We’re going retro with a revamped version of this wildly popular dish from the early 1980’s - turning it into an all-in-one baked dish with pearl couscous as the base. Made with boneless, skinless chicken thighs which are virtually foolproof, need no browning, and the longer you marinate it the better, so it’s a great dish for preparing ahead of time.

Mediterranean Chicken

INGREDIENTS

STEP ONE

• 8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
• 4 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
• 3 tsp dried oregano
• ¾ cup red wine vinegar
• ¾ cup Great Southern Groves Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 cup pitted prunes
• ¾ cup dried apricots
• ¾ cup Great Southern Groves mixed olives
• ¼ cup capers
• 4 bay leaves
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

STEP TWO

• ½ cup brown sugar
• 1½ cups white wine (or chicken stock)
• 1 cup pearl couscous

METHOD

STEP ONE

Place the chicken thighs in a non-corrosive dish.

Combine the garlic, oregano, salt, pepper, red wine vinegar, Great Southern Groves extra virgin olive oil, prunes, apricots, Great Southern Groves mixed olives, capers, and bay leaves and pour over the chicken.

Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours, overnight if possible.

STEP TWO

Preheat the oven to 180ºC.

Spread the pearl couscous over the base of a large baking dish.

Place the chicken on top of the pearl couscous in a single layer along with all of the marinade ingredients.

Sprinkle the chicken with the brown sugar and pour over the wine or chicken stock.

Bake for 45-50 minutes, basting with cooking juices once halfway through cooking time. Stand the dish for ten minutes to allow the pearl couscous to continue to swell before serving.

Serve with a simple green salad or green vegetables.

NOTES:

This recipe may be prepared 24 hours in advance for maximum flavour but is still delicious if the chicken is marinated the morning it is to be cooked.

Risoni works just as well in place of the pearl couscous.

A good basic vinaigrette is a great recipe to have in your repertoire especially when it’s made with delicious extra virgin olive oil. More flavoursome than bought dressings and no added preservatives!

The staple seasonings for vinaigrette are a sweetener, garlic, mustard, pepper, and salt. Vary the recipe to suit your taste, for example swap the honey for sugar or maple syrup, use a different vinegar, swap grainy mustard for Dijon.

The standard ratio of vinegar (or other acid) is 1 part vinegar to 3 parts oil.

The method for all of these recipes is the same as the first.

HONEY VINAIGRETTE

INGREDIENTS

• 50 ml white wine vinegar
• 2 tsp honey
• 1 tsp grainy mustard
• 1 small clove garlic, peeled and crushed
• Sea salt & freshly ground black pepper
• 150 ml Great Southern Groves extra virgin olive oil

METHOD

Place all the ingredients except for the GSG extra virgin olive oil into a medium-sized jar. With the lid firmly on shake well to combine, then add the olive oil and shake well again. Taste and adjust seasoning to suit – if it’s on the sharp side, a touch more salt and/or sugar will more often than not correct it rather than adding more oil.

NOTES:

Store in your refrigerator for 1 to 2 weeks

GREEK-STYLE DRESSING

INGREDIENTS

• 50ml red wine vinegar
• 2 tsp honey
• 1 small clove garlic, peeled and crushed
• 2 tsp grainy mustard
• 1-2 tsp dried oregano
• Sea salt & freshly ground black pepper
• 150 ml Great Southern Groves extra virgin olive oil

SERVING SUGGESTIONS:

Greek salad
Watermelon & feta salad
Mixed bean salad

GINGER MISO DRESSING

INGREDIENTS

• 50 ml lemon juice
• 1 small clove garlic, peeled and crushed
• 2 tsp minced ginger
• 2 Tb white miso paste
• Freshly ground black pepper (miso is salty so taste before adding salt)
• 150 ml Great Southern Groves extra virgin olive oil

SERVING SUGGESTIONS:

Fennel, orange & avocado salad
Rainbow coleslaw
Carrot salad

BALSAMIC & MAPLE DRESSING

INGREDIENTS

• 50 ml balsamic vinegar
• 1 tsp maple syrup
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1 small clove garlic, peeled and crushed
• Sea salt & freshly ground black pepper
• 150 ml Great Southern Groves extra virgin olive oil

SERVING SUGGESTIONS:

Waldorf salad
Spinach & strawberry salad
Any salad you would use honey vinaigrette on

LEMON & PARMESAN DRESSING

INGREDIENTS

• 50 ml lemon juice
• 1 tsp honey
• 1 small clove garlic, peeled and crushed
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• Sea salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 150 ml Great Southern Groves extra virgin olive oil
• ¼ cup freshly grated parmesan – stir into dressing once you have adjusted seasoning.

SERVING SUGGESTIONS:

Pasta or pasta salad
Caesar Salad
Mediterranean roasted vegetable platter

Serves 4

Lightly infused with garlic and rosemary, this mash should find itself on high rotation in your repertoire over the cooler months as the base for any number of comfort food dishes.

This very flexible recipe for Great Southern Groves Extra Virgin Olive Oil mash uses a ratio of 75% potatoes to 25% sweet potato. You can play with these quantities, but we recommend keeping at least 50% potato in the mix as sweet potato can be very watery when mashed on its own.

Try adding carrot or pumpkin for a change, or just go full potato – you can’t really get it wrong!

INGREDIENTS

900g potatoes, peeled and cut into large chunks

300g sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into large chunks

1 large clove garlic, peeled

¾ cup Great Southern Groves Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2 sprigs fresh rosemary

Sea salt & freshly ground black pepper

1 bunch chives, chopped (optional)

METHOD

Put the prepared potatoes and sweet potato pieces in a medium-large pot with the garlic clove, two tsp sea salt, and cover with water.

Cover pot and bring to the boil, then turn to low and simmer potatoes until tender. Meanwhile, gently warm the Great Southern Groves extra virgin olive oil in a small saucepan with the rosemary sprigs and set aside to infuse.

When the potatoes are cooked, drain well, return pan to low heat, and shake gently for a minute or two to dry.

Pass potato mixture through a potato ricer or mash well.

Stir in half a cup of the rosemary-infused oil and season to taste. Add more oil to taste if the mixture is on the dry side.

Stir through the chopped chives if using and serve mash drizzled with a little more flavoured oil.

NOTES

Keep any leftover infused oil covered in the refrigerator for up to a week.

INGREDIENTS

3 + 1 TBS Great Southern Groves Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 kg osso bucco pieces (approx. 4-5)

¼ cup plain flour, seasoned well with sea salt & black pepper

1 large onion, peeled and sliced

(or 6-8 pickling onions peeled)

2 medium carrots, peeled and cut into chunks

2 stalks celery, cut into chunks

300g button mushrooms, trimmed and cut in half (leave whole if small)

1 large clove garlic, peeled and crushed

1 tsp paprika

1 TBS tomato paste

½ cup red wine

400g can crushed tomatoes

1 cup beef stock

1 bouquet garni (bay leaf, sprigs of thyme and parsley stalks tied with cotton string)

Sea salt & freshly ground black pepper

TO FINISH:

Corn flour for thickening

Italian flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped

METHOD

Heat 3 TBS Great Southern Groves Extra Virgin Olive Oil in a large heavy frying pan over medium heat.

Coat the osso bucco pieces in the seasoned flour and brown well in frypan. Transfer to the slow cooker bowl.

In the same pan, toss the sliced onion, carrot and celery pieces for a few minutes until starting to soften & caramelise lightly. Add the mushrooms and continue to cook for another minute. Transfer all the vegetables to the slow-cooker bowl.

Add the remaining tablespoon of olive oil to the pan with the crushed garlic, paprika and tomato paste. Cook, stirring constantly for about a minute.

Add the red wine to the tomato paste mixture and cook, stirring constantly for another minute until all the caramelised residue in the pan has been released and the mixture has thickened slightly.

Tip this mixture into the slow cooker bowl, along with the crushed tomatoes, beef stock and bouquet garni. Season lightly with sea salt & freshly ground black pepper.

Cook on HIGH for 4-4½ hours until the meat is tender. Remove bouquet garni.

Mix 1 TBS cornflour with 1½ TBS water and stir until smooth, pour into the osso bucco and stir well to thicken.

Taste and adjust seasoning, stir through chopped parsley, and serve.

SERVES 2

First, microwave one corn cob for 4 minutes with the husk on. If you don't cook your corn this way... You must. Cooks perfectly and the husk and silks just peel off so easily.

Peel your corn carefully as it will be hot!

Cut off husk, stalk and other end if it looks a little unattractive. Then cut in half (horizontally). Then cut halves into four long 'ribs' length ways.

If catering for lots of people you can do lots more, just increase the microwave around 30 sec for each extra corn you cook (this will depend on your microwave).

Brush with Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Place in a serving dish and sprinkle generously with our Pistachio Dukkah.

Drizzle with some more Extra Virgin Olive Oil and serve hot! Eat as you would eat corn on the cob.

Note: you could microwave corn for just 2-3 minutes and then finish on the BBQ grill to give them a lovely charred flavour.

INGREDIENTS

150g Great Southern Groves Mixed Olives in brine

5 TBS Great Southern Groves Extra Virgin Olive Oil

3- 4 Prince of Orange (or other red variety) potatoes, sliced into 1 cm thick rounds

1 medium red capsicum, cored and sliced into 1cm strips

4 small chicken breasts, trimmed

3 cloves garlic, peeled and squashed

CRUMB

1 cup breadcrumbs (utilise leftover stale bread)

15g Parmesan, finely grated

2 tsp thyme, dried

2 tsp Great Southern Groves Extra Virgin Olive Oil

½ tsp salt

METHOD

Preheat oven to 200°C fan force.

Drain the olives, rinse under water and pat dry with paper towel before rolling them through a tablespoon of olive oil and set aside.

Drizzle olive oil across the base of a large roasting tray.

Lay potatoes out evenly, top evenly with red capsicum season with salt and pepper and drizzle with olive oil.

Lay your chicken breast on top of the potato and capsicum and season.

Add garlic dotted around the dish. Combine all crumb ingredients in a small bowl and toss to evenly coat with oil.

Top each chicken breast with a quarter of the crumb mix, pressing down gently.

Add olives evenly across the dish.

Cook for 35-40 minutes or until the crumb is golden and the chicken has cooked through.

Serve with a crisp green salad.

INGREDIENTS

• 5 eggs
• 1 cup SR flour
• 375g zucchini, grated
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 200g rindless bacon, chopped
• 1 cup grated cheddar cheese
• 1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

METHOD

Makes around 800g sugo depending on cook time and vegetable size.

INGREDIENTS

1 cup Great Southern Groves EVOO

800g cherry tomatoes whole

2 medium fennel bulbs, chopped

6 garlic cloves chopped

2 large carrots, peeled and chopped

3 stalk celery, washed and chopped

4 sprigs rosemary, whole

Salt and pepper

METHOD​

Set the oven to 165°C.

Spread all ingredients over a large tray and toss to combine.

Cover with baking paper and foil tightly.

Cook for one hour, then remove foil and paper.

Cook for a further 45 minutes, tossing a couple of times.

Remove rosemary and place all warm ingredients into a food processor and process to a rough or smooth sauce.

Add extra chopped tinned tomato and oil as required to create the perfect texture for you.

Serve with your choice of pasta and parmesan.

NOTE

Feel free to freeze and use within 6 weeks. This sauce is great stirred into soups, spread across toast, served on a cheese board and would be amazing in a vegetarian lasagne with with pumpkin and zucchini!

INGREDIENTS

HUMMUS

1 x 400g tin chick peas, rinsed and drained

2 cup roasted pumpkin, hot from the oven

1 garlic clove, chopped

2 tbsp tahini

1/2 cup Great Southern Groves Extra Virgin Olive Oil

6-7 tbsp lemon juice

1 tsp each ground cumin, coriander, turmeric

Add salt, ground chilli and sumac to taste

TOASTED SEEDS and NUTS

1 cup each, pepita, sunflower seeds, slivered almonds

1/4 cup sesame seeds

1/4 cup Great Southern Groves Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 tsp salt, smoked paprika, turmeric

GREEN OIL

1/2 cup Great Southern Groves Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 cup coriander leaves & 1/2 cup mint leaves

1/2 lemon, juiced 1 garlic clove

Salt to taste

METHOD

HUMMUS

Place all ingredients, apart from salt and chilli, into a food processor or blender and process until smooth.

Adjust to taste with salt, chilli and lemon juice.

Add a little warm water if it’s too thick and serve immediately.

You can reheat gently in the microwave if you need to, or serve hummus cold.

Sprinkle with Sumac to finish.

TOASTED SEEDS and NUTS

Preheat oven to 180C.

Place ingredients on a large baking tray, toss to coat, then flatten and cook for around 15 minutes, stirring in 5 minute intervals, until toasted and aromatic.

Scatter over Pumpkin Hummus, on salads or eat as a snack on its own.

GREEN OIL

Using a blender, food processor or mortar and pestle, process ingredients to a rough loose paste. ​Serve drizzled over the Pumpkin Hummus.

INGREDIENTS

500g (4 cups) all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons salt

1 cup pitted Great Southern Groves table olives

¼ cup pine nuts

8g (2 tsp) dry yeast

2 cup lukewarm water

4 tbsp EVOO Extra EVOO for brushing

Flaky sea salt

​METHOD

Whisk flour, salt, and dry yeast together in a large bowl.

Stir through the olives and pine nuts .

Add water and mix until the liquid is absorbed and the ingredients form a sticky dough ball. Oil the surface of the dough with EVOO, cover the bowl with a damp tea towel and refrigerate for 12 + hours.

Line two 20 centimeter tart tins, or one deep 22 x 33 cm tray, with baking paper. Pour a tablespoon of oil into the center of each tin or 2 tablespoons of oil if using the large tray.

Using two forks, deflate the dough by releasing it from the sides of the bowl and pulling it toward the center, rotating the bowl and turning the mass into a ball. Use the forks to split the dough into two equal pieces (don't split if using the tray).

Place dough into the prepared pans and gently roll in the oil to coat all over, forming a rough ball. Rest and rise for 3 to 4 hours, depending on the temperature of your kitchen.

Set a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 220°C.

Drizzle another tablespoon of oil over dough, then, using all of your fingers, press straight down to create deep dimples and sprinkle generously with flaky sea salt.

You can top with extra pine nuts but be aware they get dark at 220°C.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the underside is golden and crisp.

Transfer the focaccia to cooling racks and cool for 10 minutes before serving.

INGREDIENTS

500g plain flour plus extra for dusting

2 tsp Salt

3 tsp dried yeast

2 TBS Great Southern Groves Olive Oil plus extra for greasing.

400ml tepid water

2 cups pitted and quartered olives (Great Southern Groves mixed)

2 TBS fine polenta or semolina

METHOD

Set up your mixing bowl with the dough hooks. If you don't have a mixer with dough hooks then a bit of elbow grease will also work.

Put flour in your bowl. Add salt to one side and yeast to the other. Make a well in the middle and add three quarters of the water. Using your mixer or a spoon, slowly bring the mix together. Once it has started to form a dough, add the rest of your water and continue mixing.

Turn your mixing speed up to high or turn dough out onto work surface and knead for 8-10 minutes. The dough should be easy to stretch when pulled. Turn the mixer to low and add the olive oil. Once the olive oil is mixed in, add in chopped olives*

Once the olives are evenly distributed through the dough, you can stop mixing/ kneading.

Liberally grease a large bowl or plastic container (high sides) with more Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Place your dough in container and cover with plastic wrap that has also been greased with olive oil.

Place container in a warm room and allow to triple in size.

While dough is rising, preheat your oven to 200°C fan force. Grease one large or two smaller trays or line with baking paper.

On your bench combine polenta or semolina with about the same amount of flour. Spread this out on your work bench ready for you to tip dough onto.

Carefully tip your dough onto the floured surface. You don't want to lose any of the air from the dough so you must treat the dough with a really light touch. Carefully stretch out the dough into a large rectangle and about 2 cm thick. Sprinke the top and sides of the dough with flour and semolina from the bench. Cut the dough using a sharp knife into square or strips depending on whether you want little rolls or large ciabatta sized loaves.

Carefully lift the dough portions and place them on the baking tray, spaced about 5cm apart.

Bake for 12-15 minutes or until golden and sound hollow when tapped.

* If only half your family likes olives, you can split your dough at this stage and only add olives to half, keeping a batch plain.

INGREDIENTS

2 cups plain flour

4 tsp baking powder

1 cup cheese

1 1/4 cup milk

1 large egg

2 TBS Great Southern Groves Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 cup fresh spinach or silverbeet

1/2 cup Caramelised Onion

1/4 tsp dried chives

1/4 tsp dried parsley (double if using fresh)

Pinch chilli powder (add more if you like it spicy)

METHOD

Preheat oven to 200°C. Line a 12 hole muffin tray with baking paper squares or muffin cases.

Sift all dry ingredients into a large bowl. Add cheese, stir. Add milk, egg and Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Stir to combine.

Add spinach, caramelised onions, herbs and chilli powder. Mix well.

Evenly divide mixture between 12 cases.

Bake for 15-20 minutes (depending on your oven) until golden brown.

Enjoy warm from the oven or when cooled, cut in half and toast in sandwich press.

Change up the flavour.

You can use this basic recipe and change to use up ingredients in the pantry of fridge.

Take out the spinach, caramelised onion and chilli and replace with the following:

1/4 cup Blue Cheese and 1 fresh pear peeled and chopped

2 rashes bacon diced and 1/2 cup corn kernels

1/4 cup sundried tomatoes and 1/2 cup basil chopped

1/2 cup olives pitted and chopped

Leave in spinach and swap out onions for 1/4 cup crumbled feta.

YUM!

​SERVES 4 as entree or for grazing

INGREDIENTS

2 medium yellow capsicum

2 medium red capsicum

1 TBS Great Southern Groves EVOO

1 cup Great Southern Groves olives (mixed olives)

1 TBS aged red wine vinegar

16 slices prosciutto or Jamon

200g goats feta

¼ cup basil pesto (or basil oil)*

¼ cup Great Southern Groves EVOO

Cracked pepper

*note - Basil Pesto recipe available on our website

METHOD

Preheat oven to 200°C.

Rub clean capsicums with 1 tablespoon olive oil.

Place on a baking tray in the oven and roast, turning every 10 minutes, until soft to touch and colouring on the outside.

Remove capsicums to a sealed plastic bag to sweat and cool before peeling and removing the seeds.

Slice capsicum flesh into 1cm thin strips and set aside.

Mix pesto with EVOO and set aside.

Toss olives and capsicums together in a bowl with the red wine vinegar and season with black pepper.

To serve (as individual serves or as a platter)

Lay out the prosciutto gently on one side of the plate/platter keeping some movement in it.

Add the olives and roasted capsicum across the plate/platter.

Crumble or dot pieces of the feta through the dish.

Finish with the basil pesto and extra oil as desired.

Serve with fresh crusty bread

INGREDIENTS

1 cup of fresh podded broad beans (or frozen if out of season)

1 cup basil leaves (removed from stems and washed)

1 clove of garlic

1/4 cup pine nuts

3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

3/4 cup Great Southern Groves Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Extra EVOO for storage

METHOD

Place broad beans in pot of boiling water. Cook for only 3 minutes of until beans are floating. Remove and quickly place in icy water to stop them cooking.

Drain and remove outer skins.

Place basil, broad beans, pine nuts, garlic and Parmesan into a food processor and blend until relatively smooth. Pour in Extra Virgin Olive Oil until it looks creamy and smooth.

This pesto can be enjoyed in so many dishes:

Pasta with oven roasted tomatoes

Spread on toast with scrambled or poached eggs

As a dip with crackers and vegetable sticks

Spring Pasta Salad... see our recipe.

IMPORTANT STORAGE INFORMATION

Fresh pesto must always be kept in the fridge or the freezer. Extra Virgin Olive Oil can be kept on the shelf in its natural state but as soon as you introduce fresh herbs or vegetables it must be kept in the fridge or freezer.

Fridge - 5-7 days.

Freezer - 3 months

Pour a little olive oil over the top of our Pesto to stop it oxidizing and going brown.

It tastes so good, It won't last that long...

INGREDIENTS

2 cups plain flour

4 tsp baking powder

1 TBS caster sugar

1 egg

1/4 cup Great Southern Groves Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1/3 cup milk

1/4 warm water

METHOD

Preheat oven to 200°C fan forced

Sift all dry ingredients into mixing bowl.

Measure all wet ingredients into separate jug or bowl including egg. Whisk until combined.

Add wet ingredients into dry and mix together with butter knife until just combined. Add a little more flour or milk depending on your mix to get the consistency just right. Don't over mix.

Tip mixture onto a lightly floured surface. Gently flatten the dough to roughly 3cm thickness. The less you handle your dough, the lighter and fluffier your scones will be.

Cut out scones with a 5cm biscuit or scone cutter.

Place on greased baking tray with only a 1cm gap between. Brush with a little milk and bake for 10-12 minutes. Scones should be browned on top and sound hollow when you tap them.

Serve with butter, jam and cream. For those a little more health conscious, try serving your scones with Greek Yogurt instead of the cream (only 1/3 of the fat).

BAKING TIPS

1. Always mix your scones with a butter knife not a spoon - Nannas tip for perfect light scones
2. Handle the dough as little and lightly as possible to keep all the air in.
3. Don't twist your cutter. Twisting the cutter tends to make the scones rise lop-sided.

INGREDIENTS

1 x 400gm can of Butter Beans drained and rinsed

1/4 cup Great Southern Groves WA Extra Virgin Olive Oil (plus extra for dressing)

Juice of one large lemon

1/4 cup flat leaf parsley roughly chopped

1 small clove of garlic peeled and crushed

Salt to taste

METHOD

Place all ingredients into food processor or blender and process until really smooth.

Spoon out onto plate or bowl and then top with more Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

This recipe can be easily altered to taste. If you like garlic or lemon add a little more.

Serve with toasted flour tortillas cut into wedges, corn chips or cut of vegetables such as carrot, cauliflower or broccoli.

INGREDIENTS

1 medium sweet potato cubed (1cm)

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

½ lime juiced

450g porterhouse or scotch fillet steak

1/2 packet taco seasoning mix

400g can red kidney beans drained and rinsed

310g can corn kernels drained

4 spring onions finely sliced

1 avocado diced (1cm) – leave out if you want salad to keep a few days

½ punnet of cherry tomatoes halved or 2 tomatoes diced

½ large continental cucumber - seeds removed and diced

1 small bag of baby spinach or 2 handfuls

½ cup chopped fresh coriander

METHOD

Preheat oven to 200°C. Place sweet potato in roasting pan with extra virgin olive oil and roast for 25 minutes shaking pan occasionally – or until nicely browned. Allow to cool.

Meanwhile, preheat BBQ. Sprinkle steak with taco seasoning mix and place on well oiled plate or grill. Cook to liking and set aside to rest once cooked. I would recommend medium rare as the juices from resting the meat becomes part of your salad dressing

Place cooked sweet potato, kidney beans, corn, onions, avocado, tomato, cucumber, spinach and coriander into bowl. Squeeze over the lime juice and drizzle over a generous amount of Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

Slice the beef thinly and add to salad mix warm, with resting juices. Mix in gently to salad mix toss.

OLIVE OIL PASTRY INGREDIENTS

400g plain flour

60g cold butter chopped

60mls Great Southern Groves Olive Oil

110mls cold water

FILLING INGREDIENTS

1 onion chopped

500gms beef mince

2 eggs beaten (keep 1/4 of mixture to one side for glazing at end)

1 large carrot peeled and finely cubed

1 large potato peeled and finely cuded

1/2 cup frozen peas

1/2 cup dry bread crumbs

1/4 tsp sage + thyme

(Instead of using bread crumbs and herbs, I sometimes use Tandico Sage & Onion Stuffing Mix)

1 TBS Worcestershire Sauce

Pinch of salt and pepper

METHOD (PASTRY)

Blitz flour and butter in food processor. Slowly add olive oil and cold water until the dough comes together and isn't too sticky (depending on your flour you may need to use less or more water)

Turn dough out onto bench and knead until it forms a smooth ball. Cover in cling film and rest in fridge for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 180°C

METHOD (FILLING)

When you cube/ chop your veggies, try and make them similar in size as the peas. Combine all Filling Ingredients in a large bowl keeping 1/4 of egg mixture to one side. Mix well with spoon or hands.

METHOD (CONSTRUCTION)

Roll out pastry on floured bench as finely as possible. This pastry is very forgiving and I rolled it to about 2mm in thickness. Using a 12cm round cutter (or use a saucer to trace around), cut out circles. Reform remaining pastry and repeat process. Take a small handfull of filling mixture (roughly 1/3 cup) and place in middle of pastry. I use my hand to mould it into the shape of the pastie.

Bring up each side and press along the top to form a seam and seal. You can then create a wave pattern with two fingers and a thumb. If you have not done this before it takes a little practice however, this pastry is very easy to work with and any holes can just be patched. Rustic pasties are the best!

Repeat until you have used all of your pastry and filling. I generally put filling on each circle of pastry to ensure I have evenly divided the mixture.

Place on oven tray lined with baking paper leaving small gaps in between each pastie. Brush each pastie with remaining egg wash.

Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown.

NOTE: These freeze well after they have cooled from baking. Just reheat in the oven.

INGREDIENTS

1 cup plain flour

3 TBS Great Southern Groves Extra Virgin Olive Oil plus extra for brushing

4 TBS cold water

1/4 tsp sea salt flake plus extra for sprinkling

METHOD

Preheat oven to 200°C fan forced. Line a large baking tray with baking paper or grease with olive oil.

Place flour and salt in mixing bowl or food processor. Add olive and cold water. Mix or blitz until is comes together to form a stiff dough.

Knead on floured surface to form a smooth ball and leave to rest for 20 minutes.

Knead again for 5-10 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic.

Cut dough into small portions (I made 16 but you can make more or less depending on how large or thick you want to make your crackers).

On a lightly floured surface, roll each portion out as thin as you like. I made mine paper thin and found the dough to be quite smooth and elastic and easily transferred onto a tray. The quantity above filled two large baking trays.

Brush each piece liberally with olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt flakes.

Bake for 6-8 minutes until golden brown.

Allow to cool and enjoy with your favourite cheese or dip.

We love Harvey Cheese, Ha Ve "OMG" and "St Dukes Blue" with some Maggie Beer Quince Paste (pictured)

NOTE: if you would like to add flavours to your crackers you can either add them at the mixing stage or sprinkle over at the end.

TRY

- Parmesan cheese

- Poppy or sesame seeds

- Cracked black pepper

- Dried herbs or spices like fennel seed, caraway, paprika, rosemary

SOURCE: this recipe was adapted, tried and tested from www.milkwood.net "Rustic Olive Oil Crackers"

OLIVE OIL PASTRY INGREDIENTS

400g plain flour

60g cold butter chopped

60mls Great Southern Groves Extra Virgin Olive Oil

110mls cold water

FILLING INGREDIENTS

1 onion chopped

2 long rashers of bacon chopped

2 eggs (preferably home grown or free range)

3/4 cup cream

1 large bunch chopped wilted spinach (just over 1 cup) or thawed box of frozen chopped spinach

1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese

pinch of nutmeg

METHOD (PASTRY)

Blitz flour and butter in food processor. Slowly add olive oil and cold water until the dough comes together and isn't too sticky (depending on your flour you may need to use less or more water)

Turn dough out onto bench and knead until it forms a smooth ball. Cover in cling film and rest in fridge for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 200°C

Roll out dough to roughly 1cm thickness and line a non stick flan tray (26cm with a removable base). Push into edges and corners well. If there are any gaps or holes, press in some of the excess dough. Trim.

Line the pastry case with baking paper and blind bake for 20 minutes. Remove blind weights and baking paper. Bake for a further 5 minutes.

METHOD (FILLING)

While your pastry case is baking... prepare your filling.

If using fresh spinach or silverbeet, wash a large bunch, remove stems and place in large colander. Pour over boiling water to wilt, drain well and then chop finely. (if using frozen spinach, thaw and drain as much water off the spinach as possible).

Cook onion and bacon in a small amount of olive oil until browned, set aside.

Beat eggs and cream together. Add cooked onion/bacon, spinach, nutmeg and cheese. Mix well.

Pour filling mixture into cooked pastry case and return to oven. Turn oven down to 190oC and bake for a further 25-30 minutes until the top is golden.

NOTE

If you don't have blind baking weights, use uncooked rice.

RECIPE REFERENCE

The olive oil pastry recipe is from a wonderful cook Julia, who uses lots of olive oil in her recipes. If you would like to see more then visit her website www.julia-ostro.com

INGREDIENTS

80mls hand hot water

1 tsp caster sugar

1 x 7g sachet dry active yeast

1 cup plain flour

1 pinch salt

2 TBS Great Southern Groves Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 TBS plain natural yoghurt

1 TBS butter melted

METHOD

In a large bowl, stir together the water, yeast and sugar. Allow to stand for 5-10 minutes or until frothy.

Add the flour, salt, yoghurt and half of the olive oil. With a blunt knife, stir the mixture until it comes together, then knead by hand until the dough is smooth and elastic (3-5 minutes).

Cover the bowl with glad wrap and sit in a warm spot for 45-60 minutes or until it has doubled in size.

Punch the dough down and knead gently. Divide in 6 small portions. on a lightly floured surface, roll each ball into a naan shape, making them relatively thin (roughly 5mm).

Brush a large frying pan with olive oil and wipe with a kitchen towel. Heat to a medium heat and place the dough onto it. Wait until the naan bread has puffed up (3-5 minutes), brush with some more olive oil and turn over the brown the other side (roughly 2-3 minutes more)

Transfer onto a plate and brush with some melted butter. Cover with foil to keep warm while you fry the remaining naan.

Enjoy warm with your favourite curry!

NOTE: this recipe makes 6 small naan or you can make 3-4 larger ones. Just double or triple the recipe to make more.

This recipe is adapted from Allrecipes.co.uk using WA olive oil.

Preheat oven to 180 degrees

In a large jug or bowl place the following:

1 cup warm water

2 TBS sugar

Stir until sugar is dissolved and then add;

1/4 cup Great Southern Groves WA olive oil

1 x 7gm sachet yeast.

Stir and leave for 10 minutes in warm place to grow.

In a large bowl add:

3 cups of plain flour (bread flour if possible)

1 tsp salt

Yeast/water/oil mix

Stir well until combined then knead for 10 minutes (or place in mixing bowl with bread hooks for 10 minutes).

Roll out onto floured surface to roughly 30cm x 20cm

Cut into 2cm strips. Take each strip and stretch lightly, fold over and twist.

Place each twist onto large lined or greased baking tray. Leave in warm place to rise for 20-25 minuted. Grate one cup of fresh parmesan cheese.

Once risen slightly, brush each stick liberally with Cooladerra Farm Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Take each stick and carefully dip oiled side into parmesan and return, parmesan side up, to the tray (or sprinkle over if you prefer).

Bake for 10 - 15 minutes or until golden.

NOTE: You can add different flavours to your bread sticks such as; chilli flakes, garlic salt, herbs or just sprinkle with flake salt. These are wonderful warm with your favourite soup.

WA olive oil, Perth olive oil :)