Surprising Ways to Use Extra Virgin Olive Oil: Including Ice Cream
Share
Like most people, I used to think olive oil — especially the good stuff — was for salads and final drizzles. You know, the fancy bottle you keep on the counter and use sparingly because it cost more than wine.
Then I started actually tasting oils that had personality. And traveling. And asking questions to people who've spent their entire lives around olive groves.
The thing about really good olive oil is that you can enjoy it in so many different ways. I'll never forget, many years ago, when I asked my friend and mentor — someone who's been working in olive oil production for the past 20 years in Seville and is an often-invited jury member for international olive oil awards — what her favorite olive oil recipe was. She smiled and said: early harvest Hojiblanca on vanilla ice cream.
I thought she was messing with me. She wasn't. That moment changed everything. Because if you can put olive oil on ice cream and have it taste that good, then what else have we been getting wrong?
Since then I have been playing with three varieties that show very different personalities, Picual, Arbequina and Hojiblanca, and using them in ways that would have sounded ridiculous to me a few years ago.
Good extra virgin olive oil is not decoration, it is an ingredient. Once you treat it that way, your food changes.
Picual, the bold one
Picual is intense, green, bitter and peppery, the kind of oil that makes your throat tingle. If you are used to flat supermarket oil, the first taste is a surprise, then it becomes addictive.
My favourite strange use is with ice cream. Take good chocolate or vanilla, add a generous drizzle of Picual and a pinch of flaky salt. The bitterness of the oil links with the chocolate, the peppery finish cuts through the cream, and suddenly you understand why people put extra virgin olive oil on desserts.
On the savoury side, Picual turns a simple pasta into a real dish. Cook garlic gently in plenty of oil, add chili, toss with spaghetti and a bit of cooking water, finish with parsley and lemon zest. The oil is the main flavour, everything else is supporting cast.
Arbequina, the gentle one
If Picual is a shot of espresso, Arbequina is a very good flat white.
Arbequina is soft and buttery, with gentle fruit and a little sweetness. It is the oil I use when I want comfort and richness rather than intensity.
It is perfect for olive oil ice cream. Make a simple vanilla base, whisk in Arbequina before churning, then serve with honey, pistachios and a pinch of salt. People do not say “this tastes like olive oil”, they just ask what you added.
In savoury dishes, Arbequina loves raw vegetables and citrus. A shaved fennel and orange salad, with mint, toasted nuts, sea salt and a generous drizzle of Arbequina, tastes clean and bright, but also quietly luxurious.
Hojiblanca, the balanced one
Hojiblanca lives in the middle, not too strong, not too shy. It is often grassy, a bit almond like, with a smooth finish, which makes it very easy to use.
It works beautifully in panna cotta. Whisk Hojiblanca into the cream base before it sets, chill, then serve with strawberries, basil and a little balsamic. The oil makes the dessert richer and more interesting without feeling heavy.
The same balance works in simple savoury food. White bean soup finished with a squeeze of lemon and a spoon of Hojiblanca on top tastes fresher and lighter, grilled peaches with burrata, rocket and Hojiblanca feel like summer on a plate with almost no effort.
What this taught me
A few simple lessons stayed with me.
Good extra virgin olive oil only makes sense if you actually use it, not if you guard it.
Different oils have different jobs, Picual for boldness, Arbequina for softness, Hojiblanca for balance.
Desserts and simple plates are often the best place to start, ice cream, cake, panna cotta, grilled fruit, soups, late night pasta.
If you want to try something new, start with vanilla ice cream, a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and a pinch of sea salt. Taste it, then decide how brave you want to be with that bottle on your counter.
And if you are curious to explore more, at Olivarium we choose extra virgin olive oils precisely for this, to be used generously, enjoyed fully and shared with people you like.