Best Ways to Utilize Italian Olive Oil in Home Cooking

Olive oil was once a driving force of life in the Mediterranean, a source of wealth and power. Today Olive Oil is a staple in the American home. The best ways to utilize Italian Olive Oil in your home with cooking.

Since my area is just beginning to open back up, I have been home for the past year working on sharpening my cooking skills. My sauces and gravies are at an all-time peak right now! Recently I was able to attend an online event, Flavor Your Life Virtual Influencer Event, and pick up some great information about the uses of Italian Olive Oil and a cooking demonstration.

Disclosure: MomsMeets provided free samples of these products for review purposes and compensation with Flavor Your Life. My opinions are my own.

I was really excited about the cooking lesson because it was a short online cooking class with an Italian Chef, Riccardo Zanni. He presented how to cook three different risotto recipes. A Saffron Risotto, a Risotto with Sicilian Sausage and Broccoli, and a Risotto Salad with Zucchini and Cherry Tomatoes. To be completely honest, I am very intimidated by risotto. I always think of all the cooking shows on television and eliminated contestants who always get the boot after making risotto. However, with a few tips from Chef Zanni, I’m hoping I can finally master risotto!

About Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Who better to tell anyone about olive oil than an organic chemist? An olive oil expert, Alissa Mattei, has a great passion for really great olive oil. I can’t even imagine how amazingly wonderful her palate is to distinguish the differences between all the olive oils her tongue gets to taste in her region of Tuscany. She knows olive oil inside out and molecules up. Mattei has spent her career studying the nutritional, chemical, and physical attributes, and all other aspects of olive oils.

Olive oil is extracted from the fruit of the olive tree and can be consumed without any refining process. However, most people don't care for the taste of unrefined olive oil. In addition, the oil is volatile but very fragrant in taste and smell. So many things affect how great olive oil can be, fruit ripening, collecting methods, storage conditions, extraction methods, the soil, and even the grower’s heritage. Olive oil goes through a process to reduce the bitterness flavor and make it more palatable to people. This is where Alissa Mattei’s expertise comes in. She tases the oil after filtration to determine composition and value.

She looks for three attributes when tasting extra virgin olive oil: fruity, bitterness, and pungency. These are the three attributes that we should also be looking for when making olive oil purchases at our local grocers. It is always best to go for a high-quality olive oil like a great Italian Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Le Stagioni d’Italia EVO.

Le Stagioni D’Italia

Le Stagioni D’Italia Italian Extra Virgin Olive Oil is 100% Italian Extra Virgin Olive Oil that is the first cold-pressed olive oil from the first round of extraction of fresh, intact olives. It is never heated during processing, so it retains its full nutritional value. This EVOO has a robust flavor of an artichoke and an almond, with a medium bitter and spicy aftertaste, as well as a green, ripe, fruity aroma with a leafy feel. (note, the three attributes are all there!)

Purchasing the right olive oil is crucial. Keep in mind that there are three grades of olive oil — refined, virgin, and extra virgin. Extra virgin olive oil is the least processed and has the best fatty acids and antioxidants that provide powerful health benefits to our bodies. We need those healthy antioxidants and fats!

Did you know that Extra Virgin Olive Oil in your local grocers is passing off anything but real EVOO? The middle man and restaurants do this as well, frequently add another substance, typically an inferior oil, to the good olive oil. Sadly, about 50 % of the olive oil sold in our nations is, to some degree, fraudulent.

About Flavor Your Life

The Flavor Your Life campaign aims to educate North American consumers about authentic extra virgin olive oil from Europe. Flavor Your Live is empowering consumers by educating them about the rich history and delicious properties that these oils display—and sharing the delicious extra virgin olive oil culinary culture that’s been harvested in Europe for generations.

I learned so much about Olive Oils and it was a great online event. I used my Le Stagioni D’Italia Italian Extra Virgin Olive Oil for dinner and made Roasted Carrots and Pan Seared Chicken.

ROASTED CARROTS

Ingredients

• 2 bags of carrots (I used 1 bag of carrots & 1 bag of colorful carrots)

• 2-4 TBSP of Le Stagioni D’Italia Italian Extra Virgin Olive Oil

• Salt & Pepper

• 2 TBSP Brown Sugar

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400 F. Peel and slice the carrots into matchstick portions. Drizzle the EVOO over the carrots and mix with your hands to saturate all the carrots. Salt & Pepper to taste. Crumble the brown sugar over the carrots. Place in the oven for 45-60 minutes - depending on your oven.

PAN-SEARED CHICKEN

Ingredients

• 2 Large Chicken Breasts

• 4 TBSP Flour

• 3 Eggs, beaten

• 1 C Italian Bread Crumbs

• 1/2 C Parmesan Cheese

• 3 TBSP finely chopped Sun-Dried Tomatoes

• 3 Garlic Cloves, grated

• 4-6 TBSP of Le Stagioni D’Italia Italian Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Instructions

1. Place chicken in plastic bags and pound out to a flat form.

2. Place flour in a separate shallow dish.

3. Grate garlic, and finely chop the sun-dried tomatoes (can be done in a food processor), add to the bread crumbs. Transfer to a shallow dish. Add the parmesan cheese and mix gently to incorporate everything.

4. Place beaten eggs in a third shallow dish.

5. Dredge both sides of the chicken in flour, then dip into the eggs, covering completely. Then place in crumb mixture and pat onto both sides (I use a heavier coating).

6. Heat Le Stagioni D’Italia Italian Extra Virgin Olive Oil in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.

7. Saute chicken until golden and flip carefully.