Roasted Three Color Potatoes, and a Little Bit on the Topic of "Good" Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Updated Friday morning for this: although they aren't my favorite place to buy a corned beef sandwhich in Columbus, I would be remiss not to mention Katzingers when talking about tasting olive oil, since they have a very wide selection and always have some out to taste. 

It has only now just occurred to me that I might never be able to write a cookbook.  I might be able to steer hungry cooks - and shoppers - in the right direction, but then I would say something like: steam for 3 minutes, toss in good extra virgin olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and serve.  Perfect!  Or, in this case, replace "serve" with "put in 450 degree oven 10-25 minutes, or until everything is browned and crispy.  Delicious!

So, when I was getting ready to write this post, upon realizing this fact, I thought I'd answer a question I received from a reader recently: What sort of olive oil do you use?  This is a loaded question, because I love olive oil, and I'm frequently torn between the cheap adequate stuff and the expensive, over-the-top delicious stuff.  One problem is that Husband, who I love with all my heart, will reach in the cupboard, grab whatever olive oil is closest, and use it for sauteing.  I know that Mario is always saying Italians would only ever cook in extra virgin olive oil, but when I've spent $25 for a half liter bottle of olive oil, I really want to save it for finishing or roasting, and not for cooking.  This is probably completely subjective, but I find that good extra virgin olive oil showcases its flavors when used in roasting (such as when roasting potatoes or, my favorite - olive oil soaked, sea-salt dusted, homemade croutons), but the flavors are lost when used to saute.  I might totally be wrong, but I've taken to hiding the expensive stuff and having cheap bottles within easy reach.

Click here to learn more about what extra virgin olive oil is, and what makes it special and good for you.  Of course, it's Wikipedia, so take it with a grain of sea salt.

You can also take my advice with a grain of sea salt, because I am no olive oil expert - I know it makes a few of your nervous when I say those sorts of things, but wouldn't you be more nervous if I led you astray?  I've learned all of these things by trial and error.  And lots of years in restaurant work.

Okay, so what kind of olive oil do I use?  First of all, please keep in mind that I have not tried every type of olive oil out there, and even I am overwhelmed by the varieties offered.  I am also a little irritated with Whole Foods for taking out their olive oil tasting bar, because I consider it quite risky to purchase a $20 bottle of olive oil without tasting it first, and it isn't as though they have someone there to help me out, like they do in the wine department.  I tend to stick with Italian olive oils, although I do frequently buy California and Spanish olive oils, and occasionally Greek.  As a general rule, and I don't mean to sound like a snob here, but I don't buy extra virgin olive oil in the grocery store. 

Heat and light destroy olive oil, so it's important to purchase it in very dark containers or in metal cans, or in something like this cool new Tetrapak I bought a few days ago at Weiland's (pictured below).  Store your olive oil away from the stove.  Of course, I am a total hypocrite here because we store it above the stove.  Fortunately we use olive oil very quickly in our household. 

Here's another caveat: I can usually buy really good olive oil at wholesale, from Chef.  So that means I spend about half (or less) what you would to purchase it in a store.  I'm going to give you some options for less expensive brands, though, so bear with me. 

My absolute favorite olive oil is Falconero (you have to scroll down, about 6 rows, left side).  I haven't found it for sale locally, but I am sure if I tried hard enough, I could convince someone at the North Market (cough-Curds & Whey-cough cough) to bring it in for me, as it is distributed locally.  You can buy it online for $26 through the link above.  My second favorite is probably Ceppo Antico, which is about $22 for 500 mg; as of last week, Ceppo was carried by Weiland's, along with other good olive oils.  I have to admit that when I have really good, expensive olive oil on hand, I have a tendency to hoard it (a bad habit I'm trying to rid myself of).  Of course, hoarding it does no good, as it doesn't last forever, or really even very long, so there's no point in hoarding.  You may as well drizzle it freely over everything that strikes your fancy, reminding yourself the whole time how happy you're making your heart.  You might eventually find, like we have, that olive oil will begin to replace butter as your fat of choice.

So what about decent alternatives?  Head to that old budget gourmet standby, Trader Joe's.  I have found 2 really great, budget-friendly extra virgin olive oils at Trader Joe's, the California estate olive oil (center) and the Italian "First Lady Reserve."  Both of these olive oils offer a nice fruity, peppery olivey flavor and cost a mere $6 per bottle.  (and here's the part where you might disagree - I remember reading on someone's chef food blog, can't remember whose, and it was a long time ago, that you can't expect to make a good mayo or salad dressing with "Trader Joe's Crap Olive Oil."  See?  That person might be right, or I might be, who knows.  That's why I began by saying I'm no expert) And, after the packaging sucked me in to the Spanish olive oil on the left, I think I've found a great all-purpose (Husband can use it for sauteing, and I can use it for roasting and finishing, in a pinch) olive oil, a steal at $12 for a full liter (left, purchased at Weiland's).  Although it's hard to see in the picture, the Spanish olive oil is tetrapacked in an octagonal container, so it pours just like it's coming from a bottle, but it is perfectly packaged to keep heat and light out.  Any of these olive oils make a nice "intro" to "good" extra virgin olive oil without breaking the bank. 

And now, another recipe!  This recipe is a great way to show off the variety of potatoes available at the farmer's markets.  Of course, I've never met a potato I didn't love, and would be happy with pretty much any sort of potato, but the variety makes things fun.

Olive Oil Roasted Tri-Color Potatoes - serves 2

1 pound scrubbed mixed potatoes - these are Peruvian blue, Red Thumb, and Fingerlings, purchased from Elizabeth Telling Farm at this past week's market
Good Extra Virgin Olive oil
Crunchy Sea Salt
Freshly Cracked Black Pepper

Preheat oven to 450 degrees, and line a baking sheet with foil or parchment paper.  Steam potatoes - whole, mind you - for 8 minutes.  When they have cooled just enough to touch, cut each potato into fourths (I'm assuming your potatoes are small, as mine where - if not, cut into 1/2" pieces).  Place in a bowl and drizzle with olive oil.  Toss to coat.  Sprinkle over salt and pepper and again, toss to coat.  Spread into one layer on the baking sheet, and roast for about 20-30 minutes, rotating pan after 15 minutes.  Check frequently after 20 minutes, just to be sure they don't burn.  Serve with meat or anything your heart desires.

Comments

[Lindi]

Oooooohh count me in on the salt tasting! I was at Whole Foods just this morning (after my visit to Worthington Farmer's Market) lingering over the cheese counter when I noticed these huge glass jars full of various salts behind the counter (never noticed them there before!) I was quite intimidated as I would have not idea which to use for what. I'd go to any sort of a tasting at Alana's!

[Deborah Dowd]

I love roasted potatoes and I wish I had these varieties at my disposal. You guys are so lucky to have your farmer's market!

[Jenn]

Last time I was at Whole Foods, I picked up a bottle of Red Island (from Australia, of all places.) It is pretty good, packaged in a dark bottle, and if you sign up online they send you some decent coupons. I'd say it is a mid to upper range olive oil and deffinately worth a try.

[Tammy]

Let us know if she has a tasting, please! And I used to think salt was salt...

I see that there is an olive and vinegar tasting coming up hosted by Katzingers (see the other paper)....

[lisa the waitress]

Tammy - Sure! Once at Alana's, I think about 2 years ago (before I was a food blogger), we did a degustation and the most memorable dish was a grouper that was crusted with some of that black salt and then cooked really hot, so the salt kind of charred but was still crunchy - still one of the best dishes I've ever eaten. I have asked her numerous time if we could do a salt and veggie tasting. A salt and olive oil tasting would be a great idea.

[Tammy]

Hey Lisa! Thanks for all of this great information on olive oil. I will definitely be buying the Trader Joe's varieties this weekend. I've never thought to look for a dark container...or to store away from stove. Thanks again...this is great....next you'll need to move onto a sea salt discussion. I had some black kind of salt, I think it was Lava something, at Alanas last night and it was great. Somebody needs to do a salt and olive oil tasting!