Extra virgin olive oil: real goodness in all sauces

Whether sweet or savory, sauces with extra virgin olive oil are principled condiments to flavor and enhance one’s menu. In appetizers, first courses, main courses and side dishes, these simple preparations can help you on any occasion, for chef-proof cooking that draws heavily on the typical Italian tradition of making the most of all that nature has to offer.

This was well known by our grandmothers who once usedEVO oil to prepare delicious dishes and preserve food, relying on their natural vocation for cooking, passed down through the generations, and, above all, relying on little economic means when families were large and inclined to hard daily work.

To prepare a good dressing sauce with extra virgin olive oil, sometimes, it is enough simply to rummage through what we have in the pantry, preferring as a basic ingredient, a first-rate extra virgin olive oil, whose freshness is able to give an irresistible fragrance to the final product. The added value? Besides being good, 100% Italian olive oil also rhymes with health, as you can learn more about in this article on the Mediterranean diet, within the site.

Light béchamel sauce with extra virgin olive oil

With this delicious basic sauce, it is possible to enrich pasta dishes, such as cannelloni, tortellini and baked lasagna, as well as tasty main courses and side dishes of vegetables au gratin. The classic recipe for béchamel sauce with EVO oil calls for a lot of butter, which affects the nutritional content, for those on a cholesterol diet, for example. If, for dietary, animal welfare or health-related reasons, you want to avoid butter, this variation is definitely for you.

Ingredients

500 ml of cow’s milk, which can be substituted with another vegetable

50 ml of EVO olive oil

50 grams of flour ( type 00 or rice flour)

salt to taste.

nutmeg to taste.

Proceed to heat the oil with the flour added a little at a time and stir to prevent lumps from forming. Separately warm the milk, then add it to the mixture, bringing it to a boil and continuing to stir. When done, when a thick, smooth cream has formed, adjust the salt and add grated nutmeg.

Mayonnaise with Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Let’s take a look at the homemade recipe of this very tasty, as well as versatile condiment sauce, with which to delight in the preparation of the best aperitifs and classic recipes handed down by good Italian cuisine.

Ingredients

200 ml extra virgin olive oil

1 whole egg

1 lemon juice or 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar

salt and pepper to taste.

To begin with, have try to use only room-temperature ingredients for the mixture, to prevent it from flaking or not binding at all. Extra virgin oil ensures that the final sauce has a refined and penetrating flavor, so it pays to choose a product of certified quality and freshness. Place the egg yolks in a fairly deep bowl and season with salt and pepper. Add the oil drop by drop, helping with a whisk, until everything is blended, then pour in the lemon always slowly alternating the two liquids.

Fresh tomato sauce with basil and extra virgin olive oil

Fresh tomato sauce with basil is the basic condiment that has made history throughout the Mediterranean par excellence. Let’s see how to make a good recipe with juicy and possibly fresh tomatoes, of the San Marzano or coppery bunch type.

Ingredients

1.2 kg of tomatoes

30 ml of extra virgin olive oil

Fine salt to taste.

Basil 8/10 leaves

Wash the tomatoes, dry them and cut them into two halves, removing the seeds. Cook them in a pot , over low heat and with a lid. When they congeal, pour them into a masher, make the sauce and continue cooking it, with oil, salt and basil, until it reaches the desired consistency.