Commercial cooperation with Happy Olive

How would lemongrass marinated tofu and pasta sound? Based on my own experience, this is absolutely wonderfully fresh and the dish just looks so sunny. If there's one more thing I'd like to mix in, it would be something green just for the sake of it - maybe a little fresh coriander on top.

There are quite a few elements in this recipe, but they're all really easy to make, I promise! The lemongrass marinade gives the tofu a really delicious flavor and I managed to find a new organic tofu brand that has a lovely, neutral taste to it and is even cheaper than all the regular tofu blocks in the store!

EARLY HARVEST EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL

I used Happy Olive's Early Harvest olive oil in the recipe, which is early harvest olive oil bottled from carefully selected olive groves. My children and I are avid users of olive oil, in many different forms, and it was funny how they noted when tasting this too, that olive oil tastes wonderful in the pasta! A warm recommendation for Happy Olive oil from me and my kids.

THE ORIGIN OF OLIVE OIL MATTERS

Finding Happy Olive’s olive oils was somehow really important to me. Many different foods that we normally buy in stores have problems that are not entirely clear to the consumer. Olive oil production is also problematic, and Happy Olive's history involves noticing these challenges (and thankfully, doing something about them!)

A few large buyers of olive oil purchase the oil from small farmers at a ridiculous price, after which it is chartered on tankers to other ports in southern Europe. Since the top-quality crop is obtained from the small farms of Crete more than anywhere else in the world, the big manufacturers need it to mix with lower quality lots. In this way, the extra-virginity criteria can be met without breaking the bank, even if there are lower-quality batches in the oil.

Happy Olive decided to support the farmers of Merja's home village and the surrounding area by creating a direct sales channel for the best of their harvest without bulk buyers or tankers. The oil is bottled at the olive oil separator in the village of Tsivaras, from where it goes directly to Happy Olive in Tampere, Finland. (Source: HappyOlive.fi)

For me, this kind of transparency and connectedness of the entire chain is important. When you buy this olive oil, you know that it is really high-quality and not "hacked" olive oil, and the oil manufacturers get a decent compensation for it.

OLIVE OIL QUALITY MATTERS

Happy Olive's Early Harvest olive oil is, as the name suggests, an early harvested crop. It is made from greenish, semi-ripe olive berries that have been harvested a little before the usual olive harvest time. Only the best of the harvest season qualifies for this oil. These early harvested olive berries have more taste and more polyphenols. They make the oil long-lived and thus the person who consumes it, too. You can tell the freshness from the summer aroma of freshly cut grass in the oil and from the strong pungent taste. However, the taste is not too strong. It does not overpower the other flavors of the food, just adds to it :)

I love cooking with ingredients whose quality and origin I know exactly.

Lemongrass-Marinated Tofu, Pasta & Pistachio Parmesan

Yield: 4 portions

LEMON GRASS MARINATED TOFU

INGREDIENTS

• 1 block unseasoned tofu

• 2 lemongrass stalks, cut into thin slices

• 4 cm (1 inch or so) piece of ginger, chopped

• 3-4 cloves of garlic

• Grated zest of 1 (organic) lime

• 3 Tbsp of good quality extra virgin olive oil (I used happyolive.fi early Harvest olive oil)

• a pinch of salt

Preparation

1. Mix the marinade ingredients and chop the tofu. Marinate the tofu in lemongrass marinade overnight in a sealed container or minigrip bag.

2. Fry the tofu in olive oil. Pour the tofu along with the marinade into the pan and fry until thei surface and the pieces of lemon grass are slightly browned.

3. Pour the whole mixture over the pasta tossed with lime-chili oil in a bowl.

PISTACHIO PARMESAN

INGREDIENTS

• 1 3/4 dl (3/4 cups) shelled pistachios

• 3 Tbsp of nutritional yeast

• 1/4 tsp garlic powder

• 3/4 tsp salt

Preparation

1. Pulse the ingredients in a blender or grind in a mortar to a coarse powder. I myself use a small 225ml (7 fl oz) mixing bowl from Vitamix for this, where small amounts are mixed super easily.

2. Sprinkle pistachio parmesan on top of the finished meal.

LIME & CHILI OIL

INGREDIENTS

• approx. 3/4 dl of good quality olive oil (happyolive.fi early harvest)

• 1 tsp chili flakes

• Grated zest of 2 limes

Preparation

1. Mix the ingredients and add to the cooked and drained pasta. You can mix the oil ingredients the night before (while making the tofu marinade) so the oil has time to flavor properly.

OTHER INGREDIENTS

• Whole wheat pasta

• Cauliflower (fried whole, olive oil + turmeric + smoked paprika mixture rubbed on the surface)

I cooked a bag of whole wheat pasta according to the instructions on the package. In addition, there was a whole oven-roasted cauliflower in the fridge, the surface of which I had first lightly steamed, then rubbed olive oil-turmeric-smoked paprika seasoning on the surface and roasted at 225 °C (435°F) until the surface was crispy and the cauliflower was cooked.

This is not a mandatory part of this meal, it just happened to be in the hall when I put together the portions :) I often like to use the pre-prepared parts of previous days in new dishes. This way there is less waste.