A spotlight on olive pressing and a focaccia with extra virgin olive oil.
TORONTO, Oct. 15, 2024 /CNW/ -- It's the olive harvest and pressing time: the "Pure Olive Oil from Europe" programme, promoted by the producers' organisation L'Olivicola Cosentina and co-funded by the European Union, presents the "olive season", one of the most important times of the year for farmers and producers of olive oil and extra virgin olive oil. The harvested olives are immediately transported to the mill for pressing within 24-48 hours to prevent the loss of their aroma and taste. Cold pressing produces high quality oil with an intense and pleasant flavour and preserves the natural nutrients.
Cold pressing consists of five phases. First, the fruits are selected and washed, and next, milled in stainless steel crushers. The third phase is "kneading"; the pulp is churned slowly at a controlled temperature. The fourth phase is the extraction of the unfiltered oil. Traditionally, the mixture is spread on fibre mats and pressed. In modern mills, oil is extracted using machines called decanters. The final phase separates the oil (80%) from the vegetable water (20%) in special centrifuges.
Now let's get cooking with a traditional olive oil focaccia.
Preparation 50 minutes
Rest time 4 hours
Ingredients for 6
Focaccia:
12g fresh brewer's yeast
1 1/2 tsp sugar
500 ml water
600g re-milled semolina
15g salt
10g extra virgin olive oil
Topping:
200g cherry tomatoes
15g oregano
salt
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
4 fresh basil leaves
Method
Dissolve the yeast and sugar in a large bowl with 400g of water. Add the flour and the yeast mixture and knead until very soft. Dissolve the salt in 100g of water and add to the dough. Drizzle in the oil, continuing to knead, until it is smooth and firm. Place in a well-oiled baking tray and rest for two hours until doubled in volume. Gently press the dough with oiled fingers, to cover the surface of the tray. Scatter over the tomatoes cut into quarters, oregano, salt and the oil and leave to rise for another two hours until doubled. Bake in a preheated oven at 250°C for 30 minutes. Remove, drizzle with more oil, garnish with the basil leaves and serve.
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SOURCE EU OLIVE OIL TC
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