I returned from a recent trip to Puglia, in the heel of the Italian boot, with a bunch of new recipes that call for bewildering amounts of olive oil – and Isay that as someone whose monthly consumption of the stuff easily topstwo litres.
Mind you, I have never before come across such a proliferation of olive trees as I did in Puglia, or indeed such a large number of ancient specimens, their gnarled trunks telling the story of an area where a single species of tree stands at the very centre of culture, history, landscape and the economy. With more than 60m olive trees, Puglia produces 40% of Italy's oil output.
The flavour of some of the oils Itried there was astounding. Top-of-the-range Puglian oil tends to be full-bodied and spicy, making it an ideal friend to good, rustic bread. Other varieties were subtler and less aromatic, not earthshattering but perfectly suitable for the everyday cooking we did on our holiday.
Shortly after my return, I was asked by the Guardian's food desk toblind-taste a selection of supermarket extra-virgin olive oils and rate them from 1 to 5. Faced with one spoon and eight little bowls, each with a small puddle of yellowish-greenish liquid and anumber underneath, I was a little disheartened. Though I soldiered on and hope I gave a fair assessment of their qualities, if I'm totally honest, Ididn't really enjoy any of them.
Afterwards, it dawned on me that our modern obsession with ratings means we often forget that nothing exists out of context, and that to value an ingredient properly – particularly something as magical and complex as olive oil – it's not enough simply to taste it in isolation. The only way really to appreciate an ingredient is to cook with it and enjoy it in a meal. It's a simple truth, yet one that's often forgotten.
Braciole
These meat rolls cooked in tomato sauce are ridiculously delicious. Askyour butcher to cut the escalopes for you. Veal also works well here, if you prefer, as does horse meat, which is the most authentic option, although Idoubt many readers will choose to go quite so native. Serves four.
700g beef topside, cut into 10cm x 7cm escalopes, each about 0.5cm thick (you should end up with 16 or so in total)
150g pancetta, cut into 1cm cubes
70g pecorino, finely grated
20g fresh basil leaves, shredded, plus 10g whole leaves extra to serve
30g parsley, roughly chopped
60ml olive oil
Salt and black pepper
1 medium onion, peeled and roughlychopped
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
250ml dry white wine
6 ripe medium plum tomatoes, skinned and roughly chopped
20g salted capers, rinsed and roughly chopped
½ tsp caster sugar
10g unsalted butter
Put each escalope between two sheets of parchment paper and bash with a rolling pin until they are about 12cm x 8cm wide and 3mm thick. Keep the still-wrapped escalopes in the fridge until required.
Put the pancetta, pecorino, shredded basil and parsley in abowl, add a tablespoon of oil, aquarter-teaspoon of salt and agood grind of black pepper, and mix. Remove the top sheet of parchment from each escalope and spoon about atablespoon and a half of the cheese mixture along the shorter end of each piece, leaving a 1cm gap clear atthe edge. Roll up each escalope widthways like a cigar, until the filling is encased but can still be seenon both ends. Tie each end with a piece of string, to secure. Once all the beef is rolled and tied, sprinkle very lightly with salt and pepper, and set aside.
Put on a high heat a large nonstick sauté pan for which you have a lid; add two tablespoons of oil. Once hot, add half the beef rolls and sear for two to three minutes, turning halfway, so they're browned on both sides. Remove from the pan and repeat with the remaining beef.
Wipe clean the pan, add the remaining two tablespoons of oil and set over a medium heat. Add theonion and rosemary, and fry gently for 15 minutes, until soft and caramelised. Pour over the wine andcook for five minutes, until the wine has reduced by half. Add the tomatoes, capers, sugar, 150ml water and a quarter-teaspoon of salt, return the beef rolls to the pan and lower the heat to medium-low. Cover and cook for an hour to and anhour and a quarter, until the beef is tender and the sauce thick (if the beef is ready before the sauce, just lift out the rolls and set aside, and return them to the sauce once it's thickened). Remove and discard the rosemary, add the butter, let it melt into the sauce and serve with torn basil sprinkled on top.
Orecchiette with rosemary oil and chickpeas
Orecchiette is a distinctive Puglian pasta shaped like little ears. Cavatelli, another Puglian variety, will also work well here. This dish can do without the anchovies, if youwant to leave them out, in which case you'll need to add another quarter-teaspoon of salt instead. If you like, add a couple of teaspoons of lemon juice to the pasta before serving. Serves four asa starter, two as a main.
240g tin chickpeas, drained andrinsed
110ml olive oil
8 sprigs fresh rosemary
2 large garlic cloves, peeled andcrushed
3 anchovies, finely chopped
1 tsp ground cumin
Salt and black pepper
200g broccolini, quartered lengthways (or turnip tops)
250g orecchiette
30g parmesan, finely grated
Bring a small saucepan of water to the boil. Add the chickpeas and, on amedium heat, cook for 10 minutes, to soften. Drain and set aside.
Pour 90ml of oil into a large sauté pan and place on a medium heat. Add the rosemary and fry gently for five minutes, turning once or twice, until the leaves go crisp. Lift out therosemary and set aside. Add thegarlic, fry for a minute, then add the anchovies, cumin, chickpeas, aquarter-teaspoon of salt and agood grind of black pepper. Fry gently for six to seven minutes, stirring a few times, until the chickpeas start to crisp up and there is plenty of oil still left in the pan. Remove from the heat and set aside.
Bring a medium saucepan of salted water to a boil, add the broccolini and cook for two minutes, until it is only just holding its shape. Drain, refresh and shake dry, then add to the chickpeas.
Refill the saucepan with salted water and bring to a boil. Add the pasta, cook for 12 minutes (or according to the packet instructions) and drain – hold back 90ml of the cooking water when you drain the pasta and add this to the chickpea pot. Add the drained pasta, parmesan and the remaining oil, then remove the crisp leaves from half the rosemary sprigs and add to the pot. Stir to warm everything through and serve at once.
Aubergine fritters
Don't worry about trying to make these fritters perfectly round. They will never look great, not least because of their colour, but they taste sensational. Makes 16 fritters, to serve four.
2 large aubergines, cut into 2cm dice
350ml olive oil
Salt and black pepper
1 egg
30g pecorino cheese, roughly grated
100g fresh white breadcrumbs
50g basil leaves, chopped
1 lemon, cut into four wedges
Heat the oven to 230C/450F/gas mark 8. Put the diced aubergine in a large bowl with three tablespoons of olive oil, half a teaspoon of salt and a good grind of black pepper. Mix, then spread out on a very large parchment-lined baking tray (or two smaller trays). Roast for 25-30 minutes, until starting to brown, then remove and leave to cool. Turn the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4.
Put half the aubergine in a food processor, add the egg, pecorino, breadcrumbs, basil and an eighth of a teaspoon of salt, and blitz for 30 seconds. Spoon into a bowl, then stir through the remaining aubergine.
Put a small sauté pan on amedium-high heat and pour in the remaining oil. Use two dessertspoons to scoop out 40g balls of the aubergine mix. Once the oil is hot, add four balls at a time and fry for about 90 seconds, turning often so they go golden brown all over: don't let them take on too much colour. Transfer to a baking tray and repeat with the remaining mix, then roast for five or six minutes, until cooked through. Serve the fritters warm or at room temperature with awedge of lemon alongside.
Yotam Ottolenghi is chef/patron of Ottolenghi and Nopi in London.
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