Quick & Tasty New Year Recipes with a Healthy Kick from Doña Elena Olive Oil’s Filipino Chefs

The holidays may be over, but there couldn’t be timelier month to reset our health goals. Whether it’s all about getting back on track or whipping up easy to cook but healthy recipes at home, Doña Elena Olive Oil’s Chef Ambassadors Locavore executive chef Mikel Zaguirre and Raintree Group of Restaurants’ corporate chef Kalel Chan’s quick and tasty recipes using Doña Elena Olive Oil will help you to keep those resolutions in check.

Fly Ace group, Doña Elena Olive Oil’s local distributor, wants to encourage Filipinos not to get intimidated by this versatile oil. “Filipinos often see Olive Oil as ‘pang sosyal lang’”, Fly Ace Category Manager for Oils Zen Prudentino said. “However, we want to get their trust by showing how dishes they enjoy in restaurants that are prepared by professional chefs can easily be recreated at home using Doña Elena Olive Oil, without sacrificing flavor.”

Cooking at home instead of going out not only saves you money in the long run but you’re also assured that the whole family gets to fully enjoy recipes that’s straight from your kitchen. Knowing exactly what goes into your food is always the first step to eating nutritious food.

Olive oil is one of the healthiest types of oil in the market. It contains good fat and antioxidants. Doña Elena Olive Oil comes from olives grown in Andalucia, Spain, which is known to be the global leader in terms of olive oil. Doña Elena uses two varieties of olives – hojiblanca and picual. These two varieties are delicately blended, producing a mild and fruity taste that is perfect for the Filipino palate.

“We’re definitely honored to have Chef Kalel and Chef Mikel back for our Doña Elena Chef Ambassador Series to share recipes using our famed Doña Elena Olive Oil,” Prudentino said. “We’re so proud of their accomplishments that has put the Philippines in the world’s culinary map.”

“We hope this initiative, now on its second year, will continue to connect us with our consumers by letting us introduce our very own local chefs and dishes that they can relate to,” she added.

This time around, Chef Kalel and Chef Mikel are putting their focus not just on the Doña Elena Pomace Olive Oil but with the Al Dente Penne Rigate as well. Pasta is always a comforting and filling as it’s something that you can easily dress up anytime of the day without stressing yourself out.

Serve up your family with pasta dishes from our Filipinos chef. These recipes require minimum effort on your part but will surely let your family think you took the time to learn a difficult recipe for New Year.

Fettucine with Seared Beef and Sour Cream by Chef Mikel Zaguirre

Yield: 3-4 persons, Time it takes to prepare: 30 minutes

Ingredients:
3 Tbsp Doña Elena Olive Oil
150 g Al Dente Fettucine
1 Tbsp Doña Elena Capers
2 Tbsp Doña Elena Red Wine
200g Marinated Beef Tenderloin, Cleaned
2 Tbsp White Onion, Finely Chopped
1 Tbsp Garlic, Peeled and Finely Chopped
2 Tbsp Worcestershire
3 Tbsp Sour Cream

Beef Dry Rub
1 tsp Pimenton, Sweet
1 tsp Cocoa Powder, Unsweetened
1/2 tsp Cumin Powder
1/4 tsp All Spice Powder
1/8 tsp Cinnamon Powder
1/8 Cayenne Pepper Powder

Combine all ingredients together and set aside to use for marinating beef tenderloin.

Procedure
1. Sear beef tenderloin with Doña Elena Pomace Olive Oil until desired doneness is achieved and let the meat rest.
2. In a pot, boil 2L of water and add salt. Cook Al Dente Fettucine for 7-8 minutes and set aside.
3. Using Doña Elena Pomace Olive Oil from the seared meat, saute the onion and garlic briefly.
4. Add the capers and deglaze with red wine.
5. Add the cooked Al Dente Fettucine and season with worcestershire.
6. Slice the beef tenderloin.
7. Plate the pasta and add the slices of beef tenderloin
8. Add the sour cream and serve.

Chocolate Penne Rigate with Dried Fruits and Walnuts by Chef Mikel Zaguirre
Yield: 2 persons

Ingredients:
½ Cup Al Dente Penne Rigate
1 Cup Belgian Chocolate, melted
1 Tbsp Dried Apricot, chopped
1 Tbsp Dried Cranberries, chopped
1 Tbsp Walnuts, chopped

Procedure:

1. Cook the Al Dente Penne Rigate. Set aside until cool.

2. Line up the cooked Al Dente Penne Rigate in a foil or mesh then pour in the melted chocolate.

3. Sprinkle the apricot, cranberries, and walnuts.

4. Let it cool for 30 minutes then ready to serve.