By Pérola Polillo
"I did this recipe with love because I really appreciate the beautiful work of Romain and Daniele.
When I visited the farm I was impressed by the dedication in all the processes to guarantee the best of the olives to be extracted: fresh aromas, bitterness, pungent and a lot of polyphenol for our health. I really admire the work of Romain and Daniele and their extra virgin olive oil Olio PIro."
- Pérola
Pérola Polillo is a chef and Olive Oil Sommelier from Sao Paulo, Brazil. She has worked in kitchens around the world and creates private dinners around Extra Virgin Olive Oil. She cooks for the judges of the NYIOOC World Olive Oil Competition and teaches food pairing for the program.
In addition, her business Casa De Pérola encompasses catering, events and consulting. Using her knowledge, she creates dishes that showcase olive oil front and center.
Pérola visited us at Anteata Frantoio, the Olio Piro. production facility in Seggianno, Tuscany, in 2019. We have been friend since then!
Olio Piro. Dark Chocolate Almond Pie
Crust
200g (7oz) plain flour
175g (6.2oz) ground almonds
175g (6.2oz) white sugar
150g (5.3oz) cold butter, sliced
1 egg yolk
2 Tbsp cold water
2 Tbsp spoon Olio Piro.
Make the pastry mixing flour, group almonds, sugar and cold butter, into a food processor and pulsing to the texture of breadcrumbs. Add the yolk, water and olive oil then pulse until it all comes together to form a soft pastry. The pastry will be too soft to roll out, so press it evenly into a loose-based 25cm tart tin until the pastry comes up above the edges of the tin. Rest in the freezer for at least 20 mins.
Heat oven to 180C (360F). Line the tart case with aluminum paper and baking beans, then place on a baking sheet and bake for 20 mins until the edges are starting to brown. Remove the beans and aluminum paper, I like to brush two tablespoons of oil to shield the dough and make it more crispt, then continue to cook for 10 mins until biscuity. Leave to cool
Ganache
200g (7oz) quality dark chocolate 70% cacao
200 G (7oz) heavy cream
4 Tbsp Olio Piro.
Cook over low heat the cream until it starts to boil. Turn off the fire and add the chocolate. Wait for it to cool slightly and add the extra virgin olive oil so we keep more the aromas. Spread over the bottom of the tart case. Decor with almonds, orange zest or edible flowers.
Notes from our test kitchen
The recipe was tested by Olio Piro. US ambassador and distributor, Marie-Charlotte Piro, who is also the sister of Romain Piro, producer of Olio Piro. with Daniele Lepori.
As a start, keep in mind that because of the two cooling periods in this recipe, it will take you a long time to get to the finished pie. If you want to serve it for dessert at dinner, start it in the morning so it is cooled off. You can also do it the day before. It keeps very well in the fridge and warms to room temperature in 20 to 30 mins.
Since I am gluten free, I checked with Perola if I could substiture gluten free flour for the plain flour. The answer was yes, just add a little more. I therefore used 220g instead of 200. I chose to ground the almonds since I have a very good grinder, but in the contrary, almond meal is perfectly fine.
I was nervous to get a crust that would be too soft to press, so I pulsed the processor only twice. It worked out perfectly. It was easy to press evenly with my hand. After cooking the crust for the second time, don’t worry if it is now hard yet. It will harden when it cools off. If you overcook the crust it will be hard to cut.
For the ganache, I used 2 tablets of Lindt dark chocolate, 70% cocoa. This is one of my favorite chocolates because it is very rich and intense and a little bitter. I actually love to enjoy it with a few drops of Olio Piro. on it. (You should try!)
It is important to turn off the fire before adding the chocolate (ground in food processor) and to let cool the chocolate mixture a minute before adding Olio Piro. Because the polyphenols, which are the molecules that carry the flavors and the antioxidants are very sensitive to heat, if you want to transfer all the delicate flavors of Olio Piro. like almond, artichoke and green grass, into your ganache, the chocolate mixture needs to be just warm. It makes all the difference!
After you have included Olio PIro., it is easy to pour the ganache on the crust while it is still warm. Make sure the pie cools down completely before you slice it. I let it in the fridge for a few hours it was perfect.
I enjoyed the pie at tea time with a black tea blend. I added a few drop of Piro. on the chocolate ganache just before serving. It was a perfect pairing.
GALLERY
Links:
Pérola Polillo: www.casadaperola.com
Pérola on Instagram: @perolapolillo and @casadeperola
