Holding our book
What a joy. Also, a guest + recipe.
Hello, and welcome back to our newsletter! My name is Skyler, I’m the cofounder of EXAU and the main author and reader (if you’re listening) of these newsletters. If you’re new here, I’d like to invite you to read a bit about us here. Let’s dive in.
Coming Soon: Lecce Travel Guide(s)
Giuseppe and I just got back from Lecce and are still reeling from all the fun and delicious food and wine we ate and drank. What a dream!
We’re putting together a list of our greatest hits for paid newsletter subscribers, if you haven’t upgraded your subscription yet, now is a good time to do it!
What is an Olive Oil Enthusiast?
We just got the first copies of our book, The Olive Oil Enthusiast, and yes it’s even more beautiful in person!
Like all of our projects, this book started off with a different name. And then it didn’t have one at all for a while... Finally, our editor had everyone pull a list of potential titles together and we bounced them back and forth.
Giuseppe and I are slow namers because if something has an undesirable name we aren’t inclined to pick it up. And yes, that means we do judge books by their covers and don’t start because you do it too!
But what does it mean for a person to be an enthusiast?
For us, it’s pretty simple, you enjoy that thing, whatever it is, in some way on a regular basis. It can be small or big but it should be a joy to have that thing as part of your everyday ritual.
Coffee, cars, cocktails, woah that’s a lot of c-words, we love all of those things. But our favorite everyday ritual is olive oil.
The way it gets shiny in the pan while heating up, the smell of a perfectly dressed salad, the satisfaction of taking a pasta from good to great after finishing it with a drizzle of high-quality extra virgin olive oil.
That’s what tickles our fancy. This book hits on so many points. It’s what we’d tell you if we could sit down for a few hours, do a tasting, and just chat. What a joy that would be, but until then…
If you haven’t pre-ordered your copy yet, we hope you will! And if you have then thank you, truly. We can’t wait for you to peruse this book and explore your inner olive oil enthusiast <3
Can olive oil really go bad?
Yes, olive oil does go bad. It's made of fat, which means it goes rancid over time.
For thousands of years, olive oil has been used as a preservative in southern Italy for foods like tuna, anchovies, mushrooms, eggplants and more. Not only does it preserve the shelf life of these foods, but it also adds additional flavor.
With proper storage practices, a good bottle of olive oil can store well for a long time. But in order to get the most bang for your buck and fully enjoy the quality of the product practice first in and first out.
Store unopened bottles in a cool, dark, and dry place. Read more here.
Yes, you can still get olive oil
And more is on the way!
A Guest Post + Recipe
This week we have a guest in our newsletter! Rosemary and Pina. We met a few months back on TikTok. Pina is originally from Sicily and we love watching her make classic Sicilian foods. Enjoy…
Rosemarie + Pina
We are Rosemarie and Pina, a mother-daughter duo passing down tradition through food. We run a cooking page where we showcase traditional Sicilian and new creations made by Pina herself.
We’re from New York. But my mom, Pina, is originally from the small town of Roccamena near Palermo. She immigrated to America with her family in 1970.
My mom’s earliest memories are from Sicily where she would watch her mother and grandmother rhythmically beating their fists into a tub of raw dough.
Surrounded by passionate women, including her mother Maria, she learned to pour her love into her cooking. It was her mother who taught her everything she knows and I am honored to learn from my mother.
I never realized how much history and tradition were in the recipes my mom would make for us each day until I saw it through my camera lens.
It has given me the perspective to see my mom's talent for cooking and see the years of love and passion that went into those recipes we still make today.
It has ignited a passion for cooking in me. I hope to learn and teach my children all of these recipes one day. As seen in the video of me slicing eggplants, I have a long way to go haha.
Involtini di melanzane grigliate all ricotta fresca (Grilled eggplant stuffed with fresh ricotta)
Watch the video of this recipe on Instagram or TikTok!
Serving for 2 eggplants
Ingredients for filling
500 grams of ricotta
2 garlic cloves
Pinch of nutmeg
Oregano
Pepper
1 teaspoon fresh parsley
1 tablespoon grated cheese
Ingredients for vinaigrette
1 garlic clove
Pinch of salt
Pinch of pepper
Teaspoon of parsley
Big Pinch of oregano
1⁄4 cup of extra virgin olive oil
Splashes of balsamic vinegar
Instructions
Slice two eggplants, add to a bowl, and sprinkle with salt.
Wipe off the excess salt and start grilling them. Add oil on both sides when grilling.
After you finish grilling all the slices, let them cool off in a bowl.
In a medium-sized bowl add the ricotta, garlic, nutmeg, oregano, pepper, parsley, grated cheese, and olive oil and mix together.
Using two spoons, form oval croquettes of ricotta, placing each one on a slice of eggplant. Roll each slice.
Serve with the vinaigrette of oil, balsamic vinegar, garlic, salt, pepper, parsley, and oregano.
Good reads you may have missed
Stella Vision Travel: Our dear friend Zoe, founder of Stella Vision Travel, has started a new series called Women Doing Cool Shit in Italy and recently featured me!
Easter in Calabria: All the delicious things we ate during the holiday!
Meatball Tortellini Soup: If you are also experiencing fake spring we highly suggest making this. It uses our Calabrian meatball recipe, which is perfection. We also recommend either doubling or dividing the recipe so you can fry/bake half of the meatballs and use the rest in the soup. Two meals for the labor of one!!
Happy cooking and eating!! Xx
A presto,
-Skyler & Giuseppe
P.S. Are you following on TikTok? We’re having fun over there. Also, we wrote a book called The Olive Oil Enthusiast, pre-order today!
SO exciting!!!