The olive harvest is my second favorite time of the year at Quinta do Tedo, following close on the heels of the adrenalin-infused grape harvest. When we harvest our grapes in September, our olives start to shine and pop in color – a reminder that they are next in line!
Our olive harvest starts in November and sometimes even goes into December. That’s later than Tuscany’s perhaps more historically illustrious October olive harvest, which renders a more piquant, unfiltered oil style meant for immediate consumption. In Douro, we look for a more food-friendly and durable olive oil.
The pace of our olive harvest is slower than our grape harvest, due to terrain and the predictable November rains that interrupt olive picking. Unlike our grapevines, which are in line formation and need deeper soils to thrive, our olive trees polkadot our steeper, more uneven terraces and thrive in challenging, schist rock-dominated areas with less soil.
It takes time to lay down the nets since the terrain is so steep. More often than not, the nets are propped up with branches to create a basket-like receiving area and we “hit” the trees with long sticks; the mature olives fall easily into our nets.
Whereas our grapes are vinified into Port and Douro DOC wines sur place at Quinta do Tedo, our olives, coming from our 800+ estate trees of an average 50+ years of age, with a few hundred centenarian trees, are transported to and pressed at an organic olive mill in nearby Vila Real, Agrifiba.
Agrifiba’s state-of-the-art facilities are suitable for small, producer-specific pressings and transform our traditional varietals – cordovil, verdeal, carrasquenha, and molerinha - into cold-pressed, Extra Virgin Olive Oil that is fruity, peppery and soft.
Full in the mid-mouth, with a persistent finish and not too pungent, our Extra Virgin Olive Oil makes for a perfect salad dressing, and is great for cooking and enhancing any dish with a drizzle before bringing to the table.
We are proud to uphold traditions in our local olive variety selection, harvest methods and pick dates. With customers from all over the world head-over-heels for our uniquely smooth, bold and food-friendly olive oil, we rest assured there’s no better way than the traditional Douro way to produce our olive oil!
A Bouchard Family favorite Extra Virgin Olive Oil use comes in dessert form - mais pourquoi pas combined with our estate oranges and almonds to pair with a glass of Tawny Port, accentuating its aged nutty and orange peel nuances?
Our Extra Virgin Olive Oil shines in this rustic yet elegant, and rich yet bright Orange Olive Oil Cake recipe - to test and share this winter.
Olive Oil, Orange, Almond-Polenta Cake
Cake
2 oranges, preferably organic
½ lemon, zest and juice, preferably organic
200g (2 c) ground almonds
120g (3/4 c) polenta
5g (1 tsp) baking powder
4g (¾ tsp) salt
3 eggs
225g (1¼ c) sugar
225ml (1 c) olive oil
Syrup
100g (½ c) sugar
½ lemon, juiced
½ orange, juiced
30ml (2 tbsp) water
Pinch of salt
Preparation
Place oranges in a boiling pan of water, simmer gently for 30 minutes half-covered with a lid or aluminum foil. Remove from water and cool slightly.
Quarter the orange and remove seeds, then transfer to a blender or food processor, add lemon juice and zest, and blend until smooth.
Preheat the oven to 180C / 350F. Grease a 23-cm (9-inch) cake pan or loaf pan and line bottom with parchment paper.
Combine ground almonds, polenta, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Beat eggs and sugar in a separate bowl until pale (3-4 minutes). Drizzle in olive oil slowly in a steady stream while beating the egg-sugar mixture. Once combined, add orange purée and whisk.
Gently fold dry ingredients into wet until smooth and pour batter into the prepared pan.
Bake 55-60 minutes or until the surface bounces back with a gentle poke, leaving no indent.
Prepare syrup while the cake cools. Combine sugar, orange and lemon juice, water, and salt in a pan. Bring to a boil and stir until sugar dissolves. Let cool 15 minutes.
Use a toothpick to poke 15-20 holes into cake’s surface and drizzle syrup evenly over. Let absorb into cake and cool slightly before inverting onto plate.
Slice and serve with slightly-sweetened whipped cream or crème fraiche dusted with orange zest and, of course, a glass of Quinta do Tedo Fine, 10 YR, 20 YR or Colheita 2005 Tawny Port - a match made in heaven!
~ Bom apetit, Kay & Odile Bouchard