olive oil | hopes.dreams.aspirations

These remind me of the view from 35,000 feet high, flying from Auckland to Christchurch for work. It was in the middle of winter and the Southern Alps was thickly covered by a blanket of snow – it was such a serene and beautiful scene.

J requested these cookies after sampling a version of them at a birthday party many years ago: “the icing sugar dusted chocolate cookies” was mentioned every now and then. Last weekend I finally got around to it.

They are brownie-like: soft and tender inside, but have a cookie-like crisp exterior. I have been blessed with a delivery of olive oils from Te Wheke Olives and they worked so well in this recipe. As the batter is very soft, it requires a minimum of 4 hours fridge time. You can speed that up by placing it in the freezer for 2 hours. Before you bring the batter out, have a few cookie sheets lined and the oven preheated, so that once you have two trays of 12 cookies each rolled in icing sugar, you can bake the first two trays straight away. This ensures they don’t loose too much height. I managed to complete rolling out dough for two more trays while the first batch is baking (I do have 6 identical cookie sheets – they were imperative for the large batches of macarons I make!)

The other option is to skip the icing sugar step, this creates brownie cookies with beautifully random cracks.

If you would like to make these gluten free, as I did for colleagues, just substitute the plain wheat flour with gluten free flour. The Countdown branded gluten free flour packs had corn and maize as the main ingredients. Be sure to check that your baking powder and icing sugar are free of gluten as well. They turn out a tad softer than the ones made with wheat flour, and my tasters actually prefer these!

Ingredients (50-60 cookies)

125ml olive oil
400g caster sugar
95g unsweetened cocoa powder
4 eggs (size 7, about 60g each)
1 tsp vanilla paste
250g plain flour (or gluten free flour, with corn and maize)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
80g icing sugar, for rolling

Instructions

Place olive oil, caster sugar and cocoa powder in a mixing bowl. Paddle on a slow speed until homogenous. Add in eggs one at a time, making sure each has been incorporated before adding the next. Add in the vanilla paste.
In a separate bowl, mix flour, baking powder and salt then add into the cocoa mixture. This will look just like a brownie batter, thick and runny. Chill batter for at least 5 hours, best over night.
Preheat oven to 180C. Line baking trays with baking paper. Using two teaspoons, drop small scoops of thick mousse-like batter into a bowl of icing sugar. Roll the balls until they are covered with powdered/icing sugar.
Place on lined baking trays.
Bake in preheated oven for 10 to 12 minutes. Let stand on the tray for a few minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

A few weeks ago I went to a pottery workshop in beautiful Titirangi, Auckland New Zealand. They served a delightful vegetarian lunch and one of the dishes served was from Yotam Ottenlenghi‘s SIMPLE. The cookbook is filled with really easy recipes and after tasting this soba dish, I just had to remake it at home.

My recipe below is an adaptation of the original recipe, as J is allergic to pistachios and avocados are out of season. We also don’t have Nigella seeds so have used chilli flakes instead. This is optional.

Love the tanginess of the lime, but mostly, I am blown away by the cardamom. Feel free to up the cardamom quantities, I have been quite liberal with it myself! You should have left over dressing with the quantities below, which is great stored in a jar for a second meal.

Ingredients

250g buckwheat soba noodles
½ tsp of cardamom seeds, crushed in a mortar and pestle
35g (1 cup) basil leaves, roughly chopped
35g (1 cup) coriander leaves, roughly chopped
3 limes: slightly press and roll limes on the bench surface. Finely grate for 2 tsp zest, then juice to get 80ml.
Extra lime, cut into 4 wedges, to serve
5 tbsp olive or avocado oil
3 cloves of garlic, minced
2 drops of garlic essence (optional)
1 red or green chilli, deseeded and finely sliced (optional)
2 ripe avocados, deseeded and cut into thin slices (optional)
1 tsp chilli flakes (optional), to sprinkle over
1 tsp salt

Instructions

Cook the noodles according to the instructions on the packet.
Once cooked, drain into a colander and rinse under cold running water. Set aside in the colander to drain well.
Crush the cardamom seeds in a mortar and pestle (if using pods, open for seeds and discard the outer husks).
Place the crushed cardamom seeds in a mixing jug with the basil, coriander, lime zest and juice, oil, garlic, chilli, avocado (if using) and 1 tsp salt.
Place noodles in a large mixing bowl and pour dressing in. Mix everything together well, taste and add more seasoning if needed.
Serve platter style. Sprinkle over the chilli flakes, if using, and serve with a wedge of lime.