The Fat Gold Recipe Stockpile
In our guide to extra virgin olive oil, we discuss some general principles for storing and cooking with your olive oil. Here’s a stockpile of specific ideas to get you going, divided into the simple, the sweet, the savory, and, for the adventurous: special projects. –Robin
SIMPLE
Hard-cooked eggs
Hard-cooked eggs topped with extra virgin olive oil and salt.
That’s it. That’s the recipe.
Fat Gold HQ house dressing
No salad has been prepared at Fat Gold HQ in the past five years that has not included this dressing. It’s easy, quick, versatile, and delicious:
Squeeze the juice of two lemons into a small bowl or measuring cup.
Drizzle in your Fat Gold, whisking with a small whisk or (let’s be practical) a fork. Here at HQ, we eyeball the amount, aiming for equal parts olive oil and lemon juice. That’s a pretty tangy dressing, which we like, but you can always add a bit more olive oil.
Then, add some flaky salt and a twist of black pepper. Done!
You can embellish the dressing with herbs—fresh chives or dried oregano—or a dollop of mustard. Just mix it in with the fork, then lick it clean.
Popcorn
Here it is: the secret to perfect stovetop popcorn.
First, measure out half a cup of kernels.
Then, splash some Fat Gold liberally in a pot. Turn on the heat, medium-high. Drop two or three kernels into the oil.
Wait. When those kernels pop, you know your oil is ready to go! Take the pot off the heat, quickly dump in the remaining kernels, put the lid on, and shake the whole pot while counting to ten. Don’t rush!
Then, put the pot back on the heat, turning it down to medium. The kernels will soon start popping, and if you’re attentive, you can achieve popcorn perfection: neither a single kernel left unpopped nor a single piece singed.
In a paper bag, drizzle your popcorn with more Fat Gold, add salt, shake, serve, and enjoy!
The pizza drizzle
Here’s a fun thing to do: drizzle olive oil on your pizza.
Homemade or takeout, fancy or basic, it doesn’t matter. Add the oil slice by slice, as you’re eating. Not TOO much… but not too little, either. And if some of the oil pools on your plate, all the better, because you can swab it up with the last bite of crust. Then, on to the next slice.
Fat Gold Standard in particular is amazing this way; maybe that’s no surprise, given the frantoio olive’s heritage. Robust Italian dishes demand robustness in return, and frantoio stands up to them with its structure, its balance of bitter and spicy. It is the ideal accompaniment for any kind of pizza or pasta, always delicious with cooked tomato sauce. And, of course, frantoio is a fine addition to the sauce itself, if you’re making it at home.
Everyday toast
In the morning, I mostly eat toast. Sometimes it’s avocado toast, sometimes it’s peanut butter toast, but it’s always finished with a sprinkle of sea salt and a THICK layer of Fat Gold. Kathryn isn’t quite such a toast fiend, and when she does eat it, hers is a little different: a spread of tahini, a drizzle of honey, a glug of Fat Gold.
This breakfast is easy to prepare, reliably appealing, and, most importantly, it “sets me up right” for the day. For most of my adult life, breakfast has transitioned reliably into a kind of “lunch emergency.” Now, I sometimes don’t think about food until midway through the afternoon, and I credit the staying power of olive oil (along with avocado, or peanut butter) for that feeling.
Crudo
Years ago, we went to a fancy spot in Manhattan specializing in Italian seafood. We didn’t bother with the scallops or the branzino baked in salt. No, we only had eyes for the crudo menu: raw slivers of fish, each different kind drenched in an olive oil that had been chosen carefully to match.
This is one of our favorite things on the planet. The fish is the key, of course: it must be super fresh. Slice it thin, douse it with olive oil, and finish it with flaky salt.
SWEET
Summer fruit
A customer sent us a message saying she had discovered the pleasure of Fat Gold drizzled on fresh apricots. As luck would have it, our neighbor has a humongous apricot tree that reaches into our yard. So, Kathryn picked a few and, WOW, yes, this is a great combination.
Try drizzling some oil over sliced apricots, peaches, or nectarines. Kathryn often has this for dessert, sometime garnished by chopped mint or basil. She calls it a fruit sundae.
In the part of summer when the seasons for peaches and tomatoes overlap, there’s nothing better than procuring an equal number of each, slicing them into bite-sized chunks, adding a bit of torn-up mind or basil, even some red onion, and tossing everything in Fat Gold—no other dressing needed. These seasons overlap only briefly, so you have to be ready to pounce!
Dried fruit
Once, after a long day of bottling, we stopped for a snack on the airy patio of a little wine bar. Kathryn ordered a glass of prosecco; I had a California pinot noir. We also ordered one of the bar’s appetizers, an offering of prosciutto, parmesan, dried fruit, and bread.
Kathryn dashed back to the car to retrieve a dented tin of the oil we’d just bottled, a picual-arbequina blend, and we doused the entire plate with it. We realized, in that moment, that we’d been so busy packaging this batch that we hadn’t really stopped to enjoy it.
The oil went particularly well with the fruit: dried apples, apricots, prunes.
Winter fruit salad
This couldn’t be simpler or more delicious: just combine fresh greens, toasted almonds, and thinly sliced persimmons or apples or a handful of pomegranate seeds. Dress it with Fat Gold and a squeeze of lemon (or lime!) juice, or the Fat Gold HQ house dressing.
Citrus salad
You can also go for citrus. Try segments of orange and grapefruit tossed with extra virgin olive oil and sea salt, with or without thin slices of shallot or red onion. You might also mix in sliced avocado and herbs; tarragon would be lovely, or mint.
Alternatively, toss in some sliced fennel and cured black olives and maybe a pinch of crushed red pepper. Bulk it up with arugula or shredded cabbage.
Chocolate
It should be MUCH better known that robust olive oil and bitter chocolate are amazing partners.
Get a pint of chocolate ice cream, scoop some out into a small bowl, and drizzle it with Fat Gold, adding a bit of flaky salt to finish. The weirder that sounds to you right now, the more delicious it’s going to be when you try it.
You might also take a peek at Nigella Lawson’s chocolate olive oil cake.
If you’re not feeling fancy, you can always take a box of brownie mix and simply use Fat Gold instead of vegetable oil. Instant upgrade.
SAVORY
Pot o’ beans
You try to escape it. You try to outsmart it. But in the end, nothing is ever as perfect and satisfying an application of extra virgin olive oil as the pot o’ beans.
Start with any kind of dried bean—cannellini or cranberry beans are easy to find; soak them or don’t, your choice—and toss in a handful of whole, peeled garlic cloves. Cover them in water and simmer until the beans are soft. Then, dress them simply with salt and Fat Gold.
Tomato on tomato
Sometimes, you’ll get your hands on an olive oil that smells pungently of tomato and/or tomato leaf. We recommend using oils of this kind on, yes: tomatoes.
If they’re in season, snag some tomatoes, cut them into slices, drizzle with olive oil, and finish with flaky salt.
Herb salad
A more aromatic olive oil—think of picual—can fit into a terrific salad. Mix soft herbs (parsley, cilantro, dill, mint, basil, chives—whatever you’ve got) with a few handfuls of lettuce, arugula, or spinach. Dress them with lots of olive oil and little coarse salt. That’s perfect as-is, but you can embellish it with some crumbled cheese or toasted nuts.
Kathryn’s roasted ‘shrooms
Here is one of our staple side dishes:
Start with your choice of mushrooms; we like maitake, oyster, or brown mushrooms, broken or sliced into bite-sized pieces. Toss them with equal parts Fat Gold and soy sauce, then roast them at 375 degrees F, until they have reached your desired crispiness.
Lentil soup with (or without) Italian sausage
Start with a mirepoix and a couple of garlic cloves sauteed in Fat Gold.
Add leeks and/or some fresh fennel to the mix, if you can get them.
Next, you could add diced bacon or pancetta, but Kathryn recommends crumbling in some of your favorite Italian sausage. Or, to keep it all-veg, drop in some mushrooms, fresh or dried. This is also a good time to use up hearty herbs like rosemary, thyme, sage, and marjoram.
Then, add a cup of lentils and a quart of stock—or plain old water—and don’t forget the salt. Simmer until the lentils are tender, then puree the soup or leave it chunky—your choice.
Taste your soup, make sure it’s well-seasoned, and finally, after scooping it into bowls, finish each serving with a healthy stripe of Fat Gold.
Springtime green pasta
Toss cooked pasta, farro, or quinoa with the first green things of the season: chopped and sauteed asparagus and green garlic. Add some grated parmesan, a dose of Fat Gold, and call it done.
Roasted cauliflower
Toss cauliflower florets or chunks of sweet potato with Fat Gold, then salt and roast them at 350 degrees F for 30-40 minutes, or until you can pierce them easily with a fork.
This is a can’t-lose situation; no vegetable has ever been slathered in olive oil and roasted and emerged anything but delicious.
Marinated feta
A while back, Kathryn stopped by Harley Goat Farms in Pescadero, just south of the Bay Area, and she came home with fresh goat feta. We ate half of it immediately. To prolong the shelf life of what remained, Kathryn cut the cheese into cubes, packed them into a small jar, and covered them in Fat Gold, adding a few smashed garlic cloves and whole dried chilis, plus a sprig of oregano.
Kathryn used this technique to preserve our fancy feta; it would also work to enhance any fresh cheese (goat chevre or mozzarella, for example). Use the cheese just as you would have otherwise—enjoying the extended longevity and expanded flavor—and when it’s gone (this is the real trick) use the oil as a salad dressing, or for dipping, or in any situation where you’d use olive oil. It’s just that much more flavorful!
Robin’s steak manifesto
You want to know how to cook a steak? Here’s how to cook a steak.
First, salt it and let it sit. Get your cast-iron pan cooking; let it hang out on medium-high heat for a while, to make sure it’s deeply and evenly heated. Put a bit of Fat Gold in there, then flop down your steak. Enjoy the sound. Flip it a few times, testing often with a meat thermometer. I find that lowering a big metal pot lid over the pan is helpful to the cooking process. Remember that it will continue to cook a bit after you take it out of the pan, too.
When the steak is cooked and rested and plated, slather it with olive oil. Not a little bit, either; forget that “drizzle” business. Not even a stripe is enough. This must be a cape! And it is going to transform your steak-eating experience.
It did mine, years ago, on a night when I was home alone, cooking just for myself. I still remember it fondly. (There might not have been any vegetables involved.) Now, no steak is complete without Fat Gold.
Kathryn’s ratatouille revelation
Kathryn had never been impressed with a ratatouille. In fact, she could have described her ratatouille experiences with one word: meh. She’d also never made it herself.
One September, we were gifted zucchini, tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant, and the clock was ticking; the peppers were getting wrinkly. Ratatouille would use it all in one go! The squash and eggplant were thinly sliced, the sweet peppers cut into strips (augmented with one lonely jalapeño found in the fridge), and it was all slathered in olive oil with hefty pinches of salt.
An onion was sliced thick and tossed with a bit of garlic; more salt and olive oil. Kathryn roasted it all in the oven on baking sheets—several were necessary for the whole batch—but in separate piles, so the vegetables could be removed as they turned golden brown and began to crisp on the edges. For example, Kathryn cut the zucchini thin, so it browned the quickest, while the onions took their sweet (caramelized) time.
Once all the vegetables were brown and beautiful, she mixed them together with chopped tomato, a little more garlic, and salt. Then, the mixed-up veg went back on a baking sheet, drizzled with, yes, more olive oil, and baked for another hour. The result blew Kathryn’s mind.
The individual ingredients were barely recognizable; they had formed a rich, silky, savory mess that was much more than the sum of its parts. Kathryn loosely followed Melissa Clark’s recipe, but you can probably use any recipe you come across, as long as you follow these guidelines:
- Do not skimp on the salt
- Do not skimp on the olive oil
- Do not use crappy olive oil
Kathryn is now convinced that ratatouille is an olive oil dish more than it is a vegetable dish.
SPECIAL PROJECTS
The Fat Gold Martini
Stir or shake with ice and serve. Garnish with a lemon peel or… an olive.
Olive oil-washed gin or vodka
“Fat washing” booze is a thing. It’s basically infusing a spirit with the flavor of a fat, such as olive oil! It also lends the spirit “body,” so to speak. This recipe is for infusing a whole bottle, but you can scale your batches up or down: 1 oz oil to 150 ml spirit.
Mix it. Combine the spirit with Fat Gold in a mason jar with a tight lid. Shake it. Leave it at room temperature for 4 to 5 hours. The oil will float to the top.
Freeze it. Overnight, the oil will solidify at the top of the jar, but the alcohol below will not freeze. Remove the lid and break up the solid oil to get to the infused spirit, which you can then strain into a clean bottle or jar.
Use it! Try this new Fat Gold-infused spirit in your favorite cocktail recipe, or just mix it with soda or tonic. Kathryn loves olive oil-washed vodka in a bloody mary.