We asked chefs and culinary professionals at our recent Harvest Retreat how they like to use extra virgin olive oil at home. We got some surprising – and creative – responses involving everything from ice cream to oatmeal to fresh vegetables to baked potatoes.
Here are some of them:
Put a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil in the bottom of a bowl. Top it with a nice scoop of good French vanilla ice cream. Sprinkle a bit of coarse sea salt – the coarser the better – on top of the ice cream. Accompany it with a light wafer or cookie. You’ll “die” /be in heaven when you taste it! Robert Jaye, owner of Malibu Olive Co., Malibu, Calif.
I’ll pick green, red, jalapeno and banana peppers from my garden. I’ll slice all four and sauté them in extra virgin olive oil until tender. I’ll add a sliced pepperoncini from a jar along with a tablespoon or two of the juice near the end of cooking. You put that over a grilled pork chop. We call it sweet and sour pork. You get the sweetness of the fresh peppers and the olive oil and the sour of the pepperoncini and its juice. Ed Brylczyk, corporate chef, Dole & Bailey Inc., a Woburn, Mass.-based food company and distributor
I like steel-cut oats with extra virgin olive oil and some freshly grated Parmesan cheese. The cheese melts into the warm oats. I have it for breakfast. It’s also a good side dish.” Liz Tagami, president of Tagami International, an Ashland, Ore.-based firm which serves as a representative and consultant forspecialty food and wine companies.
I take a baked potato, put it in a bowl, mash it up, and douse it with extra virgin olive oil. I then top that with coarse sea salt, chopped chives, and freshly ground pepper. As you eat, add more extra virgin olive oil as needed. Robert Jaye, Malibu Olive Co.
I like to use extra virgin olive oil for everything at home, including sautéing. I do a quick sauté of zucchini in extra virgin olive oil. Add a diced tomato after extracting the tomato’s juice. Add chopped fresh basil to finish and maybe a shave or two of Parmesan. Ed Brylczyk, Dole & Bailey
I use it in place of butter. I roast in it. I poach in it, including salmon and shrimp. I use it for grilling to baste the meat – and a drizzle to finish the meat. Jeff Anderson, chef director of culinary innovation at Safeway Inc.
Even if the only thing you do with EVOO is drink it out of the bottle, we’d love to know about it.
Bon appétit,
Claude S. Weiller
Vice President of Sales & Marketing
California Olive Ranch
