Our Harnett Oils winner is..
Posted: 23 August '10 by Niall and Kelly
Harnett Oils
We recently ran a competition to win a basket of Harnett Oils products, asking you the name of the process for squeezing the oils from the grains.
While a lot of you got the answer right (it was cold-pressing, by the way) we could only select one lucky winner.
Congratulations to Jill H.! A basket of delicious Hartnett Oils products is in the post.
Thanks to everyone that entered, and to Jane and the team at Harnett Oils for the fantastic prize.
Categories: Competitions > Promotions
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Pasta, peas, pesto and pine nuts
Posted: 10 August '10 by Niall
Pasta, peas, pesto and pine nuts
Here’s a great little recipe for a light meal on these (slightly) warmer Summer days – it’s perfect for a mid-week meal too, taking only as long as it takes the pasta to cool after you’ve cooked it, providing you’ve made the pesto in advance.
The recipe is a tweaked version of Ina Garten’s (of “The Barefoot Contessa”) – a simple little dish with competing creamy, sweet, sharp, and nutty flavours that will keep your tastebuds interested.
I’ve also used a good dash of Hemp oil from Harnett Oils in the pesto – it really does give a nutty, grassy kick to the pesto and adds a new dimension to the dish.
As I said, you can/should make the pesto in advance. We made ours on Saturday afternoon and the extra time in the jar really allowed the flavours to mellow and combine to produce a far better pesto. More than this, I always find that it’s handy to have a jar of pesto to hand – it can instantly improve even the most bland of dishes or sandwiches!
Serves 2 as a light meal
You can see more photos hereImage 2Image 3Image 4Image 5Image 6Image 7Image 8Image 9Image 10
Ingredients
For the pesto
- 1 garlic clove, peeled
- 2 cups fresh basil leaves
- 1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 cup of Harnett’s Oil Hemp oil
- 1/2 cup of good Olive oil
- 1/2 cup of grated Parmesan
- 1/2 a lemon, juiced
- Grated zest from a lemon
You’ll also need a food processor, and a jam jar to keep the pesto in.
For the pasta
- About 200g of penne pasta
- 1 tbsp of olive oil
- 2 tbsp of pesto
- 1 tbsp of lemon juice
- 1 tbsp of mayonnaise
- 1/4 cup of grated parmesan
- 3/4 cup of frozen peas, defrosted
- 1/4 cup of toasted pine nuts
- Salt and pepper to taste
Method
The pesto
- Place the garlic, basil leaves, pine nuts, salt, and pepper into your food processor and pulse until the ingredients are finely chopped.
- With the processor still running, slowly add the Olive oil followed by the Hemp oil.
- Check the consistency – you’re looking for a thick, smooth texture. If the pesto is too thick you can add more Olive oil.
- Add the Parmesan, stirring thoroughly.
- Taste the pesto to check the seasoning and spoon the mixture into your jam jar.
The pasta
- Cook the pasta until in slightly salted water and drain thoroughly.
- Toss the pasta with a tablespoon of olive oil to stop the pasta sticking together and set aside to cool to room temperature.
- When the pasta has cooled add your pesto, peas, Parmesan, lemon juice and mayonnaise, mixing the ingredients together so that the pasta has been coated.
- Spoon the servings into a bowl and sprinkle some toasted pine nuts and cracked black pepper over the top to serve.
Other information
A “cup” is an American measurement. If you don’t have the utensils to measure your ingredients like this, then you can do a quick conversion:
- 1/4 cup = 4 tablespoons
- 1/3 cup = 5 tablespoons
- 1/2 cup = 8 tablespoons
- 3/4 cup = 12 tablespoons
- 1 cup = 16 tablespoons
Categories: Featured Post > Italian Food > Main Course > Pasta > Recipes > Starter Course > Vegetables
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Wake up to a tastier breakfast!
Posted: 02 August '10 by Niall
Our breakfast bars - moist, tasty.. and healthier!
I’m not a breakfast person – I’m just not hungry enough for a meal in the morning, and the thought of a “healthy” bowl of cereal which tastes like cardboard doesn’t do anything to awaken my appetite either, it doesn’t matter how many nut-clusters it has. If I have anything at all it’ll be one of those oaty breakfast bars with a big cup of coffee.
I know, I know – they’re hardly a healthy option. I’ve had a look at the back of the wrapper and there’s a bewildering assortment of ingredients: preservatives, flavour-enhancers and fats among them. They’re expensive too..
In a recent chat with Jane from Harnett’s Oils I found out that rapeseed oil is also known as “canola oil” in the States, and at that moment a whole world of early-morning dining opened before me.. I’d make my own breakfast!
I always prefer to make my own food rather than relying on industrially processed stuff – at least I know what goes into what I make! In this case the health benefits of Jane’s rapeseed oil got me thinking about how I could make a slightly healthier breakfast bar. Now, you can play around with the amount of spice and the type of fruit you use, but this is a particularly good recipe right here – the bars are deliciously dense and moist with just the right amount of spice and fruit.
I actually look forward to breakfast these days!
You can see more photos hereImage 2Image 3Image 4Image 5Image 6Image 7
Ingredients
- 4 cups of rolled oats
- 1 1/2 cups of plain flour
- 1 cup of brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon of cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons of flax seed (optional)
- 1/2 tablespoon of salt
- 1 cup of Harnett’s rapeseed oil
- 4 eggs
- 75g x2 of dried sour cherries, roughly chopped
Method
- Preheat your oven to 180°C
- Add all of your ingredients into a large mixing bowl.
- Stir the mixture until all of the ingredients have been mixed together and is moistened.
- Press the mixture into a large, greased casserole dish (ours is about 12×10 inches in size) and bake for 25 minutes.
- Remove the casserole dish from the oven and allow the mixture to cool completely – after which you can cut the block into individual bars.
Enjoy!
Categories: Breakfast > Featured Post > Recipes
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Extra-virgin oils from Harnett’s
Posted: 27 July '10 by Niall
Harnett's Oils
One of my favourite programmes on TV in the last couple of years was “The Urban Chef” in which Ollie Rowe opened his Konstam restaurant in London and attempted to source all of his ingredients from within the M25. One of the most difficult tasks was finding cooking oil. I’d never seen that many olive trees within the M25 so I thought he was stuck – but when Ollie found a rapeseed producer and a local pressing works it got me thinking – do we have something like that in Northern Ireland?
I’ve always been a devotee of Olive Oil, but Ollie certainly made a case for Rapeseed oil: rapeseed and hemp oil can be produced locally; and there are lots of health benefits.
It was almost by chance that I came across Harnett’s Oils, who more than fit the bill. A quick internet-search later and I was chatting to Jane..
- N: Who are Harnett’s Oils?
- J: Harnett’s Oils is a family-run business on the Waring Estate, a working arable farm. There are 4 of us: I produce the final product and selling, marketing the business; My father Michael is in charge of growing the crops and caring for the harvesting of the crop; My mother Ann manages the food safety element of the plant as well as the marketing of the products; and my brother William is creative director looking after the different aspects of the website and marketing literature.
- N: Where are you based?
- J: we live on the Waring Estate based in Waringstown which is between Lurgan and Banbridge in County Down. The oilseeds are grown here and on our out-farm in Lisnacree, Kilkeel in County Down.
- N: You can’t much more local than that.. What sort of oils do you produce?
- J: At the minute we produce Hemp Oil and Rapeseed Oil and we’re trialling dressings (hemp vinaigrette and a garlic dressing) and flavoured oils (hot chilli & garlic and orange & rosemary) in St. George’s Market over the Summer months.
- N: I read that you use “cold-pressing” to extract the oil.. What’s that?
- J: A cold-pressed oil is when an oilseed like Rape or Hemp is pressed together to crush the majority of oil out of the seed. About 90% of the seed’s oil is squeezed out like this, which is filtered to produce an “extra-virgin” oil. Industry uses heat and chemicals to “hot-press” so they can get the remaining 10% but this releases phosphates and unwanted saturates into the oil taking away all the goodness that would have been produced if cold-pressed. The majority of vegetable oils and palm oils use this method.
- N: Kelly and I are really concerned about GM crops. You don’t use any, do you?
- J: We don’t use GM crops – we’re against the idea and believe in promoting biodiversity and the local wildlife. Not only are we actively involved with the Farming, Wildlife Advisory Group (FWAG) but don’t use pesticides or insecticides on the crops. Over the last 30 years we are proud to say we have seen an increase in insects, birds and mammals on the Estate and proud to be working close beside them. In regards with Organic Status the farm has decided not to go down with this scheme however we do adhere to such principles encouraging wildlife and biodiversity. Harnett’s Oils is also a strong supporter of local produce and is proud to be a member of the Slow Food Movement which wholly believes in producing a product that is GOOD, CLEAN and FAIR.
- N: That all sounds good to me! So, the important question is where can our readers buy your products?
- J: Harnett’s Oils have a stand in St Georges every Saturday where you can talk to us direct. Over the summer we will be at a few shows which will be updated on the website. We do sell from the website and it is possible to buy from the farm itself. We are trying to stock our products across the country in delis, butchers, farm shops and health shops. We also produce oils for trade and sell into restaurants and other food-based businesses – everything from 3 litres up to 20 litres.
- N: Lastly, what are your big hopes for the future?
- J: We’d like more people to know about and use our oils! They’re a quality product and compliment good food and good cooking, and have a really worthwhile ethic behind them: supporting the local countryside. On top of that we’re a local business. So, by buying our oils, everyone wins!
Thanks Jane!
We’re making Tuna seared using Harnett’s rapeseed oil and a hemp-oil pesto tonight.. Make sure you check the site later this week to see how we got on!
Other information
Hemp Oil has lots of health benefits including Omega 3, 6 and 9 and vitamins C, E, B1, B2 and carotene. It’s smoking point is too low to be used in cooking, but it’s nutty flavour makes it perfect for salad dressings and the like.
Rapeseed Oil (also known as “Canola Oil” which you’ll see in American recipes) is a good alternative to Olive Oil and can be used in cooking or as a dressing, having little taste. It has Omega 3, 6 and 9, vitamins E and K, and is low in cholesterol.
Harnett’s Oils
Waring Estate,
15 Banbridge Road,
Waringstown,
County Down
BT66 7QA
T: 028 38 881210
E: info@harnettoils.com
W: www.harnettoils.co.uk
You can also find Harnett’s Oils on Google Maps.
Categories: Local Food Heroes > Northern Ireland > United Kingdom
