Hi, this is Angela from Seasonal and Savory! I have been working on replicating the deliciously savory-sweet Olive Oil Tortas that I buy at the local specialty cheese shop, and when Justin presented his new ingredient challenge I had to give it a go. Tortas de Aceite are essentially a crispy, multi-layered flatbread that taste a bit savory and a bit sweet, and they are excellent served with cheeses. I also love them as a snack with tea.

For this version I used Coconut Sugar to add a light sweetness to the dough, as well as the primary component of the spice sprinkle for the tops of the tortas. The floral heat of ground Long Pepper adds a little savory kick, and the nutty, somewhat grassy flavor of Camelina Seeds rounds it all out.

Coconut Sugar, Long Peppers, and Camelina Seeds

To make the tortas, you mix together an olive oil-based dough, as detailed in the recipe below:

(Note that Harrison, the hand model, works for very little dough)

Roll out into twelve, thin rounds:

Place on lightly greased baking sheets, sprinkle with the spice mixture, and bake until crisp:

Serve with cheese—my favorites are any bleu cheese, or soft goat cheese drizzled with dark honey.

I hope you enjoy these as much as we do—the Coconut Sugar is a low-glycemic sweetener, the Camelina Seeds and abundant olive oil are rich in Omega-3 fatty acids, and the Long Pepper adds antioxidants as well as some heat. You can enjoy these pastry-like creations almost guilt free.

Tortas de Aceite with Camelina Seeds and Long Pepper
3/4 cup warm water
1 tablespoon dry yeast
1 tablespoon Coconut Sugar
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
2 1/2 cups flour, plus flour for rolling the dough

Spice mixture:
1 teaspoon crushed Long Pepper (use a spice mill or mortar and pestle)
2 tablespoons Camelina Seeds
1/4 cup Coconut Sugar

In a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, combine the water, yeast, tablespoon of Coconut Sugar, and half of the olive oil. Stir in half of the flour until combined, then add in the remaining oil, flour, and salt. Let the mixer run until the dough pulls together into a smooth ball—it will look shiny and feel a bit oily to the touch. Cover the bowl with a cloth and let the dough rise in a warm spot for 30 minutes, or until just doubled in size.

While the dough rises, stir together the spice mixture ingredients in a small bowl, and lightly dust a rolling surface with flour.

After the dough has risen, divide it into twelve small balls and use a lightly floured rolling pin to roll each ball into a thin circle. Place the rounds onto lightly oiled baking sheets and sprinkle each with some of the spice mixture. Bake in a preheated 450 degree oven for ten minutes, or until the edges are golden brown. These will burn quickly, so keep an eye on them during the last few minutes. Remove to a cooling rack and cool completely. Makes twelve tortas.

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Sweetener Recipes
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Far more than a simple chili powder, Japanese shichimi seasoning (aka Shichimi Togarashi or Yagenbori) is used all over Japan as a general purpose condiment.  Japanese often sprinkle some on finished dishes to spice up udon noodles, hot soba noodles, donburi (rice bowls topped with meat, onions, and sometimes egg),  ika karaage (fried cuttlefish tentacles) and other traditional “working class” Japanese food.  It is also added to some rice crackers to give them pep. 

Shichimi’s flavor, while spicy, is delightfully complex.  The mandarin orange zest gives it notes of citrus and sweetness, szechuan pepper adds a tingling sensation, and the other ingredients give it depth of savory flavor.  We’ve used aji amarillo chilies and japones chilies to provide most of the heat for this seasoning, but also added tepin chilies to give the shichimi more spice up front.  You can use any types of chilies depending on your desired spice level and flavor profile. 

Though it has a lot of ingredients, shichimi is actually quite easy to make at home, and this recipe will make approximately 1/3rd of a cup, which should last you for a while.

Ingredients: 
Two Dried Aji Amarillo Chilies or Organic Dried Aji Amarillo Chilies
Eleven Dried Japones Chilies
1 tbsp Dried Tepin Chilies
Three mandarin oranges
1 tsp poppy seeds
½ tsp ground ginger
2 tsp white sesame seeds
2 tsp black sesame seeds
1 tsp Szechuan peppercorns
1 tsp toasted & crumbled nori
 
How to Make Shichimi Seasoning:

1. Preheat your oven to 225 degrees.
2. Peel the zest from oranges in strips using a vegetable peeler.  Scrape off any white pith from the inside of the zest using the point of a paring knife.
3. Lay the orange zest on parchment paper on a baking sheet.  Bake in the oven until hard and crispy (20-30 minutes depending on the size of the zest strips and your oven).  Let cool.
4. Lightly toast Aji Amarillo and japones chilies separately in a dry pan, tossing frequently, just until fragrant.  
5. Let chilies cool, then remove the tops and seeds from them (don’t bother removing seeds from the Tepins).
6. Grind all the ingredients together until they are a fine powder (see whole spice grinding techniques – we recommend an electric coffee grinder for this).  Package in a jar and keep in a cool, dry place for up to 4 months.

Try using this shichimi seasoning in our Japan-inspired beef tacos recipe!

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Dried Chile Recipes & Techniques
Spice Recipes

Miner’s lettuce is a delicious wild salad green with a crisp, mild (slightly spinach-esque) flavor that is available from about March to June.  This salad, made with pine nuts, cheese, homemade vinaigrette, and dried cranberries really allows it to shine while contrasting shapes, flavors, and colors for an interesting presentation.

Ingredients (per person):

1 large handful of fresh miner’s lettuce
1-2 thin slices of blue cheese (we recommend Point Reyes Blue Cheese or Maytag Blue Cheese)
7-10 dried cranberries
7-10 pine nuts
1 tsp camelina seeds, lightly toasted (optional, provides additional crunch & nutrition)
Lemon zest or orange zest for garnish

Also: Homemade Vinaigrette (we used Camelina oil, champagne vinegar, lemon juice, Dijon mustard and salt).

Directions:

1. Arrange the miner’s lettuce on a white porcelain plate, and sprinkle on the dried cranberries.

2. Lightly toast the pine nuts in a dry pan on the stove top.  This can also be done in the oven, but pine nuts burn extremely easily, so the stove top allows you to keep a better eye on them.  Try to flip them over by shaking the pan in order to brown them evenly.  As soon as they start to develop a light to medium brown color on the sides and smell nutty, they’re done.

Sprinkle them over the salad hot or allow them to cool first.  You can also add lightly toasted camelina seeds at this stage to sneak extra vitamin E and omega-3′s into your salad.

3. Slice the blue cheese as thinly as possible and arrange on the plate.

4. Using a spoon, whisk, or squeeze bottle, drizzle small amounts of the vinaigrette on to the plate and miner’s lettuce.

5. Using a Microplane or citrus grater, grate a little lemon or orange zest over the top of the salad to finish.

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Wild Produce Recipes

Ingredients:
4 large, ripe tomatoes
1/2 cup Lena Camelina oil
1/2 cup mixed herbs – flat leaf parsley leaves, chopped, chives with their flowers when available, minced; basil leaves with flowers when available
1/2 teaspoon coriander seed
freshly ground 1/2 teaspoon pepper corns
freshly ground Utah or Kosher Salt
1 cup shaved, ripe sheep or goat milk cheese

Technique:
About an hour and up to 2 hours prior to your meal, choose a platter that in your estimation is large enough to present the sliced tomatoes. Rinse the tomatoes and wipe dry. Slice and lay or shingle your tomatoes on the platter. Drizzle the camelina oil over the tomatoes. Evenly distribute the chopped herbs and flowers among the tomatoes. Grind the coriander, pepper and salt over the tomato slices.

Use a box grater with the slicing blades – as opposed to the grating surface – to shave the cheese. Distribute the shaved cheese evenly over the whole. Serve at once or hold, covered and at room temperature, for up to a few hours.

This recipe was written by Lake Oswego, Oregon chef Fernando Divina, author of the James Beard Award-winning Foods of the Americas. This recipe was reprinted with permission by Lentz Farms.

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Cheese Recipes
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