A really really long hiatus and decided to post up a little on the EVOO I bought last Summer at Boston.
It's a really cosy place in Newbury's neighbourhood. Just happen to pass by that shop and thought about picking up some olive oil before I head to New York.
I had tried Principe Pignatelli (not sure if its the name) and I totally love it. The rich herby flowery smell. Too bad...it's long finished. lol
Anyway back to Boston Olive Oil Company. The proprietor happened to be there after a few tasting on which olive oil was closest to the Italian EVOO. After chatting with the guy only I'd found out there are season for olive oils. Different for both the northern hemisphere and southern hemisphere. Olive oils produced in Europe are best consumed during their harvest season which is around beginning of the year. While olive oils from Australia is best consumed towards the end of the year as their harvest season is during end of the year.
So this means, you wouldn't want to buy Italian EVOO during end of the year because it wouldn't be fresh anymore. The EVOO featured in the picture is Hoji Blanca. The company's award winning EVOO from Australia in 2011. Although it lacked the intensity of Pignatelli's EVOO, you can still taste the smoothness, fresh, grassy with a hint of flower.
They have loads of EVOO in there, and last year they have some new comers. And they do have a range of balsamic vinegar as well.
Back in my small Penang island, I have concocted a simple salad using the EVOO. Super simple.
Basically, you can have anything in there. What I have here is:
Salad Base
Butterhead lettuce (tear apart if the leaves is too big, bite size would be good)
Chopped red tomatoes
Chopped pear (the big round juicy korean/china pears)
Dressing
St. Dalfour apricot jam. (1 1/2 tablespoon, you can replace with Stonewall Kitchen's)
Boston Olive Oil Company's Hoji Blanca (depending how much you want)
Cheddar cheese
Put together the dressing ingredients (oil and jam only) into a salad bowl and mix them well. Then add in all the salad base ingredients and cheese. Cheddar cheese works best some how. Finally mix and toss everything together.
The smell is just amazing. I kept the olive oil for quite sometime and thought the smell has gone. When I mixed the oil and jam, the 'fresh' smell just came back.
No balsamic vinegar, slight sweetness and slight salty cheese makes an appetizing summer salad.
Enjoy!
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