I recently attended a tasting of Greek extra-virgin olive oils hosted by my colleague Pat Tanner, and one of many highlights of the evening was the olive oil gelato she had the Bent Spoon make for our dessert (she provided the olive oil). Mind you, the varied Middle Eastern meze Pat made, which we feasted on after the olive oil tasting but before the dessert, were fantastic, too! (Look out for her upcoming In The Kitchen column about olive oil and the meze in the Packet.)
It wasn’t so much that the gelato tasted like olive oil, it really didn’t, we agreed, but it was just so beautifully creamy and smooth, and delicious, that we quickly succumbed to seconds. It was a huge hit!
What’s up with those olives in the saucer you might wonder?? That is Sweet Olive Topping, olives cooked in lemon and sugar, brought by Esther Luongo Psarakis, proprietor of The Taste of Crete, up in Hillsborough. Esther’s shop also provided the little olive oil cookies you see, which she has specially made for her business. The darker one contains grape must, the lighter one white wine. Perfect dunking cookies, by the way, and not too hard.
By the way, Esther is hosting an Olive Oil Tasting of her own with oils from around the world at Taste of Crete on August 19, 7:00pm. The $20 fee includes a 10% discount on purchases made that evening plus a little gift. Reserve your place ahead, 908-683-2035.
NJ SPICE 