A FEW weeks ‘pack, my
‘friend, Chef Rebecca *
Dawson, phoned in her usual
sunshine-voice to say “How |
about an olive-oil tasting
“mext week?”

- Her associates, the rice folks at
North Vancouver’s Jertash —

» Marketing, had just returned from
‘Spain with a af new olive oils
ready for marketing. ..

0. we assembled..The gracious
osts, Sadru and Nicky Ahined,
Chef "Rebecca, Chef Adam Busby.
his Star Anise Restaurant was just
amed Restaurant of the “Year in
incouver magazine), caterer
sley Stowe; Chef-Instructor
Margaret Chisholm (from

Dubrulle), Chef Michael Riley (The

Landing), Executive Chef Pierre ©
Delacote (from Seasons In The

Park) and Dale Dreffs from Terra =~

Breads, who brought the great
read for our tasting.”

Nicky wanted us to know a bit. _

more about Spanish olive oil.

E’ PROMISED”
honed; we moaned!

ones: printed -in-last week’s:
Cuisine Scene ¢ (North Shore News,

© good,
The dough from ‘the recipe, ‘pro-

the Hotel

Bk Tbsp. (a5 or fresh lemon j juice
ct. (500 gr) all-purpose flour 7

“A fully escorted
“tour-of ihe most .
breathtaking cities
& ageless Islands _
in the Mediterranean -

“Spain really produces some really
fine stuff — they're just not known
for it yet.” And from our tasting
results, not for ong!

Interesting to me was the obvi-
ous fact that price does not neces-
sarily have much to do with peo-
ple’s preferences,

In fact, three of us actually liked
the low-end (retai] $4.99) oil best
for overall use in our kitchens,

Some nice ones ta loak for:
Barcelona's Borges — affordable,
pronounced olive flavor and sunny
yellow color; and L’Estornell, from
the same area as from all hand-
picked olives — very buttery and
rich flavor, unctuous sunshine color
(from VEA).

L’Erida (from VEA) proved
peppery and buttery. Fram Valencia
we sampled Nunez de Prado, slight-
ly bitter, unfiltered, and pricey.

Olive oil. Indispensable in
today’s kitchen, that’s for sure. But
for the novice —- where to start?

Begin by sampling (as we did).
And purchase smai} bottles, in case
you don’t use them every day. | use
olive oil in everything — my vinai-
grettes, in baking bread and pizza
doughs, in pesto sauce, for oven-
roasting vegetables, for grilling and
marinades, to drizzle over sizzling ..
fish or seafood, or to serve in
saucers with Balsamic vinegar for

, ‘dipping with crusty bread.

My dear departed father-in-law

“"(a doctor) once told me that the best:

way to get rid of a scar was to rub it

‘with a bit of olive oil each morning

(yes; it worked).
Extra-virgin is from the first
cold pressing (by the way, it takes °

‘five kilograms of olives to make

one litre of oil), resulting in pure:
and perfect taste, with an acidity of
less than 1%.

You can tell by tasting or by tak-
ing a good long sniff— a fruity, ©

_. fresh, really olivey result.

that will not run away

2 2 tsp.(10 mL) baking powder

. A tsp. (5 mL) baking soda

X% tsp. (2 mL) salt

5 Tbsp. (80 mL.) cold unsalted
- butter, cat inty small pieces '

2 Tbsp. (30 mL) sugar

~%e. (125 mL) sultanas or raisins
“4 tsp. (20 mL) grated orange zest

In a small bowl, ‘combine the
milk and lemon juice. Set aside for
about 30 minutes or until the milk

| about large curds.. Preheat oven to
“. AS0°F (230°C).

- Ina medium bowl,’sift together
the flour, baking powder, ‘baking
soda and salt. Cut in the cold butter
pieces, using a pastry blender, until
mixture forms coarse crumbs.

: Add the sugar,” ‘raisiis” and

~ NEWS photo by Brad Li wise

A RECENT olive-oil tasting was attended by a roster of this area’ s ‘finest chefs and foodies.
Shown enjoying a recent new olive oli from Spain are (left to right) Stay Anise Chef Adam Busby, a
Jantash’s Sadru Ahmed, caterer Lesley Stowe and Chef Rebecca Dawson. ‘

For all-around use in the
kitchen, there are some fine virgin
and pure olive oils. Best for using
in sauté, in seuces, for preparing

“mayonnaise, marinades, etc. Save

the extra-virgin for when the olive

‘oil flavor will be noticed.

‘ Stote all olive oils in cool, dark
places ~~ and use them quickly.

Some people keep them in the -

.. fridge (I never do), and they do”.
_cloud up when chilled. Thirty min-
‘utes at room temperature will turn

. them clear again. ‘

Purchase a few different oils and
taste them. Whisk them three parts
to one (sometimes even four-to-.
one) with a good vinegar, and salt

‘and pepper to taste. Homemade

orange zest, and toss to combine.
Pour the curdled milk over: the

‘ dough and stir lightly until the mix- :

ture forms a mass. ;

* Working quickly, turn the dough
onto a lightly floured surface. With
floured fingers, pat dough into an
8”. (20 em) round, about 1/2” (1

_ em) thick). Flour the blade of a

knife and cut the dough into eight
wedges. Transfer the scones to a

‘heavy, greased (or parchment paper

fined) baking sheet.

Bake the scones in the upper
third of the oven for 15 minutes, or
until the scones are golden and
crusty on the outside.

Cool on a wire rack. Serve
warm.

uP SAVE
10 *75G0

{Per person.

Departs
Sept. 22, 1994

“Attend our free film presentation
Sunday, April 17, 1994

2:00 pm

Saki’s Mediterranean Restaurant
2222 Marine Dr., W. Vancouver —
Lisa or ‘Claudia 985-SAIL 72)

vinaigrette will ward you off bottled :
dressings forever!

Here are some favorite recipes.
from the tasting chefs to get you
started.

CHEF REBECCA DAWSON’S
BASIC VINAIGRETTE

Use this dressing over crisp.

greens, varying the flavor by exper-

imenting with your favorite, olive .

oil and your favorite vinegars.

1 part red wine or Balsamic
vinegar

3 parts extra-virgin olive oil .

Salt and freshly ground black
pepper, to taste
Whisk together the vinegar and

olive oil. Season to taste with salt;

and pepper. Us atonce.:

And “after whisking, taste the
balance of vinegar and oil. It should
not be too oily — and it should not

_ warrant a cough from the back of”
the throat from too much acidity!”

LESLEY STOWE’S
BLACK OLIVE PASTE

Stowe suggests spreading this.

delicious olive paste on warm slices
of grilled.or toasted baguette,
stirred into fresh tomato sauce,

added to a minestrone, or tossed .

with piping hot linguini.

‘1 Ib. (500 g) Niscoise or Gaeta i

. olives, stoned

Juice of i femon

Grated zest (yellow part only) of
1 lemon

EDGEMONT VILLAGE
Corner of Edgemont Bivd. + Queens

4c. (125 mL) extra-virgin olive
ol
Freshly ground black pepper _ ;
Place stoned olives, lemon juice
and zest, and olive oil in-a blender.
os food processor. Process to’a.
smooth paste. Season with freshly,
ground black pepper to taste.- ;
Transfer paste to a glass crock or ©.
jar, cap tightly and refrigerate until.
ready to.use (up to one week).

‘CHEF ADAM BUSBY’S”
: ROCKET OIL:
Use to drizzle. over sizzling
grilled halibut or swordfish. ;
3 bunches fresh arugula (recket)
Ye. (175 mL) medium- -strong:
olive oil it

' 2 cloves garlic, peeled and centre

kernel removed - ;
2 shallots, minced... -.-
2 tsp. (10 mL)'soy sauce .
2 tsp. (10 mL) Dijon mustard ~
%e. 50 mL) Sherry vinegar

‘Pinch sugar ':

Squeezed fresh lemon j juice~

Salt and freshly ground black .
pepper
Stem arugula, Blanch 30 sec-

‘onds in boiling: water, and drain: | .

Squeeze water out.

Place blanched aru‘zula in food
processor with the. olive oil, garlic,
shallots, soy: sauce, mustard and .
vinegar. Puree until silky smooth.

Add pinch of sugar, squeeze of
lemon juice, and salt and pepper to
taste. o

983-9330