The Newest Trend Cold pressed peanut Oil

Olive oil has reigned supreme for a long time. It's a favorite and go to ingredient for both  home and professional chefs. Yet there 's a competitor on the nearby horizon.Peanuts, yes peanuts , may eclipse this classic. The simple nut is going high class.

Kim Severson wrote about the new trend of cold pressed green peanut oil in today's New York Times Food section.It's not the usual kind, used primarily inon Chinese cooking and fast food joints. This is gourmet oil, yet made from the same peanuts, the runner variety. They're the smaller and more uniform cousin of what's sold at baseball games and different in oil content than Spanish peanuts. The nuts are pressed in a low temperature environment in a small machine . Chefs rhapsodize about its' flavor. Chef Sean Brock, a well-known restauranteur in the South describes it as tasting alive and vibrant. It tastes like fresh dirt (!!??) is another claim.It is definitely the most revolutionary thing to happen to the humble nut since George Washington Carver's  agricultural research of a century ago. The credit on this should go to Clay Oliver who tried  pressing a variety of seeds and nuts before he hit the jackpot with green peanuts.He bought a hard press, and was so new to the process, had to call the manufacturer to ask how to work it. There were hits and misses.He tried sunflower seeds and pecans. The breakthrough came when he used green peanuts. He had a micro hit on his hands. The only problem was the price.He was selling it for $12 for 16 ounces. Locals reminded him that they could buy a gallon of regular peanut oil for $15.

Luckily someone from the non-profit organization, Georgia Organics recognized that the oil might fit the growing interest in southern food as well as in handmade farm products It was suggested that Mr. Clay visit the famed Southern chef Steven Satterfield, creator of the popular   Miller Union  restaurant.  Chef Satterfield also put green in front of the peanut oil which helped in selling it. It took off after that, selling briskly in Atlanta's farmer's markets along with online.Magazines like Southern Living and Garden and Gun praised it and the oil even won the 2016 Good Food Award in San Francisco. What is the oil exactly? First of all, the nuts aren't green in color, They are just roasted or salted. Fresh would be an apter description of them.It does have a very nutty flavor, sort of like peanut butter. Chef Satterfield likes to  use it like the best virgin olive oil.dressing a salad of field greens and what else - boiled peanuts. It's also used in enhancing Southern squash with a Southern take on the classic Egyptian dukkah with the peanuts subbed in for hazelnuts. It's an improvement over regular peanut oil and home chefs should use it when cooking with a wok,Like olive oil, green peanut oil is also good in dressings. iPair it with a rice wine vinegar add some ginger and honey for a  nice light dressing that would work with lettuce or shredded cabbage.

Green peanut oil is quickly becoming the must use oil. It gives main courses and salads a rich , nutty flavor. Try it to enjoy an improved spin on a cook's classic.

Spicing Up New York"s Palate

Middle Eastern cooking has the tantalizing blend of exotic and glam.The aromas and flavors are unique, giving ordinary ingredients such as lamb and eggplant zing and zest.The influence is now livening up dishes across Manhattan and can easily copied into a home chef's menu. New York Times Dining great, Julia Moskin wrote about this in today's food and wine issue.Many Manhattan chefs are adding exotic spices to both main meals and desserts.It's now not in usual to find coriander, pomengranate and saffron at hand in many kitchens.Chefs both with Arab and nonArab are using these to create new dishes as well as put a sophisticated spin on common Arab street foods.There's no room for the tried and true such as falafel and plain hummus.Fattoush ,a traditional salad of the region gets a new twist with avocado ,mint and lemon, thanks to Chef Einat Admony of the Manhattan restaurant Bar Bolonat.Usually made with tomatoes ,greens and shards of bread,it takes a more sensuous turn with the silkiness of the avocado and the sharp bite of lemon mixed with mustard.Manousheh, a domed Lebanese bread is creating fans throughout the city thanks to baker Ziad Hernez.This is a pita painted with zaatar and topped with tomatoes, cucumbers and jibneh, a crumbly feta like cheese with the mildness of mozzarella.Harissa, a popular North African sauce is also being used in more meat dishes.It's a simple easy to copy sauce made from hot peppers and paprika mixed with olive oil. Middle Eastern street fare is getting revamped as well.Kebabs are being made with tuna and halibut and wrapped around a cinnamon skewer.Stuffed vegetables are surrounded by fresh herbs,yogurt along with green and red chiles.Zaatar which is a home mix of the plant zaatar(a distant cousin of oregano) is mixed with ground sumac along with salt then doused with whole sesame seeds.It's also made into a wet form,using olive oil and is added to yogurt for flavor or spread over a pita bread. You could use it to spice up lamb chops or chicken too. Another spice is dukkah from Egypt .This is a fine mix of various spices and nuts now being used to zest up both meat and veggies.Pomengranate, a well used fruit of the area ,is being employed in all sorts of dishes, mostly in syrup form .It's mixed with tahini, a sesame sauce and poured over Brussels sprouts , a food not really used in Arab or Israeli cooking. Middle Eastern food is a delicious mix of the exotic and flavorful.Just making your own version of zaatar and adding to a meat dish is a step away from the ordinary.Add some of this flavor to your cooking for twist on Arabic cooking.