of premature death . From the article:

    “The researchers used health data collected between 1990 and 2018 for 60,582 women     participating in the Nurses’ Health Study and 31,801 men in the Health Professionals Follow-up     Study. All participants were free of cardiovascular disease or cancer at the beginning of the study     and completed dietary questionnaires every four years. During the study period, 36,856 people     died.

    Participants were asked how often they used olive oil in salad dressings, added to food or bread,     or in baking or frying. According to the findings, people in the highest category of olive oil     consumption (more than seven grams per day) had 19% lower risk of total and cardiovascular     disease mortality, 17% lower risk of cancer mortality, 29% lower risk of neurodegenerative     mortality, and 18% lower risk of respiratory mortality, compared with those who never or rarely     consumed olive oil.”

Apollo Olive Oil is one of the few olive oils available that is certified to be 100% real extra virgin olive oil.