PICTURE: Sergey Kashkin (iStockphoto.com). Previous page: Mauro De Giorgi (iStockphoto.com) Pasta with olives INGREDIENTS 1 packet favorite pasta or batch of homemade   a leek (use green and white parts) sliced in rounds 1 medium zucchini, finely sliced in rounds 1 clove garlic 3 tblspns olive oil a tub of sun-dried tomatoes a tub marinated mixed olives (or use the ones you like best) 10 slices salami, finely sliced shaved parmesan to garnish 3 tblspns pesto (basil and/or sun dried tomato works well) 2 capsicums, roasted and sliced 1 large eggplant, sliced long ways and roasted (optional) a small pumpkin, cubed and roasted (optional) 1/3 bag washed spinach leaves (optional) salt and cracked pepper PREPARATION Halve and seed capsicums, coat in olive oil, roast till skin brown and remove the skin when cool. (If using pumpkin and eggplant these can be roasted now as well). These can be done in advance. Boil pasta till cooked, drain and keep warm. Sauté leek (don’t forget to wash inside green parts), zucchini and garlic in olive oil. (If using spinach leaves these can be lightly sautéed now.) Add to drained pasta. Add pesto, salami, sun dried tomatoes, salt and pepper, sliced roasted capsicum and any other chosen vegetables to pasta and mix through. Garnish with olives and a good amount of shaved parmesan cheese. AND TO DRINK? This is enjoyable with a glass of Shiraz as it’s a light red and doesn’t overpower the pallet.

1st September, 2004

AARON GORE

I love nothing better than lounging on the deck on a Sunday arvo, surrounded by family and friends, eating good food and drinking a full-bodied red.

It’s a common enough experience these days. Yes, we as a multi-cultural society are, as it seems, becoming cultured. We’re venturing away from the great “Aussie” meat pie and VB and being drawn to the finer things in life. Café late, the Barossa Valley, sushi and trendy eating houses are becoming the topic of conversations across the nation. Forget the Sunday lamb roast - you’re now more likely to find a warm lamb salad topped with a mint and yoghurt dressing. In place of trifle, think white chocolate mousse topped with wild berries and double cream; in place of a cream-filled sponge, think flaked hazelnut biscotti.

Of course, every household now comes with a ubiquitous bottle of fine olive oil, whether it be virgin, extra virgin, light, extra light - well, you get the idea. And then there’s the olives themselves, whether we use them stuffed, whole, pitted, marinated, bottled, cooked or simply as a garnish. The olive’s time on the kitchen stage has finally come!

The first Biblical reference to the olive is found in Genesis 8:11 where Noah (he of the ark fame) sends the dove out for the second time, only to have it return with a freshly plucked olive leaf.

Our history books tell us that the olive tree is native to the area extending from the Mediterranean coast of Syria and Israel to the north-western region of Iraq. The Phoenicians introduced it to the Greek Islands in the sixteenth century BC and to the Greece in the twelfth century BC. The Greeks reaffirmed their relation to the olive at the recent Olympics, with athletes given a halo of olive branches as well as their medals.

The olive first arrived in Australia with market gardener George Sutton in 1800 and while it has been a staple of certain ethnic dishes ever since, it’s only in recent years that the charms of the olive have been more widely admired.

A couple of things to note when shopping for olive oil: have a look at the type of olive used as well as the location where it was grown and harvested, the extraction method and most particularly, the date (olive oil should be used within a year of harvesting).

Virgin olive oil is obtained from the fruit of the tree by ways that do not alter the oil at all. No solvents or other oils are mixed to it and it is not refined in any way. Extra virgin olive oil is the purest form of oil. Ancient Greek olive groves were tended only by virgins, probably to ensure that the olives were not corrupted in any way, hence the name.