Tassos® Garlic Stuffed Olive Bread Courtney of Staff of Life

Tassos® prides itself on providing unique products that are artisan, handcrafted quality. It is no surprise then that we work with executive chefs, gourmet restaurants and fine bakers across the country.

Today’s recipe comes from Abbey, the originator and sole producer of all the breads and rolls offered at Staff of Life, a bakery offering a delicious assortment of breads in Virginia.

Abbey has, for several years now, featured Tassos® Garlic Stuffed Olives in her delicious bread and was kind enough to provide us with Staff of Life’s recipe for their ‘Olive Bread.’

Tassos® Olive Bread Courtesy Staff of Life

Ingredients

• 3.5 oz rye flour
• 13.9 oz water
• 19.5 oz flour
• .3 oz instant yeast
• 12 oz Tassos® Garlic Stuffed Olives, drained, well-rinsed and coarsely chopped.
• .3 oz salt

Directions

Mix all ingredients together and knead until smooth and well-developed..  Allow to rise until nearly doubled, divide into two and shape loaves into batards.  Proof until doubled, slash and bake at 475 degrees for 40 minutes.

Many thanks to Abbey at Staff of Life for providing this delicious recipe. Do you have a recipe? Let us know about your recipe that just isn’t the same without Tassos® products?

Tassos and Chef Gaetano Di Benedetto have teamed up to produce a dish that will be served to guests of Chicago Magazine and Northwestern Memorial Hospital‘s charitable event, Summer Lovin’ on Friday, June 17, 2011 from 7:00 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago, IL.

The name of the dish, MARE NOSTRUM – or ‘Our Sea’, was coined by Chef Gaetano and Tassos in reference to the cultural and culinary significance that the Mediterranean Sea has played in both Italian and Greek cuisines.

MARE NOSTRUM - Dish created by Chef Gaetano Di Benedetto using Tassos Ingredients

In creating MARE NOSTRUM, Chef Gaetano masterfully assembled a variety of Tassos’ fine products to create a majestic, Greco-Italian infusion dish, combining grape leaves stuffed with a Tassos Kalamata Olive and goat cheese mousse on top Tassos Sun Dried Tomatoes – lovingly kissed by the Mediterranean Sun. The dish is topped with a delicious, fresh Salmon tartar and dressed with a Tassos Greek Honey with Thyme and yogurt sauce.

Both Tassos and Chef Gaetano are sponsors of the 10th annual Summer Lovin’ event featuring Chicago Magazine’s 20 most eligible singles. Over 1,000 guests are expected to enjoy an evening complete with tasty hors d’oeuvres from more than dozen of the city’s hottest restaurants, an array of signature cocktails, a silent auction, dancing, and much more.

Proceeds from this event will support research and therapies for stroke patients at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. Tickets are $85 in advance (if purchased by June 16) and $95 at the door. For an additional $20, become a Summer Lovin’ VIP

Must be 21 to purchase tickets. Must have proper ID to enter the event.

It was about 9:oo pm Chicago time on a Thursday night, as I entered into Gaetano’s restaurant with my box of Tassos® ingredients. With me I had a host of Tassos® olives, red pepper coulis, several tapenades, sundried tomatoes, extra virgin olive oil, feta cheese stuffed florinas peppers and blue cheese stuffed florinas peppers and who knows what else. I handed the box over to Chef Gaetano and asked, “What you can make with this?”

The Chef and his Kitchen spun off into a frenzy of energy and activity. In no more than 20 minutes, the Chef had created 4 unique dishes, starting with a salmon Carpaccio drizzled with the red pepper coulis, finished with chili and soy oils and finishing with a recipe that will be featured in Bon Appetite’s on-line Recipe box.