Falling Olives and Calabrian-ish Stuffing
A new harvesting method. Thanksgiving stuffing ft. salsiccia & peppers. Thanksgiving shipping cutoff.
Mariah Carey has fully defrosted meaning it’s officially Holiday season! Thanksgiving is November 24. The USA order cut-off for ground shipping is November 14 @ 11 am ET, the order cut-off for air shipping is November 18 @ 11am ET (large orders aren’t eligible for air shipping). The Canada order cut-off (all orders) is November 9 @ 11 am ET.
We highly encourage you to place your Thanksgiving orders sooner rather than later to avoid delays. Shipping only gets worse as we get closer to December 25.
Welcoming the tree shaker
5 years ago Giuseppe and I walked through property #1 and said to each other “how are we going to make money from these scraggly trees?”. While Giuseppe’s family has been making olive oil for almost 100 years, their trees weren’t always maintained to produce olives at a commercial level. We had to change that in order to build EXAU.
We tended to the property meticulously with Giuseppe trimming the trees so much (to correct growth) that our neighbors told us they’d die. Since our trees weren’t at 100% healthwise we had to be very careful about how we harvested the olives. Using a tree shaker (which shakes the entire tree from the trunk) wasn’t an option because it would’ve damaged the trunks and primary branches.
We made the decision to exclusively use branch shakers, which as their name implies, shakes a tree branch. This tool is amazing because you can latch onto one branch at a time limiting the amount of trauma to the entire tree. But as much fun as using a branch shaker is it can slow down the harvest, plus it’s heavy.
This year we’re so excited because we’ve been able to use a tree shaker with a really skilled operator who has a delicate hand. We only lost two branches!
Also, about those trees dying… We are happy to report that even after trimming and fires we haven’t lost any of our original trees.
Revisiting How Olive Oil is Made
If you’ve been with us for a while you’re probably familiar with our production methods. If you’re new (what a treat!), let us guide you through the process.
Extra virgin olive oil is made by crushing olives and extracting the oil from the olive fruit while maintaining a temperature of less than 27 C (80.6 F).
How We Harvest
The goal is to get the olives off the tree in the most gentle way possible to prevent bruising and squishing.
We lay nets below a section of trees in order to catch the olives
A tree shaker (or branch shaker) vibrates the tree (or branch) to get the olives to fall off (into the nets below)
We also hit the tree with sticks to get any remaining olives off the interior branches
The nets are collected and the olives are poured into bins and stored in a cool/dry area
We walk the nets forward and repeat
How We Mill
The olives are transported to the mill
They go through the deleafer to remove any rocks, stones, or sediment
The olives are poured into the primary hopper
Then they fall into the washing station where they’re rinsed with water
The olives bounce down the drying rack
Then go through a slicer (or are hammered) before entering the malaxer (AKA the crusher)
The malaxer has a horizontal cylindrical arm that mixes the olive paste, prepping it for extraction (similar to a slushy or ice cream machine that has been laid on its side, the arm keeps rotating and mixing)
The olive paste is pumped into the centrifuge which spins, separating vegetable water and solids from the olive oil
The olive oil is pumped through a rough filter
Finally, the oil goes through a separator which removes any remaining traces of water
Beautiful bright green unfiltered olive oil exits the mill!
This oil isn’t what you see on grocery store shelves. It still needs to be filtered and/or decanted before finally being bottled, labeled, and transported. Read more below!
Watching From Scratch
If you’re unfamiliar with Tembi Locke’s Memoir, From Scratch (Netflix), you might think you’re stumbling onto a lighthearted romantic comedy only to find yourself 6 hours later in a puddle of your own tears clinging onto the closest living being to you.
Heart-wrenching. Gutting. Distraught. Cathartic. Comforting. Loving. Peaceful.
A Black American woman meets a charming southern Italian man while studying in a gorgeous, ancient Italian city. And her life changes forever. Girl, same : )
The range of emotions we felt watching parts of Tembi’s real-life story come to life on our screen gave us an emotional hangover (personally, I don’t know if I can make it to the last episode this week). It was like entering into a time machine and going back to the first two years of Giuseppe and I’s relationship.
Meeting someone from another country is romantic, sweet, and exciting. Moving to a new country is stressful, chaotic, anxiety-inducing, and you often find yourself in a lot of uncomfortable situations. That doesn’t mean it’s not good, fun, or worth it. But it forces you outside of your comfort zones in ways you didn’t think possible.
From Scratch captures the ‘firsts’ of moving to the US for an Italian (especially southern Italian) perfectly. And it made us really reflect on the past 8 years and all we’ve been through together. It made us grateful. Watch it, you won’t regret it! But make sure you have a box of tissues handy and some time to recover.
Calabrian(-ish) Thanksgiving Stuffing
My family used to make two types of stuffing:
Cornbread stuffing with onions and bell peppers (my grandma’s recipe)
Regular stuffing with lots of celery, mushrooms, and sausage
Much to my regret, Giuseppe never got to meet my grandmother or taste her amazing food. I miss her and her cooking every day. I also miss the delicious sourdough I use to consume regularly in the Bay Area.
I think my grandma has been keeping an eye out to make sure I find comfort in the food from my childhood because we recently found an incredible bakery in Crotone that makes some of the best sourdough bread we’ve ever had. We decided it’s definitely stuffing material.
This recipe features salsiccia Calabrese, bell peppers, and onions! A lovely reader pointed out it might be a lil tough to find traditional salsiccia in some parts of the US. Not to worry, we’ve got a workaround...
Calabrian Salsiccia (Fresh) + Recipe Notes
How traditional Calabrian salsiccia is made…
[raw pork and lard] are minced together and kneaded, natural aromatic ingredients such as salt, pepe rosso (sweet or spicey), and fennel seeds are added. Hot chili powder or cream of sweet chili pepper is also added for the Spicy sausage, and sweet chili powder or cream of sweet chili pepper is added for the Sweet sausage.
A lot of Italian butchers will have some version of fresh Calabrian sausage, but if you’re having a hard time finding it we recommend using regular Italian sausage. If the Italian sausage doesn’t have fennel or a nice red color to it you can add your own seasonings.
Add 1 1/2 tsp fennel seeds and 2 tsp finely ground Italian/Calabrian sweet pepper or paprika (the sausage should be quite red so add another 1 tsp if needed)! If you’re into hot food you can also add a bit of spicey pepper powder or a fresh spicey pepper. Add these seasonings right when you add the sausage to the pan so the flavors can combine early on. This recipe is about layering so if you need to add more seasoning later that’s okay!
1 to 2 day old bread works best but bread doesn’t stand a chance around our house so we always end up toasting it.
A Spicey Gift From Burlap & Barrel
While researching spices we connected with the folks at Burlap & Barrel who were kind enough to help with suggestions and send over a lil something for our readers...
Their Noble Sweet Paprika from Hungary is classic, mild, very earthy, and bell pepper-y. Its sister paprika is the Szegedi 178 Hot Paprika, grown by the same farmer, and has notes of hay field, dried plum, and glowing coalsbut, this one is very fiery. Lastly, there’s the Silk Chili which splits the difference, a medium spicy, sweet, tomato-y Aleppo-style chili flake grown just across the Turkish border from Aleppo.
Use code BONAPPETIT to get a free set of Burlap and Barrel’s super cute kitchen towels on any order (must add to cart first!).
Ingredients
4 fresh Calabrian sausage (450g to 500g) or Italian sausage (jazz up Italian sausage as needed!)
1 large red or orange bell pepper (300g), finely chopped
1 medium red onion (150 g), finely chopped
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
3 sprigs rosemary
9 sage leaves, chopped
1 lb (450g) of high-quality bread, sourdough preferred
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (No.9 or Lina work well)
1 pat butter, optional
1/2 cup prosecco
2 1/4 cups vegetable or chicken broth
1 egg
lots of freshly cracked black pepper
Instructions: Salsiccia and Broth
Heat a wide pan on low heat. Meanwhile, remove the salsiccia from its casing. We like to add it directly to the pan to avoid washing another dish. Break up the salsiccia with a spatula and spread it out evenly. If using regular Italian sausage add the fennel and paprika now. Cook on low for 10 minutes with the lid on.
Add the bell pepper, mix, and continue cooking for 10 minutes with the lid on.
Add the onion, about 1/2 tsp freshly cracked black pepper, and 1 sprig rosemary (you can add a few other spices if you want but start off slow and build). Mix and continue cooking for 15 minutes with the lid on.
The fat from the sausage should be rendering nicely and the sausage should be showing the beginning stages of a sauce. The pieces should start to fall apart easily when prodded with a spoon and be soft to chew. If this isn’t the case continue cooking for a few more minutes. Add the vinegar, 1 sprig of rosemary, and 4 sage leaves. Mix and cook for 7 more minutes. Use a slotted spoon to remove the salsiccia mixture from the pan and set aside.
With the heat on the lowest setting, add the olive oil and butter to the pan. Then add the remaining sage and rosemary and a few cracks of freshly cracked black pepper. Stir for about 2 minutes dislodging any bit of stuck meat or veggies. (Note: do not cook on medium or high with oil/fat and then add a ton of liquid to the pan, you will get burnt).
Add the prosecco and continue to stir. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes on medium heat or until the prosecco has reduced by half.
Add the broth and stir (if you’re using powdered broth, it’s easier to add the powder first so it dissolves and then the rest of the liquid). Stir well, gently season with salt and pepper to taste (don’t add too much salt or the stuffing can end up salty especially if the sausage is salty), and then remove from heat. Let the broth cool to room temperature.
You can refrigerate the broth and salsiccia mixture (separately) for up to 3 days. Alternatively, you can freeze them for up to 3 months!
Instructions: The Bread
If using fresh bread preheat the oven to 275F.
Cut the bread into 3/4” slices then rip it into 3/4” chunks. Alternatively, you can cut the bread so you have even pieces but we like doing this by hand (it’s like feeding the birds but we are the birds!).
Place the bread on a cookie sheet (try to limit layering if possible) and bake in the oven until dried out. This took us about 30 to 40 minutes but go longer if you need to. The bread should be dry but still have some give. We aren’t making those dry AF croutons that almost broke our teeth in the 90s.
Instructions: Assembling and Baking
Let all ingredients get to room temperature.
In the meantime preheat the oven to 325F.
Divide the broth in half then add the egg to one and mix well.
In a very large bowl add the breadcrumbs and sausage, and gently fold together (I like to use my hands but a large spoon works). Then pour over the broth and egg mixture. Gently mix. Pour over the remaining broth until the breadcrumbs are moist but not dripping. You might have some broth left over and that’s okay (use for gravy!!). Gently mix.
Pour the stuffing mixture into a large flat pan (13x8x3 works really well).
Bake in the oven for 35 to 45 minutes. We like to leave it undercovered for a majority of the time if the bread is looking a little soggy but if you’re worried about the stuffing getting dried out cover it for half of the time. Bake until golden and crispy on top!
Let rest for 40 minutes and serve. If you need to reheat drizzle with some broth and pop it into the oven for 25 mins at 325F.
Since this recipe isn’t going into a turkey, the only food safety concern we have is for the egg. The internal central temperature of the stuffing should be 165F.
We have another Thanksgiving recipe in the next newsletter : )
99 5-Star Reviews, You Love Us?!
We’re almost at 100 5-star reviews on EXAUoliveoil.com! We are so happy to see that our customers have so much love for us <3
If you’ve purchased from us recently and received an email asking for a review do you mind taking a moment and leaving us a review? It helps us so much!
That’s all for now. Grazie!
-Skyler & Giuseppe
P.S. Did you know we are now stocked on the shelves at Crate & Barrel? Yes, like THE CRATE & BARREL. If you see us in person can you please snap a pic and send it to us? You can find us hello@exauoliveoil.com and on Instagram!