These recipes have been developed over many years as we developed our process for making Corylus Farms Hazelnut oil and as we explored the many ways it can be used to bring the delicious richness of roasted hazelnuts to a wide variety of foods. The possibilities are endless, and we hope that these recipes will help you get started on your own culinary path of discovery with this wonderful ingredient.
Hazelnut Oil and Garlic Dip for Bread
A flavorful, crusty loaf of bread is a wonderful thing. Together with this simple dip of hazelnut oil, garlic and salt, you have a flavor experience that is heavenly. This dip is also very good with walnut oil in place of hazelnut oil.
1/4 cup Corylus Farms Hazelnut Oil
3 cloves garlic (or more or less, according to your taste)
1 teaspoon fleur de sel
Pour the oil into a small saucepan, and set the pan over low heat. As the oil warms, crush the garlic and add it to the pan. Heat the oil and garlic together for 5 to 10 minutes, but do not let the garlic brown. Meanwhile, slice the bread, and put the salt in a small serving bowl. Pour the hot oil and garlic into the serving bowl.
Dip pieces of bread in the oil, being sure to pick up some of the salt from the bottom, and enjoy.
Dried Tomatoes in Hazelnut Oil
Each summer my wife, Linda, dries sliced tomatoes, which we then eat year round in dishes like this one. Served on bread and accompanied by cheese, this spread is a family favorite. This recipe works equally well with olive and walnut oils. Fresh herbs (rosemary, oregano, thyme, savory) are good additions.
1 cup dried tomatoes
Boiling water
3 garlic cloves (or more or less, to taste), crushed
1/4 cup Corylus Farms Hazelnut Oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
Put the tomatoes into a bowl, and cover them with hot water. Weight them with another bowl. Let them soak for at least 15 minutes, until they are pliable.
Drain the water from the tomatoes. Add the garlic, oil, and salt, and stir the mixture with a fork, mashing the tomatoes as much as you like. If you prefer them well crushed, use a mortar and pestle instead of a fork.
Hazelnut Aioli
Aioli is a heavenly emulsion of oil flavored with garlic. An egg yolk is usually used to initiate the emulsion, but a whole large egg works better if you’re using an electric hand blender, which greatly speeds up the process. If you don’t have an electric hand blender, use a wire whisk.
1 large egg
¼ teaspoon salt
2 garlic cloves, crushed and minced
1/2 cup Corylus Farms Hazelnut Oil
Break the egg into a tall cup just a little larger in diameter than the hand blender. Add the garlic and salt, and begin blending on high speed. Pour the oil in a thin stream into the cup, slowly enough that the blender can incorporate the oil as it is added. The finished ailoli should be quite thick. Use it as a dressing for cold boiled or grilled vegetables, a dip for bread, or a spread in a sandwich.
Roasted Potatoes with Hazelnut Oil
This is my favorite way to prepare small potatoes, especially the Makah-Ozette potatoes that Linda grows in our garden (Save That Potato: The Makah Ozette – A Gardener’s Table (agardenerstable.com).
You can alter the flavorings as you like. Try rosemary, oregano, or sage instead of cumin, and add black pepper for some heat. Mix in some thick-sliced onion with the potatoes. A last minute sprinkling of parmesan cheese is also really tasty.
1 pound potatoes
2 tablespoons Corylus Farms Hazelnut Oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 small pinch hot pepper flakes
Heat the oven to 400 degrees F. Cut the potatoes into 1-inch-thick pieces, and put them into a bowl. Pour the oil evenly over the potato pieces, and toss. Add the salt, cumin, and pepper flakes, and toss again to distribute the flavorings uniformly. Pour the mixture into a roasting pan.
When the oven is hot, roast the potatoes for 20 minutes. Turn them gently, and then cook them 10 to 20 minutes more, until they are tender and browned.
Roasted Root Vegetables with Hazelnut Oil
The roasted-potato recipe works equally well with a wide variety of root vegetables: carrots, sweet potatoes, parsnips, turnips, celery root, etc. Just cut the vegetables into uniform pieces, no more than an inch thick, coat them with Corylus Farms Hazelnut Oil, and add some flavoring (cumin, fennel, rosemary, oregano, thyme, black pepper, hot pepper flakes, paprika) and salt. Roast the vegetables at 400 degrees F, turning them occasionally. The cooking time will vary depending on the vegetables and the size of the pieces.
Roasted Green Vegetables with Hazelnut Oil
Many people have discovered that roasting green vegetables such as asparagus, broccoli, and Brussels sprouts can intensify their flavors. Hazelnut oil adds yet another dimension to roasted vegetables. Here I call for black pepper and lemon zest, but you can experiment with other seasonings, such as smoked paprika or Sichuan pepper.
1 pound green vegetables
1 tablespoon Corylus Farms Hazelnut Oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
Ground black pepper
Grated lemon zest
Heat the oven to 450 degrees F. Cut the chosen vegetables into uniform pieces: 2-inch-long asparagus pieces, small broccoli florets, and halved Brussels sprouts. In a bowl, toss the vegetables with the hazelnut oil and salt, and then distribute the vegetables evenly on a baking sheet or roasting pan. Roast them for 20 to 25 minutes, checking often to make sure they don’t char too much. When they are ready, sprinkle them with black pepper and grated lemon zest to taste.
Wild Duck Breast Poached in Hazelnut Oil
An acquaintance who is an avid hunter here in the Willamette Valley occasionally gives me wild ducks during the winter. I have been looking for a way to cook the lean, dark breasts so that they stay tender instead of toughening up during cooking. I thought of poaching them, and I found a recipe online for poaching in oil (olive) rather than water or stock. So, I thought, why not hazelnut oil? This recipe is a little extravagant, but the resulting dish is amazing. The duck turns out tender, and the flesh retains a brilliant red color. The flavorings of hazelnut oil, garlic, and Sichuan pepper push the dish into legendary territory.
2 large wild duck breasts, boned and skinned (mallard or other large type, 4 to 6 ounces each)
Salt
1 cup Corylus Farms Hazelnut Oil
10 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced thin
1 tablespoon Sichuan peppercorns
Liberally sprinkle the duck breasts with salt, and set them aside for an hour.
Pour the hazelnut oil into a small frying pan, 8 inches or less in diameter. Heat the oil to 180 to 200 degrees F (I use an infrared thermometer for monitoring the oil temperature). Add the sliced garlic and Sichuan peppercorns, and let them steep in the hot oil for at least 15 minutes. Check the temperature frequently to maintain it at 180 to 200 degrees F.
Place the duck breasts in the oil. The oil temperature will drop, so bring it back up to 180 to 200 degrees F.
Let the breasts poach for 8 to 10 minutes. Turn them over, and poach them for another 8 to 10 minutes.
Remove the breasts from the oil, and let the excess oil drain off. Slice the breasts crosswise 1/4 inch thick, and serve them on top of a bed of buckwheat noodles or polenta. I added a tablespoon of the fragrant oil to the buckwheat noodles, and the result was heavenly.
Serves 2