Mellissa’s Produce

(Gerry Furth-Sides) I was so happy to attend the Garcia de la Cruz Tribute to Spain products. Why? Garcia de la Cruz turned me into a virgin olive oil lover. Before this I only used grapeseed oil.

The gift-to-go was the chance for guests and anyone in the United States to win a a gift basket with $2,000 worth of products. Go to the García de la Cruz Instagram profile, @Garcia de la Cruz to learn about the giveaway.

Here are our favorites, including the newest, Lynette McDonald’s yellow beet gazpacho. We can’t wait to try it with Garcia de La Cruz chili flavored oil.

Our favorite Garcia de la Cruz inspired menu is a tribute to Spain: a chestnut soup, Tortilla La Espańola with potato and onion, flavored with wild black garlic.  A cheeseboard filled with specialty items from Spain will be offered so guests can choose from savory Salamanca dry-cured Iberico de cebo pork salchichón;  Idiazabal do (Craw Sheep milk smoked basque, aged 60 days); Spanish green and black olives; quince paste  and a roasted garlic tomato to spread onto barra (like a French baguette), and tomatohazelnuts from Galacia. To choose from on the sweeter side:  a dense fig almond cake; almendra garrapiñada (sugar coated almonds), black dried raisins and fresh grapes.

One first course addition we would definitely add is the Golden Beet Gazpacho inspired by the one we ate at the “A TASTE OF SPAIN & 150 Year Anniversary event this week.

Lynette MacDonald, culinary development manager of Thermomix USA’s paid tribute to the royal oil with a refreshing and remarkably tasty Gazpacho made with our favorite Melissa’s Produce packaged golden beets. We look forward to trying this recipe with the same ingredients://lepetiteats.com/golden-beet-gazpacho/

The beets are already peeled, steamed and cubed. Yellow bell pepper, garlic, shallots, water, salt and pepper. Spanish sherry vinegar and Spanish extra virgin olive oil from García de la Cruz. Chef Lynette, grated Manchego cheese grated as a tasty garnish.

Fine olive oils should only be used for dipping finishing touches to dishes, and only when they are cool. This is because the flavor of the oil changes when heated.  This is especially true with refined García de la Cruz, the early harvest olive oil in its exquisite bottle.  Even its regal citrus green color reflects the fullness of the fruit at the time of its harvest, giving a hint of the elaborate aromas and flavor to follow.

We also love using a little bit of it to give an added oomph to these homespun classics we make regularly.  Just open the bottle and add a layer of the oil to make the flavors come alive and vibrant.

We used a recipe for Roasted Tomato from (www.wimpy vegetarian.com) All you need to make these roasted tomatoes in a bottle are tomatoes, salt, pepper, olive oil,  salt, a drizzle of balsamic vinegar and garlic. This is more to a cook’s taste than exact amounts. Because the tomatoes are being roasted, it is better to use firm, older one.

Simply slice tomatoes and drizzle them evenly with the rest of the ingredients.  Roast at 350 degrees until they look crisp around the edges.  Cool and bottle.

Homemade Mayonaise

• 1 large egg at room temperature
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon red or white wine vinegar
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt to taste
• 1 cup grapeseed oil
• generous drizzle of García de la Cruz extra virgin olive oil
• lemon juice, optional

Place the raw egg in a food processor and pulse for 20 seconds. Add the mustard, vinegar, and salt, and process another 20 seconds.

Scrape down the bowl sides in the food processor.  Slowly add ¼ of the oil in drops to emulsify. Once emulsification begins, gently stream in the rest of the oil.  Scrape and process an extra 10 seconds.  Taste and adjust with seasonings and lemon juice for taste. 

Pesto

• Cup of fresh basil leaves
• 3 cloves garlic
• 3 tablespoons pine nuts
• kosher salt and ground pepper to taste
• 1/3 cup olive or grapeseed oil

Combine basic, garlic, pine nuts and Parmasan in the food processor bowl. Season with a slow stream of oil until emulsified.  Season to taste.

García de la Cruz Tart

For the García de la cruz tart filling

• 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 1 large red onion, thinly sliced
• 2 leafy sprigs sage (about 10 medium leaves)
• 8 ounces basque cheese
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 1 tablespoon parsley leaves, chopped
• black pepper to season
• 5 small potatoes
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon hazelnuts, chopped

Heat one tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet until hot but not smoking. Add onion and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally until softened and golden brown, about 7 minutes. Remove from the heat. Strip the leaves from one of the sage sprigs, chop the leaves, and stir into the onions. Set aside.

Combine the basque cheese cheese, ricotta cheese, garlic, and parsley in a medium bowl. Season with black pepper.

Slice the potatoes thinly. Place another tablespoon of olive oil and salt into a bowl and stir in the potato slices, making sure they are all coated with oil.

Roll out the chilled dough to 1/4-inch thick and trim any uneven edges until you get a circle about 14 inches across.  Place the dough circle on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Spread the cooled onions evenly over the dough, leaving a 3-inch outer border. Spoon the cheese mix over the onions and fold up the edges of the dough, tucking and pleating as you go a bit rustic.

Arrange the oiled potato slices  close to each over the visible cheese mix, overlapping slightly (the crostata will expand), and brush some of the previously reserved egg white, thinned with a splash of cold water, evenly over the crust.

Bake the crostata 40–45 minutes until the crust is golden brown and the potatoes are cooked through. Remove from the oven and cool slightly on the baking sheet before serving. Chop the leaves from the second sprig of sage and sprinkle over the finished crostata. This is quite rich, so I like to serve it with just a simple green salad.

Ingredients

• 5 tablespoons plain flour
• 3.5 tablespoons unsalted butter
• a pinch of salt
• 10 small pearl onions
• 1 large Melissas’s wild black garlic clove
• 4 cups mixed Melissas’s wild mushrooms
• 2 ½ Melissa’s steamed, peeled chestnuts
• 3 tablespoons orange preserves with peel, sweetened with grape juice
• 1/4 cup Cabrales (Asturian strong blue cheese)
• 2 sprigs fresh thyme

Method
Finely slice onions and mushrooms, mush garlic and chestnuts into a soft, flat paste.

Heat 2 tablespoons grapeseed oil in a large frying pan over a high heat. Add onions, stirring constantly until caramelized. Add garlic, mushrooms, thyme and chestnuts, cooking until mushrooms are golden brown. Season to taste and cool.

For the shell: We used the JOY OF COOKING (p. 692) ruff pastry, mixed with ground Mrs. Cubbison). Blind bake at 350 degrees. Cool for five minutes.

Add the mushroom mix to the pastry shell and bake 20 minutes 350F

For the perfect finishing touch, drizzle with García de la cruz extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle with thyme. 

Comida Feliz!

Enter the celebratory contest and see for yourself!