For reasons I can’t explain, I have a gallon-size bottle of Kirkland extra-virgin olive oil, along with another “normal” bottle of EVOO. That’s … a lot of oil.
I use olive oil constantly, but for sautéing and roasting, so I don’t use extra virgin. As I understand it, EVOO is not good for things like carmelizing onions.
I hate vinaigrette salad dressing, so what am I going to do with all this oil? Please give me ideas. Here’s all I can think of:
Use for homemade hummus and baba ghanouj.
Pour into small bowls with a smidge of balsamic vinegar and dip in crusty bread.
Use in savory (not sweet) baking as a substitute for corn oil or butter.
Mix your oil with clarified butter over heat. Add some chopped garlic and anchovies. Sprinkle with a little chopped parsley and stir… Use this to dip chunks of French or Italian bread in.
Or, just dip chunks of bread into it cold. In the Mediterranean, it’s been a substitute for butter for centuries. (Romans referred to Germans derogatorily as “butter eaters.”)
I like to drizzle it on pizza as well. When making the pizza, I keep both the dough and pan well oiled. When making the sauce, I stir in EVOO as well.
I use only EVOO. Any other grade has been industrially processed and loses its bouquet.
Come to think of it, a lot of dishes can benefit from a drizzle of olive oil: paella, Spanish rice (not the same thing), Cuban black beans, refried beans, red beans and rice, jamablaya, soups like minestrone and gumbo. The list is endless.
I use it all the time for roasting meats (especially chicken), veggies and potatoes. Unless you’re roasting at a very high temperature, it retains a lot of its character. Also to roast heads of garlic in foil, which makes a lovely spread for crusty breads.
Heat a cast iron skillet, swirl a Tb or 2 of EVOO in it. Slice chicken breast into strips. Season with salt and pepper and pan fry. Simple but effective.
Deep frying with EVOO is a true luxury that most normal people can’t afford but if you gotta get rid of it, then why not. You want to fry relatively delicate things at a decently low temperature which allow the olive oil to shine through. For example, Roman artichoke hearts or Calamari or some Asparagus spears in tempura batter.
You could also consider a Tortilla Española. It’s potatoes gently poached in olive oil and then folded into a thick, creamy omelette. Again, something that uses a large quantity of oil and really shines if you can afford to use EVOO.
You could also consider Olive oil poached fish. Any delicate seafood works really great poached in olive oil.
You could do what I did when I got 8 pounds (!!!) of garlic in a grocery order instead of 8 heads - make a giant jar of mojo de ajo and another giant jar of garlic-confit to keep in the fridge, and eat them on everything. And if you have access to piles of fresh basil, you could make pesto and freeze it.
You can freeze it to keep it from spoiling. It will return to normal when thawed, just as if it were never frozen. You can keep a small amount unfrozen for day-to-day use. The most convenient thing might be to put the oil into several small bottles, so that when you use one of them up, you can take another out of the freeze.
Never tried freezing, because of lack of space, but I’ve always kept mine refrigerated when I’ve gotten larger sizes. I’ve never had it go bad in the fridge, even after many, many months.
Greek potatoes.
In a casserole dish, cut russets (baking potatoes) into spears, about 1/2." Add plenty of minced garlic, some salt & pepper and Greek oregano as well as copious olive oil. Cover and bake at 400 F for 40 mins or so. Though not my preference, some recipes call for extra liquid like chicken broth or to roast uncovered.