Bari Recipes

Shishito...

Apparently, my cholesterol is a bit high and my doctor recommended that I start a better diet. Luckily for me, olive oil is the best way to get back on track.

In my country, Guatemala, we often cook with coconut milk. Coconut trees grow wild everywhere in my city. I have so many childhood memories of my dad just going to the patio to get some coconuts and making a hole big enough to get the water out. After that he would cut it in half so we could eat the “meat” or copra. I think I was very lucky to live such a life where fresh fruit was always available all year round. Everything that you see in this recipe could be something made back at my parent’s house that would be freshly picked or caught that day.

Ingredients for the Salsa:

• 1 ripe large mango diced
• 1 small red onion diced
• 1 jalapeno diced
• 2 roma tomatoes diced
• ½ cup of fresh cilantro chopped
• 1 lemon
• 1 avocado
• 2 garlic cloves minced
• 2 tablespoon Arbequina Olive Oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

Ingredients for the Salmon:

• Salmon fillets 
• Arbequina Bari Olive Oil 
• 1 grated garlic clove 
• Fresh thyme finely chopped 
• Salt and pepper to taste

Ingredients for the Coconut Rice:

• 1 cup of Jasmin rice 
• ½ cup of coconut water 
• ½ cup of coconut milk 
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

1. Mix all the ingredients for the mango salsa. Cover and let marinate in fridge for about one hour so 
   the ingredients will blend.
2. Marinate the salmon fillet with the grated garlic, thyme, 1 tablespoon of olive oil, salt and pepper. Cover and let marinate in fridge for at least one hour 
3. Wash the rice thoroughly and cook as you normally would, except this time you will substitute water for coconut milk and coconut water. Add the salt and pepper, bring to a boil ad reduce heat to low, cover and let cook for about 20 minutes or until all liquid is absorbed.  
4. While rice is cooking, heat up the cast iron grill and cook salmon for about 3 minutes on each side, serve with warm rice, salmon and top it with the mango salsa.

This recipe took me by surprise...

When talking about healthy fats, this brunch surely has it all!

Eggs are one of the most versatile ingredients you can cook with- any meal, any time of the day can easily have eggs in the ingredients list. And, this is one of many ways to make them.

I decided to make this two-way egg toast for my friends that were visiting over the weekend. It was the first time I cooked for them, so I decided to impress them a little with a delicious brunch. We had a great conversation while I was preparing this meal and drinking some mimosas :). The result was a wonderful day full of laughs, with a full and happy tummy.

Egg toast with avocado and Salmon

Ingredients:

• 2 eggs
• Two slices of sourdough bread
• 1 ripe avocado
• Smoked Salmon
• Dill
• Organic Bari Olive Oil
• Smoked paprika
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

1. In a small mixing bowl whisk the eggs (for extra creaminess you can add a dash of whole milk), and heat up a nonstick skillet with tablespoon of Bari's California Organic Olive Oil. We all have our way to cook eggs- the way I like to cook them is to toss the eggs in the pan when it's very hot, and then I turn off the stove, stirring the eggs constantly with a spatula so the eggs cook from the heat in the pan.
2. Now it's time to grill the slices of bread- heat up the cast iron grilling pan, if you have one. If not, use any pan. Drizzle some olive oil in the bread and grill it, remove from pan when you have grill marks on both sides of the bread.
3. Mash the avocado and spread on each toast. At this point, I like to add a pinch of salt and pepper. Top with the scrambled eggs and a slice of smoked salmon. Garnish with dill and smoked paprika.

Bruschetta egg toast

Ingredients:

• 2 slices of sourdough bread
• 2 eggs
• 1 roma tomato
• Fresh basil
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 tablespoon of shredded parmesan cheese
• 1 teaspoon Classic Bari Balsamic Vinegar
• Bari Basil infused Olive Oil

Instructions:

1. Chop the tomato, mince 1 garlic clove and set aside in a small mixing bowl.
2. Chiffonade the basil leaves, meaning: layer the leaves one on top of the other one, starting with the largest one on the bottom, and the smallest leaves on top, then roll them tightly, slice and separate the ribbons. Then, add them to the small mixing bowl with tomato and garlic.
3. Add 1 teaspoon Balsamic Vinegar, 1 tablespoon of Olive Oil, shredded parmesan cheese, and salt and pepper to taste. Mix well and set aside.
4. Put the eggs in a large pot with cold water, making sure they are fully submerged. Then add a teaspoon of baking soda- rumor has it that baking soda helps to peel them. Turn up the heat to high and bring water to a rolling boil. Turn off heat and cover the pot. Leave the eggs for a total of 5 minutes. For a semi soft egg, remove from water and place them in a small bowl with ice. Wait a few minutes while they cool down. Peel carefully and slice in half.
5. Heat up the grilling pan, drizzle olive oil on each slice of bread and remove when you see grilling marks on both sides of the bread. Place on serving plate, top with the bruschetta, and the slices of egg.

First of all, this is not your traditional Bolognese. But, that does not matter because the taste is phenomenal. I have made this pasta in many different ways- you can add some other vegetables, use turkey instead of beef and pork, use linguini instead of spaghetti, use white wine instead of red wine, etc. Just do not omit the wine. If you are not an alcohol drinker, do not worry, you will not get drunk with this meal since the alcohol evaporates slowly while cooking for two hours. The flavor from the wine is fantastic and a must for the Bolognese sauce.

This recipe can feed many. You can also freeze it, and when it's time to reheat I would suggest not using the microwave. Use the stove top instead and add a teaspoon of your favorite Bari Balsamic Vinegar to help bring back the flavor and will taste as if it was just made.

Ingredients:

• ½ pound ground beef
• ½ pound ground pork
• ½ white onion
• 2 medium carrots
• 2 celery stalks
• 4 tomatoes
• 1 cup cremini mushrooms
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 can tomato sauce (or can crushed tomatoes)
• ½ sun dry tomatoes
• ½ cup sun dry peppers
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 cup of red wine
• 1 cup of beef stock
• 1 package of spaghetti
• Bari Garlic Infused Olive Oil
• Fresh basil leaves
• Fresh oregano or dry of not available
• Parmesan cheese
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Loaf of bread

Instructions:

1. Use a food processor to minced all the vegetables including the garlic head. They do not have to be finely processed just chopped. If you do not have a food processor, then use a knife... but it really is so much easier just to dump it all in the food processor.
2. Heat up a large skillet and add 3 tablespoons of Olive Oil and cook the meat until is starting to turn brown. Add the bay leaves, crushed vegetables, salt and pepper. Stir for two minutes.
3. Add the can of tomato sauce and 1 cup of red wine, 1 cup of beef stock. Taste and add more salt if needed. Lower the heat and let it simmer for two hours. The sauce will reduce about half so add more wine if you feel like it needs more love ;).
4. When there are 15 minutes left for the sauce, cook the spaghetti according to package instructions, and then season with Olive oil, salt and pepper and set aside. I can’t express enough how important it is to always season the noodles. This is an important step because who wants plain noodles? Olive oil is essential for the flavor as well as to prevent them from sticking together.
5. Before serving slice the loaf of bread into about 1 ½-inch thick slices, season with olive oil and grill them in a hot pan. If you have a wedge of parmesan cheese you are on the winning side already, my friend! Shred as much as you need. Freshly grated cheese is always better than the pre-shredded cheese. It's just not the same and you will look way cooler in front of your guests when you are doing this :).
6. For serving, my preference is to mix the spaghetti with the Bolognese sauce first, and then serve it. Garnish with chiffonade fresh basil and as much parmesan cheese as you want. Enjoy with grilled bread and a glass of wine

This is one of my favorites things to make- it's easy, versatile and you can add so many fresh ingredients! I love recipes that include vegetables, bright colors and bold flavors. Plus, you'll make this recipe in such a short time! Turns out it looks beautiful and, let me tell you this, the flavor was so refreshing. Every bite it was wonderful. It's the trifecta of cooking for me: it looks appetizing, tastes delicious and provides your healthy portion of vegetables for the day! What else could you need?
Summer time is here and this is one of many pasta salads you can make as a side dish or enjoy by itself. Bring it to the pool party and feel good by impressing your friends with this dose of beauty and health.

Now, in times of social distancing, I still like to cook. And, every now and then, impress myself with my cooking. Until we can all gather together and celebrate life, we can still make this for ourselves. And, if you are anything like me, me and myself are the only party I need when it comes to eating.

Ingredients:

• 1 package farfalle pasta
• ½ cup cherry tomatoes cut in half
• ½ sun dry tomatoes
• Half of red onion cut in thin slices
• ½ cup blk olives cut in half
• 1 cup 1 inch cut asparagus
• ¼ shredded parmesan cheese and more for garnish
• ¼ cup of chopped Italian parsley
• Bari Arbosana Olive Oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

1. Cook the farfalle according to package instructions, drain, drizzle Bari Olive Oil season with salt and pepper and set aside, if you want to add a little heat you can also add red pepper flakes.
2. Wash and dry the asparagus spears, cut them about 1-inch length.
3. Heat up your iron skillet to medium high heat, drizzle 1 tablespoon of olive oil and sauté the asparagus spears, they cook quick so do no look away because we want them “al dente” this means sauté the asparagus for about 3 minutes stirring frequently , we want them crunchy and we want them to keep the beautiful green color, remove from skillet and season with salt and pepper.
4. Wash, cut in half and set aside the cherry tomatoes.
5. Slice black olives in half and slice red onion.
6. Chop the Italian parsley.
7. Use a large mixing bowl and add all the ingredients with 3 tablespoons of Arbosana Olive Oil and toss, garnish with more parmesan cheese and parsley, add salt and pepper to taste.