Goods for Cooks 

Mediterranean Medley

     Trevi produces a fresh, fruity, and intensely green Umbrian olive oil has been produced in the Trevi hillsides for 2,000 years. The production techniques are not much different from those used by the Etruscans. The olives are hand picked and carried the same day over rough terrain to the mill. Two great granite stones crush the olives and the oil is then separated with a Sinolea machine without pressure. Trevi has an aroma of fresh olives, with hints of green apple, Umbrian truffle, and an overtone of honey. It is smooth on the palate with a slightly peppery finish.

     Organic.  Extra virgin.  First cold pressed.  And only $22 per liter.  This oil has everything going for it including a history of fanatical quality control.  Nunez de Prado produces this Spanish oil from up to 16 varieties of olive, but primarily Picudo, Hojiblanca and Picual.   Francisco Nunez de Prado puts it bluntly, It is simple: making good oil is a series of small steps.  If you mess up any one of them your oil is bad and nothing you can do later can change that.

   Also from Spain is a remarkable vinegar from Sotaroni.   Made using a solara system where younger and older vinegars are blended, the oldest vinegar in this bottling is 25 years old.  Most sherry vinegars are made using Palomino grapes, but this one is made with Pedro Ximenez grapes often used to make dessert sherries.  It is extremely dark in color with an aroma of walnuts, raisins, dates and figs.  Use is to add a rich, fruity flavor to dressings and marinades or use to deglaze your skillet and whisk in a dollop of creme fraiche or fromage blanc to make a pan sauce.

    Culinary adventure doesn't leap to my mind when someone mentions Tunisia.  Not much does, really.  I know it is in northern Africa, but was surprised to find that ancient Carthage lies in Tunisia.  The region around Les Moulins Mahjoub has a 3,000 year culinary history.  There are even the ruins of an ancient Roman olive press on the grounds.  In more recent history, if you count 500 years as recent, this area was the destination for many Spanish Moors forced out of southern Spain in 1492.  We chose four items from Les Moulins Mahjoub.

     First up is a sliced bitter orange marmalade.  The oranges used are similar to the semi-bitter Seville variety.  Use them wherever you would a good English marmalade or pair with goat cheese for a light breakfast or appetizer. Sun-dried tomatoes are not difficult to find, but the Mahjoub tomatoes are prepared by hand and packed in olive oil with wild mountain capers.    These tomatoes are used to make a spicy sun-dried tomato pesto.  This has quite a kick so use sparingly to add an exotic accent to pizza, pasta and soups.

     The most intriguing product of this group to me are the salt-cured capers.  These buds are hand-picked in the Tunisian hills and dried in sea salt instead of being preserved in brine.  To use they need to be soaked in water for about an hour. The result is pure caper flavor in all its floral glory without the usual mask of vinegar.

    Stop in and see why gourmet foods is our fastest growing sector.  We have many items available to taste and are always happy to discuss ways to use them.

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