"There is the right moment, just before a dish goes to table, to add a drop of pure umami -
this is where a finishing oil comes in..."
Pure South African Extra Virgin Olive Oil - that's all...
Smoked Olive Oil is a finishing oil that delivers a buttery, umami caress - a whisp of smoke that boosts the flavour of the star ingredients... Smoked Olive Oil is not a cooking or 'cook-in' oil - add it right before serving - at most, allow it only enough pan-time to warm through.
Smoked Olive oil is the friend of grilled beef, chicken, and game-birds. It also LOVES fish.
Green vegetables - think asparagus and green beans - shine with a drizzle of SMoked Olive Oil.
Try it with all the Mediterranean herbs - thyme, oreganum, marjoram, and tomatoes of every kind - fresh, roasted, sundried, semi-dried, with seared, sweet red peppers and Mozzarela, Feta and Parmesan. It is also particularly excllent with griddled aubergine and mushrooms...
Make a gourmet Summer snack-salad: Slice a ripe avocado onto a bed of sweet rocket leaves. Top with chopped garlic chives and add a generous sprinkle of pine nuts and shaved Parmesan. Dress with a drizzle of Smoked Olive Oil and Sundried Fig Reduction.
There is a man, who has a smokehouse near the Theewater's Kloof Dam, who know about smoked things, who smokes the oil, using the wood from re-finished wine barrels.
And that is the secret - not too much, not too little - just enough to enchant one's senses.
There is no formula one can write down, no timer one can set - it is all about tasting, testing and 'feeling' the process from start to finish.
