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Preserving San Marzano Tomatoes

August 11, 2015 by Mary Knight

San Marzano Italian Plum tomatoes are taking over my garden. This bumper crop has inspired me to find creative ways to make them last. After perusing ideas from fellow food lovers and mostly following my gut instinct, the creative juices started to flow. I sorted through the tomatoes and set aside the larger ones for sauce and the smaller ones I designated to dry as in sun dried tomatoes.

Olive oiled,  salt kissed and ready for the oven.
Olive oiled, salt kissed and ready for the oven.

This recipe is easy and the rewards great. The small bite size tidbits are perfect as an appetizer, a salad addition, in pasta or sprinkled over grilled chicken. Warning. After you pull them out of the oven and set them on the stove to cool, you and your family will be tempted to pop them in your mouth as you pass by. This is how my first batch evaporated when my niece first tasted them!

Preheat oven to 200 degrees.

Slice the tomatoes in half lengthwise. Arrange on a parchment lined sheet tray.

Drizzle generously with Basil or Bel Tocco Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Sprinkle with flaky sea salt and place in the oven for about 2 hours. They will shrink to about half their size. Just to spice things up, after the 2 hours, I sprinkled them with finely chopped garlic, optional, and returned them to the oven for another 1/2 hour. If you add the garlic in the beginning, it will get too brown and a bitter taste will result. Cool and store in a tightly sealed container.

The finished product.
The finished product.

I made these last week to take to a paella party as an appetizer and they were a big hit.

Healthy party snacks!
Healthy party snacks!

Filed Under: Appetizers/Antipasto, Recipes, Salads, The Virtuous Olive Blog, Vegetables Tagged With: Basil extra virgin olive oil, Bel Tocco extra virgin olive oil, Galantino extra virgin olive oil, Gluten-free, San Marzano tomatoes, sun dried tomatoes, Vegan, Vegetarian

New Arrivals! New Flavors! New EVOO’s!

June 15, 2015 by Mary Knight

Thank you to all of you olive oil lovers! The Virtuous Olive is off to a great start. Welcome to the new Blog that accompanies this website. I’ll pass along information on new arrivals, specials, coupons and ideas for using the extra virgin olive oils.

Just in is the Affiorato Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Why is this so special? It is the top 2-3% of the freshly ground olive paste oil that rises to the top and is skimmed and bottled before undergoing the cold press process. This is a delicate oil, produced in limited quantities, that enhances with subtle flavor. Use it on mild fish, soft, creamy soups, polenta, leafy greens or as a dipping oil.

Rosemary is one of the new flavored extra virgin olive oils. Because it surprised me with its subtleness, this has quickly become my favorite oil. It has a mild rosemary flavor, and is fabulous drizzled on focaccia, farro, artichokes, potatoes, even on an omelet. Try it and let me know how you use it.

Last year’s harvest was greatly reduced because of Xylella fastidiosa disease, a bacteria carried by the spittlebug that harmed more than one million olive oil trees. For this reason, prices are slightly higher than last but the quality still remains outstanding.

Visit the site to see the new additions, gift pack and even olives!

Grazie!

Mary

 

 

 

 

Filed Under: The Virtuous Olive Blog Tagged With: Affiorato, EVOO, Virtuous Olive Blog

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