Bonnie: I just like the flavor of smoke, real smoke. That smoky flavor just intensifies the taste of food. It’s why I grill all winter long, other than when the snow is so deep I can’t open my back door to get to the grill. Those of you experiencing the snow of this winter know that means I didn’t get to my grill much. In fact, the snow remains so deep I still can’t grill.
But that won’t keep me from adding a smoky flavor to my food, because I’ve discovered The Smoked Olive’s naturally wood-smoked, extra-virgin olive oils.
“We use the freshest, award-winning, extra-virgin olive oil,” explains Al Hartman, president of The Smoked Olive. “It is premium; we’ve advanced the olive oil to another level.”
Chef Tyler Florence thinks so, too. He thinks it’s genius, one of the sexiest flavors he’s come across in years. But Tyler’s recipe for grilled calamari on The Smoked Olive oil site is ridiculous — it wastes 1 cup of the fabulous oil to marinate 1 pound of cleaned calamari, and then discards the oil. After I learned that he also sold the oil in his kitchen shop in Mill Valley, CA, his recipe made sense: Move more oil!
His wastefulness aside, there are numerous uses for this oil to add a smoky background to food. Some ideas include:
- drizzling over a finished dish — meats, chicken, seafood, soups, roasted veggies or potatoes
- adding to dips or marinades
- using as part of a marinade (but not in the ridiculous amounts described above!)
- sautéing meats, chicken, seafood, veggies
- using as some or all of the oil in a salad dressing
One of my favorite smoky dishes to make when I can get to my grill is grilled asparagus served with a spicy mayo.
To give that smoky flavor with out the grill, preheat the oven to 475 degrees F. Rinse asparagus, break off and discard tough ends and spread asparagus on a baking pan that has sides. Drizzle with the smoked oil and sprinkle with salt. Cook about 6 to 8 minutes until asparagus is tender and begins to brown. If desired, drizzle with additional oil.
And once the snow melts, grill the asparagus on a vegetable rack, about 5 to 7 minutes, turning occasionally until asparagus softens.
Serve either with some mayonnaise combined with lemon zest, fresh lemon juice and cayenne pepper to taste, or drizzle with some smoked olive oil.
Bryan: Oh, you can really taste the smoke. That was my reaction. I actually said it aloud as I didn’t really know what to expect when tasting smoked olive oil. In fact, it’s a bit difficult to explain the taste without some context. Think olive oil, but rich and viscous; a good fresh-pressed olive oil with some green color. Now think about a fireplace, but not up close, not warm and inside, but that kind of fire you can smell in the distance on a cold, snowy night. They’re each wonderful sensations on their own, and when combined they are confusing at first, but linger wonderfully on the palate. When you take these sensations and combine them into a dipping medium for good crusty bread, they’re simply transcendent.
The Smoked Olive smokes olive oil. Sounds simple, doesn’t it? Well, it’s terribly not simple. There are almost no companies making smoked olive oil while The Smoked Olive offers three varieties: Sonoma (a bold smoky flavor with a subtle olive finish), Napa (a light smoky flavor with a robust olive finish) and Santa Fe Chili (a blend of smoke and heat).
So, there are umpteen high-quality, ultra-premium, boutique, extra-virgin olive oils you can buy at Whole Foods. Heck, we’ve written about a few ourselves; because there are more than a few great olive oils out there, it’s a foodie’s world! Well this is another oil, and a truly special one. The complex smoky flavor of the oils is not common. Outside of a random competitor I found from a small village in Japan, you won’t see too many olive oil smokers out there. The scarcity is at least part of the reason the husband and wife team behind these amazing smoked oils has a patent pending on their natural wood-smoking process. You would, too, if you figured out how to smoke without exposing the oil to heat, air or light.
If a touch of smoke is your thing, this is your thing. I like smoke, and have written about it before. I find it adds a new dimension to ingredients and dishes. Try smoked olive oils drizzled over steaks, sautéed with your seafood, or roasted with your vegetables. It almost tastes as if it were cooked over a campfire.
Methinks they need to smoke some truffle oil next, and methinks I’d like a bottle! 🙂
Eric: Yes, it’s oil. How unique can it possibly be, it’s oil. Cooking oil has been used for centuries (I’m not necessarily a scholar, so I can’t quote the exact time frame), and for good reason. Oil is a “healthier” fat than the alternative – butter – containing high levels of polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats, as well as a degree of vitamin E. It’s an amazingly diverse product that has worked it’s way into the majority of cooking cultures.
So how is this particular oil different? The Smoked Olive, the company behind the Original Sonoma Smoked Olive Oil, incorporated a subtle “smoky” flavor into the oil, producing a naturally “richer” oil that is a complement for marinades, salads and dips. If you’re a Scotch fan (like myself), this oil is comparable to the Islay Scotches — rich and peaty. This is certainly not your everyday oil, but one to enjoy on an occasion where the grill is fired up and a great summer night awaits….
If you are like me, you’re always looking for that special ingredient to make everyone wonder why ‘it’ tastes so good.
This smoked olive oil is ‘it’.
An ingredient this unique, versatile and flavorful (not to mention healthy) only comes along once in a long while. I found it quite by accident at a local farmers market, and I haven’t been able to put it down since. Once everyone finds out about this rich, buttery, smoke-full olive oil, the gig will be up. But, until then you have the jump on everyone else.
What can I do with it….you ask? Let your mind, and your taste buds wander — you are only limited by your imagination. This time of year I use it on soups to provide that rich, deep, smooth flavor that makes it taste like it was cooked on an open wood fire. Drizzled over pizza off the pizza stone hot from the oven, mixed in a mayo aioli with pepper for artichokes or ??, over rice or chinese leftovers…mmmm. Risotto, over grilled shrimp,etc. I like the Sonoma, as it has a bit more punch…but I’m partial to the Santa Fe as well. Remember though, this is a topping and extra virgin olive oil is not for high temp cooking.
As one who has travelled the world, I was initially afraid the quality of the olive oil would disappoint me in this product. Green, young (and often bitter) olive oils are for the uninitiated. Rich, golden, full bodied EVOO with that earthy flavor is hard to find. There is real art in blending olive oil, not unlike wine. Don’t know where these guys get their oil, but it is top notch.
My advice, pick some up before your friends do and let them try and guess what ‘it’ is…just don’t tell them ALL what ‘it’ is, or my gig will soon be up too!