Are the following words types of cheese, pasta, grapes or olives: frantoio, koroneiki, leccino, pendolino, picholine, picual?

If you answered olives, you would be right. But even more interesting than their unusual names is that they are grown in the Waikato. Believe it or not, the Waikato, New Zealand’s premier farming region, produces more than great meat, milk and cheese. A group of around forty olive growers, including retired farmers, an accountant, a marketer, a builder, and a debt collector are now producing extra virgin olive oil – this year about 1500 litres of it – and it tastes yummy. I know because my uncle Richard is one of them. A born and bred sheep and cattle farmer, he now makes delicious, nutritious extra virgin olive oil. He has just sent me three bottles and I can’t wait to try it.

What I like about this oil is that each bottle is made from pressing just one type of olive. The Olive Estate (that’s the brand name of the oil this group produces) doesn’t blend varieties. Not that there’s anything wrong with blending but it is fun to taste the difference between a koroneiki and a frantoio. From a nutritional view point the most important thing is that this oil is extra virgin. ‘Extra virgin’ is the best quality oil made from the first press of the olives. It is the richest in antioxidants and other nutrients. Virgin olive oil is made from a second pressing so it’s not quite as good as extra virgin. Lower down the quality scale you have ‘pure’ and ‘light’ olive oil. ‘Light’ olive oil is simply a lighter flavour and colour – it’s no lighter in kilojoules or fat!

If you want to try a little extra virgin pendolino, visit the farmers markets at Pirongia, Morrinsville and Tamahere, or e-mail: theoliveestate at yahoo.co.nz  –  As for me, I’m looking forward to drizzling some of the koroneiki olive oil over a classic Italian salad of fresh mozzarella, tomato and basil. Thanks, Uncle Richard!

[tweetmeme] Mention cholesterol and what food jumps to mind? Probably the egg. Since the early 1980’s it has been the much maligned food icon of high cholesterol. True, it is high in cholesterol but it has hardly any saturated fat which, as we now know, is the real culprit that sends our cholesterol levels soaring. A ‘big breakfast’ of eggs with fatty bacon, sausages and toast lathered with butter will certainly send up your cholesterol level. The bacon, sausages and butter will do a pretty good job of that even without the eggs! But egg sandwiches (without butter), poached eggs, nicoise salad (hard boiled eggs, green beans, tuna, potato, tomatoes with a garlic, balsamic vinegar and olive oil dressing), scrambled eggs or omelette with tomatoes, mushrooms, onions and herbs are all fantastic nutritious meals.

So it was with a collective sigh of relief that we heard the good news – we’re finally allowed to eat more than 3 eggs a week. At least that’s the latest decision made by the Australian Heart Foundation who now allow up to six eggs a week. It follows similar relaxing of egg restrictions by the Irish and British Heart Foundations based on the latest science.

It’s never felt quite right to limit something as nutritious and unadulterated as an egg. And I wonder, during these past 30 or 40 years of minimal eggs, what we have eaten in its place – perhaps a low fibre, sugary cereal for breakfast or maybe chocolate nut spread sandwiches for lunch? Just a few weeks ago a friend asked me if it was OK to give her kids more than three eggs a week. “They really love eggs,” she explained. “And I feel mean saying they can’t have them.” I told her that of course she could give them more – and there it was again, that sigh of relief.

Eggs are high in protein, they have great satiety value which means you won’t feel hungry for ages after eating them, and they have all sorts of antioxidants and other nutrients for good health. The yellow colour of the yolk is from an antioxidant called lutein. It helps protect the rods and cones at the back of your eye so you are less likely to suffer macular degeneration. Even more interesting is a nutrient called choline. It has anti-inflammatory effects and, like folate, is critical for normal development of the brain. That’s a whole story in itself which I’ll write about sometime soon.

See also: my article on 15 eggs a day!

“If I rinse the pasta, I lose my job!” Luca Ciano, Australasian chef for Barilla Pasta, quipped in his truly Italian accent as he drained an enormous bowl of perfectly cooked pasta. “Now the pasta is hot and thirsty so we need to give it some beautiful flavours to soak up” He tipped in a bowl of thinly sliced celery, spring onion, cherry tomatoes, basil and rocket. Then generously doused it with extra virgin olive oil, a jar of ricotta sauce and some grated, salted ricotta. With a few deft tosses of the bowl the pasta was ready for the 40 or so of us food writers and media to try – bellisimo!

What a great way to spend a Tuesday morning – learning about pasta and getting the Italian perspective on all those pasta cooking queries.

Should I add salt to the cooking water?

Yes – to add flavour. No other reason – just flavour as the pasta absorbs the water and swells.

Should I add oil to the cooking water?

Never! Oil just coats the pasta and causes the sauce to slide off rather than bind.

Why does my pasta stick to the side of the pot?

Either you need to give it a good stir when you add it, or you are using a poor quality pasta which releases lots of sticky starch as it cooks. Ah ha! Finally I have found out why my budget pasta goes sticky and soggy – even when it’s not over-cooked! I’m off to buy a pasta that uses a high quality wheat. It really does make a difference.

How can you tell if a pasta is good quality?

If the water doesn’t froth intensely when boiled and remains clear after cooking, you’re onto a winner. Hmm – when I drain my cheap pasta the water is anything but clear! All that starch that’s meant to stay in the pasta goes down the sink and makes the sieve hard to clean.

The better the pasta, the less sauce

A general rule is to use as much sauce as pasta. “Kiwis and Aussies use far too much sauce,” Luca chided us. “We’re having pasta, not sauce with pasta!” Oh dear – yet another pasta blooper I’ve often made.

I often use pasta as a base to get fussy kids to eat meat and vegetables (disguised as pasta sauce). I even serve thick soup over pasta for kids who don’t like soup. But I would never have admitted that yesterday surrounded as I was by brilliant cooks. I have been inspired to move up a notch from ‘mother-cook-anyway-you-can-to-get-the-healthy-food-in’ to cooking real pasta the real way. Let’s see if the family notice any difference!

It took me ages to make my own hummus but now there’s no going back! The commercial brands I used to love now taste salty and sloppy. Hummus is really healthy and really easy – so long as you have a food processor. Even blokes will eat it with crackers or instead of butter on bread. I love it with tuna and tomato in a grainy bread roll – yum!!!

This recipe is adapted from my friend Sarah who is a food stylist and cook extraordinaire.  We used to do cooking demos together (she did the cooking, I did the nutrition). At one of our demos to around 150 women we made this recipe and everyone loved it.

All you have to do is put these ingredients into a food processor – and blend! Drizzle in the oil last.

1 x 400g can chick peas

A fantastic food for fibre, folate, iron and protein.

2 tablespoons tahini

Tahini is ground up sesame seeds. It tastes awful on its own but tastes great in hummus. It provides lots of healthy unsaturated and essential fats. ‘Essential fats’ are essential for our body and the only way to get them is to eat them! Keep tahini in the fridge so all that healthy fat doesn’t go rancid.

4-5 cloves roasted garlic

I know this sounds like hard work but it’s not. Put a whole garlic head on a tray, drizzle with olive oil and bake for 10-15 minutes at 180C (350F). I often do it when I’m cooking something else. If you’re not making hummus immediately, you can store the roasted garlic in the fridge for a couple of days.

Juice of 1 lemon

I like plenty of lemon juice

3-4 tablespoons chopped parsley, basil or coriander

If you have herbs growing in your garden use more than this – I do!

Salt and pepper to taste

You shouldn’t need much. If you live in New Zealand use iodised salt – we need the iodine. Commercial foods usually use non-iodised salt so there’s another plus for making your own.

3-4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

The oil makes the hummus more creamy. I actually like it with less oil and more texture. I always use a really good quality (expensive) olive oil for foods that don’t need cooking. It really makes a difference to the flavour and nutritional value.

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Final photo of it, click here …