PESTO SAUCE RECIPE.. OLIVE OIL HEALTH BENEFITS

THE BENEFITS OF OLIVES AND OLIVE OIL

PESTO SAUCE RECIPE

Olive is a fruit, bitter and tart in taste.
Olive oil is cold pressed olive juice. That’s why it's so healthy and is used in the finest cuisines all over the world. Cold pressed means that the olives are picked and squeezed and are not boiled before squeezing.

The green olive and black olive are the same plant; green olives are pickled before ripening, where black olives are pickled after being ripened.

Olive oil contains a wide variety of valuable antioxidants that are not found in other oils

Of all the categories, extra virgin olive oil presents the highest nutritional and health qualities, as well as the most "flowery" taste- robust, flavorful and wholesome.. 

Olive oil in culinary

Extra virgin olive oil is mostly used as a salad dressing and as an ingredient in salad dressings. It is also used with foods to be eaten cold. If uncompromised by heat, the flavor is stronger. It also can be used for sautéing.

If it is heated above 350 °F (177 °C), the unrefined particles within the oil are burnt. This leads to a deteriorated taste. Also, the pronounced taste of extra virgin olive oil is not a taste most people like to associate with their deep fried foods.

Olive oil can substitute margarine or butter in a 3:4 ratio for most recipes. In other words, if your recipe calls for 1 cup of margarine or butter, you can substitute with 3/4 cup olive oil (plus 1/4 cup margarine/ butter). 
Do not make this substitution if you plan on cooking the recipe at 400°F (200°C) or higher. The olive oil will start to smoke at these high temperatures and will give your food a metallic taste.link here

Olive oil and skin care 

Extra virgin olive oil has been known for generations not only for its healing qualities but also as a natural, deep penetration moisturizer, regenerating skin cells and softening the tissue.
It is also used in soap and cosmetics.

The higher the temperature to which the olive oil is heated, the more one should prefer the use of refined olive oils. 

Olive oil, a natural health remedy

The health benefits :

Prevention of heart disease

-It has been suggested that long-term consumption of small quantities of this compound from olive oil may be partly responsible for the low incidence of heart disease associated with a Mediterranean diet- whereby olive is a mainstay in the Mediterranean culinary.Even bread or toast are commonly dipped in olive oil.

Olive oil has a very high proportion of monounsaturated fats, most notably oleic acid and this helps prevent heart disease.

“It lowers LDL (bad cholesterol) and raises HDL (good cholesterol) to prevent heart disease. Consuming olive oil is good for your health”- American Heart Association

 “Scientific studies suggest that eating about 2 tablespoons (23 grams) of olive oil daily will reduce your risk of coronary heart disease.” US Food and Drug Administration site. Olive oil slowed breast cancer

“Recent research suggests that olive oil slowed breast cancer in rats. This study compared a corn oil diet to an olive oil diet and showed that a corn oil diet stimulated more cancers than a control diet, while olive oil led to fewer and smaller tumors than the control diet.” link here

-Olive oil is high in antioxidants Vitamin A and E which helps neutralise cancer-causing free radicals in our body, carotenoids.

-Olives grow in a warm environment  and the fruits contain a fenol-like substances  as protection from heat and bright sunshine. These substances  play a role in the prevention and cure of thrombosis and arteriosclerosis.
Thrombosis is the formation of a blood clot inside a blood vessel

Arteriosclerosis refers to a stiffening of arteries.

-Olive oil is very easy to digest and mild for the intestines! 

Our energy must not be wasted. We need the energy to burn calories. We also need energy to fight illness and stay healthy. That is why we have to chew our food longer, before swallowing, so that the stomach will not have to use extra energy to digest food.

Test on the goodness of olive oil.   link here

Try this out. Pour some olive oil on your hands, notice that you can easily wash it off. It disappears fast in the sink and you don't need a lot of hot water and detergent to wash it away. Because your body is like a glass of water it reacts the same. 

If you have eaten some olive oil, your body will evaporate it within 1½ hour via your pores. This means your body can handle it easily and does not have to waste any energy to digest it. 
This works differently with baking butter and other products, especially those based on animal products. In this case you have to scrub hard and need hot water and detergent to dissolve the fat in the water so it can be washed away.

Use more olive oil 

Oil and butter based on vegetables are to be preferred but olive oil is best of course.

Everything you eat based on fruit or vegetables, will make you look and feel much healthier and younger too!

Recipe featuring olive oil.  

The Pesto sauce can be used as a sauce for pasta or for meat. It can be used as an ingredient in a variety of dishes. One classic use is to spread the pesto onto slices of bread before toasting them.

PESTO SAUCE RECIPE (Italian ) 

Ingredients

4oz (100g) fresh basil

About  8 oz (200gm) extra virgin olive oil.

1/3  cup freshly grate Romano cheese or parmesan

1/4 cup pines nuts (check “tips” below for substitutes)

4 cloves garlic- crushed

Freshly ground salt and pepper 

Preparation

Preheat  oven to 425°F (222°C). Toast the pine nuts in oven until slightly brown (10-15minutes). In a small frying pan (skillet), heat 2 tbsp of the olive oil, saute garlic on medium heat.

Mix the basil, garlic, cheese, pine nuts. Use a mortar and pestle/ blender to turn it into a smooth paste, slowly adding in the oil to reach a paste-like consistency.

This sauce can last for a week, if  stored in an airtight jar, top with a thin layer of olive oil  to prevent oxidation and keep refrigerated . If stored frozen, it can last several months. For longer storage, do not mix in the cheese, as it can get spoilt. Add the grated cheese later, before serving. 

 Ingredient substitutes and Tips.   

With all the tips here, you will find that pesto is a very versatile sauce and that you now have like half a dozen pesto recipes already.

1-You may replace some or all of the pine nuts with sunflower seeds, walnut, pistachios, almonds or sun dried tomatoes.  

2-For a creamy sauce, take two tablespoons of the pesto in a pan and heat on medium-low. Add one cup light cream and bring to a simmer. Use for pasta. Serves two. Alternatively, may add crème cheese instead.

3-Change the taste by changing the base of the pesto from basil to other  herbs/vegetables like cilantro (coriander) or spinach.

4-Do a slight twist to the standard basil/garlic combo , add shallots for a sweet taste.

5-Mix fresh chives, marjoram, and thyme with the basil to produce something akin to Valdostano-style pesto.

6-Another variant is to replace the basil with equal parts of leaf parsley and spring onions, or use arugula for a spicy result.

7-A vegan variant can be made by mixing walnuts, fresh basil, olive oil and small amounts (such as a table spoon per cup) of white miso paste.

This recipe is linked to The mad scientist’s hosting kitchen chronicles “Theme- Go nuts”  

http://madscientistskitchen.blogspot.in/2012/06/guest-hosting-event-kitchen.html.