Picking the right olive oil can really elevate your cooking

Experts explain how to choose – and taste – this versatile and essential ingredient, which can make or break a dish.

Cosimo Danese, the head chef at BiCE, is brimming with knowledge of olive oil. Antonie Robertson / The National
Powered by automated translation

If you’re not a chef from Italy, you may not give much thought to the olive oil in your kitchen. But indifference about olive oil is a culinary mistake worth fixing.

“If I had to choose just one ingredient, I’d choose olive oil,” says Cosimo Danese, the Italian head chef at BiCE Ristorante at the Hilton Dubai Jumeirah Resort. “I couldn’t work without it. It’s very important. It gives great taste to the food. You don’t need to add anything else to the dish.”

But all olive oil is not created equal. Danese says it’s important to always use extra-virgin olive oil. It’s higher quality and superior in taste to all other olive oils (virgin olive oil is lower in quality but still ranks well in taste). Stay away from refined olive oil, often labelled simply as “olive oil” or “pure olive oil”.

You can find good extra-virgin olive oil in a hypermarket, but Danese says you need to know what to look for.

“If it doesn’t list the region on the bottle, then it’s probably a blend. That’s no good,” he says. “That just means they got the olives from all over. There’s no quality control. You want to know exactly where the olives come from and what kind of olives are used.”

The varieties

Different countries and regions produce different olives. Understanding the characteristics of the olives in a region can help you select the right olive oil for what you’re cooking. For example, southern Italy produces olives with a strong flavour, while olives from the North are milder.

The olive-oil expert Stephanie Lerouge, a regional buyer at Eataly in Dubai, says olive oil should be tasted on its own, like any other ingredient. “Our Eataly staff will take the time to do a tasting with you so you can learn all the information about the characteristics of the olive oil,” she says.

Danese also wants to educate consumers, and he and his team at BiCE are doing their part. Their signature olive-oil trolley passes through the restaurant every night, featuring more than a dozen options from different regions of Italy.

How to choose the right oil

There are some rules when it comes to pairing olive oil with food. Danese says olive oils with fruity flavours should be used with fish to boost the mild flavour.

Olive oils with strong herbs, such as rosemary and thyme, are best with meat.

When dressing a salad, Danese sticks to mild olive oil. The mild option is also best to cook with, as heat intensifies the flavour of the oil.

Danese also says it’s important to know when – and when not – to use olive oil. For example, a Wagyu steak should never be marinated with olive oil as it masks the natural flavour of the meat.

Lerouge says: “You should have two types of extra-virgin olive oil in your kitchen: one with a delicate and soft taste to pour on dishes such as fish, salads and mozzarella, and another more fruity and robust one to pour on pasta, meat or raw ingredients.”

Burrata cheese on courgette carpaccio, by Cosimo Danese

Ingredients

600g green courgette

½ tsp dried oregano

½ tsp salt

50ml balsamic cream (available at Lulu’s)

100ml olive oil*

100g wild rocket leaves

250g cherry tomatoes

400g burrata cheese

50g wild mushrooms, sautéed in advance

20g torn fresh basil leaves

Method

Finely slice the courgette along the long side of the vegetable.

Grill for one minute on both sides and place on the plate to serve.

Dust with oregano and salt, drizzle the balsamic cream and then the olive oil evenly over the courgette.

Place a small bunch of rocket leaves, cherry tomatoes and the sautéed mushrooms on the top of the courgette.

Add the burrata cheese and fresh basil leaves on the rocket and tomato salad.

Once dressed, the dish must be served as soon as possible.

*The olive oil used here is a frozen oil available for purchase at BiCE. Alternatively, you can use a mild-flavoured, herb-infused (basil or oregano) extra-virgin olive oil.