I have just received a copy of Mary Platis and Laura Bashar’s book “Cooking Techniques and Recipes with Olive Oil” and I am very impressed. The book is clearly presented and beautifully illustrated with a picture for every recipe but more importantly it offers a whole new approach to cooking with olive oil.
The clue lies in the word “techniques”. The recipes are organised under headings such as Poaching, Braising , Marinating and Baking and each technique is explained at the start of the section with tips on how to get the most out of that particular method of cooking. This approach really does show the versatility of extra virgin olive oil and helps the reader to move on to much more than the usual salad dressings and pasta sauces.
For example, the section on Marinating includes Chicken kabobs, Sockeye salmon and New York strip steak . The section of Poaching, which involves immersing the main ingredients in olive oil while it cooks, includes Shrimp with Sweet Potato pecan mash and Figs with Muscato grapes and the section on Baking takes in Olive Oil sugar cookies and Apple Lattice Pie with an olive oil crust. The authors also touch on Braising, Roasting, Infusing, Confit and even cocktails.
One of the simplest recipes is one of the most dramatic. It is Mediterranean Vegetables in Olive Oil. It involves layering a range of colourful cooked vegetables such as red and yellow bell peppers, fava beans, artichoke hearts, olives and button mushrooms in a glass jar and covering with a marinade composed of extra virgin olive oil, sherry vinegar, dried oregano, dried basil, salt and pepper. This mixture is stored in the fridge for two or three weeks before serving with artisan cheeses and crusty bread.
For more information and to buy 
book
To enjoy more delicious recipes using extra virgin olive oil look at my book Remarkable Recipes: from the people who really know about olive oil – the producers. It is available as an e-book on Amazon or as paperback off my website by Paypal price £7.50 including postage and packing. Please include email and postal contact details