Preservation of Vegetables in Olive Oil.

[Hattie the Hen]

Hi there!

I have been a long-time fan of Italian cooking since my first visit to Italy in the early 1960's & an especial interest in their antipasto selections. I love going into restaurants in Italy & the first thing you see is a large table covered in tempting dishes of wonderful vegetables to eat as a starter. Talk about'' EATING WITH YOUR EYES'': the Italians really take the medal for that ( along with the Japanese of course).

They prepare a lot of these dishes as the vegetables come into season, preserving in olive oil, to eat months later. I have done it in a very small way in the past but this year I intend to do a lot more as last year when I got sick with flu ( for 7 weeks) I spent a fortune on buying in very expensive jars of the stuff. It was the only food that I really wanted to eat, with rough peasant bread. This winter I am determined to have my own veggies ready & waiting.

I have been trawling the net again, exploring the world for recipes & advice. I intend to pass on the gems to you as I find them. So if you find something authentic I would be very interesed. Thanks in advance!

When I worked in Australia I noticed there was a thriving Italian community cooking authentic dishes from their own regions. Today I came across this:-

http://www.miettas.com.au/food_wine_recipes/recipes/italianrecipes/antipasti/preserving.html

I think this is very interesting & explains the kind of area I am exploring. row

I hope you will enjoy the journey along with me.

:rose Hattie :rose

 

[Catalina]

I'm not sure if this is the same thing, but my Mom preserves dried tomatoes this way.

She dries the tomatoes in her oven (I can ask her what temp.) until they are chewy-still flexible.
She also puts carmalized garlic, onion and basil with them. Puts the whole mixture into jam jars and covers it with olive oil.

I can ask her for the real recipe tomorrow, if you want me too.
We call it lasagna in a jar. It smells amazing!

 

[davaroo]

I put things in olive oil. Chopped cilantro, garlic, pickled peppers... so yeah it works. I am looking forward to more on this. Bring it on Hattie!

 

[Hattie the Hen]

Catalina!

That is exactly the kind of information I want to find out. Please ask your mother for any info she has? Whereabouts does she /her family come from? I should love to know!

Thank you, & your Mother! row



EAT MORE VEGGIES & YOU WILL BOUNCE WITH HEALTH


:rose Hattie :rose

 

[Greenthumb18]

Oh yeah i love vegetables in olive oil, like roasted peppers in olive oil is good.
I would love to see more ideas on vegetables in oil.

 

[GrowinVeggiesInSC]

Ooooh, I'll be keeping an eye on this thread as well, and I'll let you know if I come across anything. I've never heard of preserving veggies in olive oil! (but then again, I'm German - we're known for our sausages! heehee)

 

[wifezilla]

Hummm...I am going to have to try that with cilantro.

I wonder if you can use ghee the same way?

 

[big brown horse]

I used to "sun" dry all of my leftover tomatoes and pack them in olive oil to sell at my mother's antique shows.

I just put thinly sliced tomatoes onto a nonstick sheet pan and place them in the oven set to its lowest temp. Leave the oven door cracked and walk away for a few hours. Turn them over as needed. Wait another few hours and ta da! If they are crispy, that is ok, they will soften back up in the oil. Stack them into a ball jar with some sprigs of rosemary and a few sliced garlic cloves. Pour olive oil in to cover and put the lid on, no water bath or anything.

Your kitchen will smell sooo good while the tomatoes are drying out too!

 

[karanleaf]

Thanks Hattie for starting this thread

I have always wanted to do Sundried tomatoes And to learn more ways to preserve my growing veggies is a must learn project

I will do some research myself

I had just this morning searched for recipes & advice on fixing Chard. And found a couple I will try soon ..

I will be keeping tabs here for some great tips and recipes

Thanks again Hattie :rose

And Catalina and Brownhorse you gave me a great start.

:happy_flower Karan

 

[big brown horse]

Your welcome!

The sun dried tomatoes are a no brainer when you figure it out. But I got the idea from Martha Stewart years ago, you might want to google it.

Yes, Hattie thank you! My tomatoes lasted years in the oil before we ate the last of them. But do you know how long they will last for sure?